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Chapter Text

Naruto quietly lifted his hand to wipe some tears from his eyes as his patient’s family whispered their goodbyes to the patriarch. He had made his decision to be taken off the ventilator, and since he couldn’t breathe on his own, it wouldn’t take long for his systems to shut down. He’d been Mr. Angler’s in-home nurse for five years, so this was hard on him, too.

But he and Mr. Angler had already said their goodbyes. In fact, Naruto was the one in whom Mr. Angler had first confided his decision. He’d said he’d had a good, long life, and he didn’t want to burden his family emotionally and financially anymore. So, Naruto – after a long conversation about Mr. Angler’s preferred arrangements, the relevant advance directives, and some carefully worded questions to assure that the patient was in his right mind while making this decision – had called in the family and placed a call to his Aunt Tsunade, the doctor on call.

He was waiting against the wall by the door so that he could step out and get the doctor when she arrived. After a quick look at the clock on the bedside table, Naruto returned his attention to the group of people, watching as Mrs. Angler reached up with her left hand to cup her husband’s cheek. The red ring around her ring finger caught his eye.

Mrs. Angler had stopped wearing her wedding ring about ten years ago, when her arthritis had started swelling her joints, so anyone could now see her soul mark – the red ring of fate, as it was called – a bright red strip around the left-hand ring finger about the width of a string of ribbon. Naruto had been in awe when he was first assigned to the Anglers and saw the ring. Online and published statistics said that finding one’s soulmate was more common than most people thought, but Naruto had never met a pair before, even in his line of work where he was constantly meeting new people.

He looked down at his own hand briefly, taking in the unblemished skin of his ring finger. He didn’t necessarily think he needed a soulmate to be happy, but after five years of seeing how in love and in tune with each other the Anglers were, Naruto didn’t necessarily think it would be a bad thing to find his own, either.

There was a gentle knocking at the door, and Naruto slipped quietly from the room to answer it, nodding his greeting to Tsunade as she walked into the house.

“Hey, brat,” Tsunade greeted quietly as she set her bag down to remove her coat. “How is Mr. Angler?”

“He doesn’t seem to be in pain or mentally unstable. He just seems ready,” Naruto answered quietly, knowing exactly what she was asking.

Tsunade nodded. “Okay. You don’t need to stay here for this part, Naruto. I can call you back in when it’s done.”

Naruto shook his head. “No, this is part of the job.”

Tsunade only nodded again and then walked toward the dining room that they’d turned into Mr. Angler’s in-home hospital room. Naruto followed behind, listening intently as she spoke with the Anglers and their children about what she was going to do and what to expect. He steeled himself as she put on her gloves and moved to the machines, slowly recording the readings and pressing buttons.

Mrs. Angler held her husband’s hand so tightly as the ventilator stopped, leaning down to press her lips to his forehead as his body began to fight for breath. Naruto secretly wished the family hadn’t been here to see it – asphyxiation was not a pleasant sight. But it was over after several minutes, Tsunade calling the time of death and recording it in the medical record as the family cried.

Naruto raised his hand to wipe away his tears again, silently waiting for Tsunade to usher the family out of the room so that he could start removing the various lines from the body and cleaning up the waste. As he worked, Mrs. Angler came back into the room and sat in the chair on the other side of the bed from the machinery.

“Oh, Mrs. Angler,” he said gently. “This isn’t anything you should watch.”

She shook her head, her left hand reaching out – trembling with age – and resting it on her husband’s arm. “Don’t worry about me, angel,” she said, smiling as she used her nickname for him. “I just wanted a little more time with him before the ambulance gets here.”

Naruto nodded as he continued to pull various tubes and roll them up.

“It might be selfish of me, I know,” she continued after a moment. “But I guess I’ve always been a little selfish when it came to him.” She smiled. “Ever since our hands met over the last newspaper at the stand and our rings appeared.”

Naruto stared at her, the tubes forgotten in his hands. Her right hand had come up, the index and middle fingers rubbing over the red skin on her left ring finger.

“He was dating someone at the time, very near to being engaged. But when the rings formed, and we looked at each other, well, I did everything I could for him to give me a shot.” Naruto’s eyes widened at that, and she must have seen it because she laughed. “Well, I didn’t set out to break them up, you know. But I just made sure I could be around him and know that he was well and happy. And some time later, everything just seemed to fall into place for us.”

Naruto lowered his eyes as she started crying and resumed his tasks. When she made to stand, he stepped to that side of the bed and carefully assisted her to the door and out into the living area where the rest of the family and Tsunade were talking. The eldest son stood and took over for Naruto, but not before Mrs. Angler pulled Naruto down into a hug.

“Thank you so much, Naruto, angel. You’ve helped us so much over the past several years, and John liked you very much. I know your job is done now, but don’t be a stranger, okay?”

Naruto smiled as he returned the hug. “You got it. Thank you, Mrs. Angler.”

~*~

Naruto shivered as he walked down the sidewalk from the hospital. Sakura didn’t live far from it (Thank God he had somewhere to stay now that his stay with the Anglers was done!), and the busses had stopped running this late at night, so walking hadn’t seemed like it would be an issue, but he debated getting an Uber or something since it was so cold. There was no snow or ice, but the wind was biting. He pulled his jacket a little tighter about his body.

Naruto glanced up at the lighted bus stop in front of him and stopped in his tracks. Inside the alcove sat a man in a wheelchair, his arms wrapped over his chest for additional warmth. Naruto couldn’t see his face, but his hair was long and black, tied into a low ponytail that slipped over his shoulder. When the man started coughing, Naruto jolted out of his stupor and jogged into the bus stop.

“Sir, are you okay? What are you doing here?” he asked as he crouched down to see into the man’s face. He blinked at the young and pretty face that he found. When he didn’t get an answer, Naruto frowned and moved his attention to the other attributes of the man’s face – the flushed cheeks and red nose, the pale and trembling lips. “Sir, the busses have stopped running. Are you trying to get home?”

The man looked down at his lap and cleared his throat. “I know. I’m…” He trailed off, his brow furrowing in slight annoyance. Then he coughed again, letting out a deep sigh when the fit passed. “My wheelchair is stuck on the bench,” he said. He didn’t make eye contact with Naruto.

Naruto could only stare for a second before he yelled, “What?!” He stood up hurriedly and looked at the wheels of the chair, finding that the back wheel had indeed become hooked on the fancy twirls of the wrought iron bench. “And no one thought to help you?” he asked in disbelief as he began to push and pull at the wheel, finally getting fed up enough to lift the back wheel up after bracing the man against his hip and pulling the chair away from the bench.

He set the chair down and backed away, checking on how the man was doing. “All right, sir, your chair is free. Do you have a way of getting home?”

“Thank you,” the man said quietly. “I left my phone at home. If I could get to a payphone, I could make a call.”

Naruto nodded as he straightened and pulled his phone from his back pocket with his right hand and held it out for the man. “Just use mine.” After a moment of hesitation, the man lifted a trembling hand to grab the phone. As he did so, the sleeve of his coat fell back to reveal his thin wrist and the gleam of a medical alert bracelet. His eyes wide, Naruto reached out with his left hand and grabbed the man’s wrist, using his fingers to twist the bracelet around to read.

Itachi Uchiha
Multiple Sclerosis
ICE:

Naruto’s eyes widened at the diagnosis and the lack of a contact. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and used his right hand to hold Itachi’s hand as he moved his left to check his pulse, which, thankfully, was steady and strong. “Mr. Uchiha, how long have you been out here?” he asked as he moved to feel the man’s face for fever.

“A few hours, I guess.”

Naruto’s lips thinned as he squatted down in front of Itachi again and reached for his phone. “Mr. Uchiha, is there someone I can call for you? We need to get you out of this cold. There’s no one listed on your bracelet.” He looked up waiting for a response.

Itachi’s lips were pressed together, his brows drawn down. Naruto sighed internally. He’d had these types of patients before where their pride kept them from asking for or accepting help. If he had to guess, Itachi had been stuck for so long not because no one would help but because he didn’t ask. But being out here was detrimental to Itachi’s health, so there was no way Naruto wasn’t going to get the man home.

“Okay, so you don’t want anyone to find out about this?” he guessed. “Fine. I already know. Let me help. I’ll grab an Uber.” He opened his phone and pulled up the app. “What’s your address?” When Itachi hesitated to speak, Naruto asked again, gently but forcefully. “If you don’t tell me, I’m going to have to wheel you to the hospital,” he added, nodding his head toward the giant, well-lit building just a few blocks up.

Itachi scowled slightly before his face smoothed out to an impassive mask, but he gave Naruto his address, for which Naruto thanked him with a smile as he put it into the app, adding “That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” He stood up from his crouch, grimacing slightly at the burn in his thighs. “All righty, the Uber will be here in 5 minutes.” He smiled down at Itachi. “My name is Naruto, by the way. Nice to meet you.” He held out his hand.

Itachi blinked at him before holding out his hand to shake Naruto’s. “Thank you for your assistance, Naruto. I’m… not used to needing help.”

“A lot of people aren’t,” Naruto agreed with a slight frown. “But even self-sufficient patients should realize that they will need help every now and again, and it’s not shameful to ask for that help. Especially patients with chronic diseases.”

Itachi lifted a fine black brow. “Duly noted,” he said dryly.

Naruto chuckled as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Sorry. I’m a nurse, and it’s kind of hard to turn it off.”

“You’re a nurse?” Itachi asked, surprising Naruto, since he didn’t look like someone who would participate in idle chit chat. “Do you work at the hospital?”

Naruto shrugged. “Sometimes. I’m an LPN. I mostly do in-home and palliative care. I do some shifts at the hospital between assignments.” A car pulled up alongside the bus stop, and Naruto looked at the license plate to confirm it was their ride. The driver got out and greeted Naruto. With a nod to the driver to open the backdoor, Naruto turned to Itachi, pulling his hands from his jacket pockets. “Okay, Mr. Uchiha, you’ve been in the cold for a long time, and while I’m fully confident in your abilities, I am going to lift you up and put you in the car to prevent further stress on your body, if that’s all right with you.”

He didn’t move for a moment, giving Itachi the opportunity to decline his assistance, but while he did stiffen slightly, he didn’t refuse, so Naruto carefully slid one arm under his knees and the other around his back and lifted Itachi from his chair, quickly and easily depositing him in the backseat of the waiting car.

He closed the door and turned to the driver. “Okay, can you pop your trunk for me? I just need to get his wheelchair in, and we’ll be off.”

“Sure,” the guy said, running around to the driver’s side and reaching in to pop the trunk. Naruto quickly folded the wheelchair, slightly surprised but also relieved that it was a simple chair that could be folded. Itachi’s jacket seemed expensive, so he wondered why he didn’t have a better wheelchair. Naruto placed it into the trunk and closed it before quickly hopping into the other side of the backseat. He smiled at Itachi’s side glance and sat back as the driver took off to their destination.

The ride was quick and silent, and the driver pulled to a stop in front of a very posh building that had Naruto whistling internally. The driver popped the trunk and moved to get out at the same time Naruto did and helped him get the chair out. Naruto quickly unfolded it and locked it into place while the driver moved to open Itachi’s door. Naruto wheeled it over and up onto the sidewalk and then moved to lift Itachi up and place him into the chair.

He got behind the wheelchair, his hands encircling the handles, and smiled at the driver. “Thanks for the lift.”

“You’re welcome, sir. Goodnight,” the driver said as he closed the backdoor and moved to the driver’s side.

Naruto began to wheel Itachi to the entrance of the building, not sure if he should be surprised when a doorman opened the door to allow them through. He chuckled slightly as he moved to the elevator. “So, what floor, Mr. Uchiha?” he asked as he pressed the call button.

“The top floor,” was his answer, and again Naruto didn’t know if he should be surprised.

“All righty. Well, I’ll just get you situated and be out of your hair,” he said as he wheeled Itachi into the waiting elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. The ride was surprisingly quick, and when the doors slid open, Naruto rolled Itachi out of the car and stopped, silently urging Itachi to direct him to the correct door – though, there were only two on this floor, so he had a fifty-fifty shot at it himself.

“The door on the left, please,” Itachi said quietly, and Naruto rolled him over to the door with a jaunty, “Yes, sir!” As they neared it, Naruto noticed the scanner where the lock should be, but it looked stranger than any card scanner he’d seen before. Probably because it was an eye scanner, he mused as he watched Itachi stare evenly into it and it chirp a greeting as it disengaged the lock.

“Fancy,” Naruto murmured as he watched the door swing open on its own.

“It helps when I have a particularly bad day,” Itachi said with what Naruto thought was a small chuckle. And he guessed that made sense. He knew exactly what Itachi meant; his condition could leave him in a state that he couldn’t move, so having things open for him was convenient and necessary.

He pushed the wheelchair through the door, turning back to look as it swung closed and locked behind him. Naruto turned his gaze forward, blinking as the lights came on automatically, and took in the modern décor in shades of cream and blue in what was obviously a penthouse with how big it was. The short corridor dropped them into a large living area with a couch, loveseat, table, and entertainment system, and to the left was a very large kitchen. To the right was another corridor that must have led to at least one bedroom and one bathroom. Probably more judging by the size of the place.

Just to his right Naruto spotted the high-end electronic wheelchair that he’d expected, and he momentarily wondered why Itachi hadn’t been using it tonight. But that wasn’t his business, and he’d intruded long enough, so Naruto just shrugged it off and walked in front of Itachi and smiled down at him.

“All right, Mr. Uchiha. I know I’m not your mother, but I would highly suggest a bath before you go to bed – ward off the chill and all. And here,” he said as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. “My card. Please call me if you need help – medical or otherwise, all right?”

He saw Itachi hesitate before he slowly reached out and took the card. “Thank you for your help tonight, Naruto. I’m not accustomed to needing help, and though it may not have seemed like it, it is appreciated.”

Naruto laughed softly at that. “Don’t worry yourself about that, Mr. Uchiha.”

“Itachi, please.”

Naruto smiled. “Well, it was very nice to meet you, Itachi, and I’m glad I could help. Now, hit that bath, if you will, and get to bed.”

Itachi chuckled. “I’ll get right on that.”

Naruto then made his way back to the door, Itachi behind him to open it with the same retinal scan as the outside and bid him goodbye. He heard the door close and lock as he walked back to the elevator, and he rode down feeling lighter than he had when he’d left the hospital.

When he hit the lobby, he pulled out his phone and ordered another Uber, since now he was quite a bit further from Sakura’s apartment than before. He didn’t wait long, as a driver was available nearby, and it was a quick ride home.

Sakura lived in a nice complex where each apartment had its own patio and, if it was on an upper floor, a balcony, and it was much larger than anything Naruto had ever lived in before, even the small home he’d lived in with his parents. He slipped through the patio gate, pulling his keys from his jacket pocket, and opened the front door, locking it behind him before ascending the steps into the apartment proper.

Sakura was at the dining room table, her hair up in a tiny ponytail atop her head and her glasses slipping down her nose as she typed something on her laptop. She looked up as Naruto headed toward her, her eyes widening as she realized who had entered her apartment. She stood quickly, removing her glasses as she asked, “Naruto, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at your patient’s?”

Naruto smiled sadly as he removed his jacket. “Mr. Angler passed this evening. I just got back from the morgue.”

“Oh, Naruto, I’m so sorry,” she said as she enveloped him in a hug. He let his head hang and bury in the space where her neck met her shoulder, welcoming the comfort she offered. After a moment, her hand rubbed at his back and pat it a few times before she said, “Why don’t you go shower and go to bed? It’s pretty cold out.”

Naruto laughed as he pulled away. “Very sound advice, Dr. Haruno.”

She rolled her eyes and pushed him away. “Whatever. Just don’t collapse in bed. I don’t want to hear you bitch about feeling gross or sick in the morning.”

“I don’t bitch,” he said with a pout as he made his way to his bedroom. He tossed his jacket on a nearby chair and then stopped to toe off his shoes. He continued into his adjoining bathroom, pulling his shirt off as he went and tossing it into his hamper. A shower was a great idea, but he’d start with washing his face. He turned on the tap, letting the water warm up before splashing his face, wetting it thoroughly before reaching for his cleanser and pumping a bit into his hand, watching as it foamed in his palm. He spread the foam over both hands and then briskly and thoroughly rubbed it over his face. Then he cupped his hands under the tap and rinsed his face, squeezing his eyes tightly to avoid getting cleanser in them.

He turned the tap off and reached for a towel, wiping it over his face. He rubbed lightly at his eyes first, then brought the towel lower, opening his eyes to see his reflection as the towel wiped over his nose and mouth. A slight discoloration on his finger caught his attention, so he dropped the towel and brought his left hand up for closer inspection – only to find a thin, red ring around his left ring finger.

Eyes wide, Naruto stared at his hand and opened his mouth, words failing him momentarily until he found what he was looking for.

“Sakura!”

It didn’t take her long to come running into his bathroom, worriedly asking him why he was yelling. He slowly turned his wide eyes on her and shakily brought his hand up for her to see. She looked at it in confusion for a second, but he could tell when she noticed what he had, with the way her eyes widened in shock. She came further into the bathroom and grabbed his hand.

“What the hell, Naruto?” She twisted it under the light, trying to see better. “Are you sure you didn’t just scratch yourself or something? It seems kind of light. And thin.” But she knew as well as he that it wasn’t abraded skin they stared at, but the somewhat legendary red ring of fate. Sakura looked up at him. “Do you know who?”

Naruto started to shake his head – he’d only been around the same people he’d known for years – before he remembered Itachi, remembered touching Itachi. Slowly, he nodded, and at Sakura’s wide-eyed stare, he explained, “On my way home, I stopped to help someone. He’s got a chronic disease and he’d been out in the cold for a few hours, so I made sure he got home.”

“Oh, my God, Naruto!” Sakura whispered urgently. “Do you even know the guy’s name?”

“Of course!” He rolled his eyes at her, but then his attention was once again on his left ring finger.

Sakura was quiet a moment as she let go of his hand. “What are you going to do?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. But if he notices his ring, maybe he’ll call? I gave him my card.”

Sakura pursed her lips. “You know, Naruto – it just doesn’t look like all the ones you see on the internet.” She looked behind her quickly. “I’m going to do some research and see what I can find. How about you just get that shower and go to bed. We’ll… we’ll think about what to do a little more in the morning.”

“Right, yeah,” he said, nodding. He knew what she was driving at – that he wasn’t really in the right frame of mind to fully process what had happened.

With a light pat to his shoulder, Sakura gave him a supportive smile and left his bathroom, closing his bedroom door behind her. Naruto stared at his finger for another minute before sighing and proceeding to get ready for a shower. Because Sakura was absolutely right – the morning was a much better time to think about what he was going to do next.

~*~

Naruto rolled over, groaning as he tried to avoid the small bit of light that slipped through his closed blinds. Slowly coming out of sleep, he sighed into his pillow before stretching his legs, sighing again when his back popped. He blinked his eyes open, catching the time on his bedside clock.

And of course, he remembered the ring. It wasn’t one of those things that sleep could make someone momentarily forget. With another groan, he forced himself up, slumping over and rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair. When he dropped them in his lap, his eyes were again drawn to the red ring on his finger. In the light of day, it looked paler than it had under the harsh fluorescent of the bathroom, and he frowned. Sakura had thought something was not quite right about it, and he was starting to agree.

With a huff, he hauled himself out of bed, emptying his bladder before pulling a light pair of sweats over his boxers and heading out into the living area. Sakura seemed to be right where she’d been when he got home, at the table in front of her laptop, her hair up and glasses low on her nose.

“Did you sleep at all?” he asked as he headed into the kitchen to retrieve a cup of coffee.

“A bit,” she answered distractedly. Naruto sat down at the table with her, taking his first sip of coffee as she typed something. When she was done, she sat back with her coffee cup and looked at Naruto with a sharp gaze. “So, there’s a lot of bullshit on the internet about light and thin rings, but I stumbled on something that led me to actual scholarship on the topic, most of it theoretical and written by Hashirama Senju.”

Naruto nearly spit his coffee out. Swallowing quickly, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stared at her. “Uncle Hashi?”

She nodded. “You didn’t tell me he was a scholar on soulmates.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t know. All I knew was that he was a tenured professor at the university.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “So oblivious. Anyway, his research talks about instances in which rings manifest that are much thinner than the normal ribbon-width string and a less vibrant red. These types of rings were generally observed in people who didn’t know who they’d touched. Your uncle’s predominant theory is that these rings symbolize a weak bond, though he has a couple of definitions of a weak bond: one, that the bond isn’t necessarily a romantic one – more like friendship or perhaps that the other person has some sort of connection with you that affects the course of your life – and two, that the bond is a romantic one but can be somehow broken or revoked.”

She tapped her nails against the table top. “Of course, none of this could be proven, because the persons in question didn’t know who their soulmates were. There was no way to follow up. What informed his theories, though, were the repeated reports from the subjects that nothing had even given them a sense that the rings had appeared or that they’d met their soulmates. They just suddenly noticed some time later that the rings were even there.” She titled her head at him in question. “I’m guessing it was the same for you?”

Naruto nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t feel anything, physically or emotionally. I mean, I thought he was pretty when I saw his face, but other than that…” He shrugged. “Does it say anything else?”

Sakura shook her head. “Nothing I find relevant. But I think you should go talk to your uncle. I mean, you’re finally someone who knows who touched him. This could be the next big step in his research.”

Naruto made a face at that. “I don’t know that I want to be some kind of research subject. And I don’t want to put Itachi through anything like that.” The man had enough to deal with as it was.

“Well, okay, maybe don’t tell him about the ring. But I still think you should go learn more about it from him.”

Naruto grunted, looking over at the DVR clock for the time. He’d wanted to go back to the hospital to see if there were any jobs lined up for him or at least set up a new schedule until something was available. But it was only mid-morning, so he could swing by his uncle’s place first.

“Fine,” he sighed out, pushing back from the table to get dressed. “Want to come with me?”

“No,” Sakura answered simply, returning her attention to her laptop. “But please put your coffee cup in the dishwasher before you leave.”

Naruto rolled his eyes as he returned to his room. Like a cup sitting on the table for a few hours was the end of the world.

TBC

Chapter Text

Kakashi hummed as he read over Jiraiya’s latest manuscript, a red pen spinning in his fingers, just waiting to strike through some hapless typo or – better yet – something completely and atrociously wrong Jiraiya had written about soulmates.

With a strange mixture of glee and exasperation, Kakashi circled a paragraph and began jotting a note in the margin as he yelled, “Jiraiya! What’s been the point of bothering Dr. Senju all these years if you still make these wild leaps of logic about soulmates?”

“It’s fantasy!” Jiraiya yelled from another room, but he soon came into the living room where Kakashi was sprawled on the couch. “Nobody wants to read a romance novel where the idea of soulmates is anything but magical! And heartbreaking! But then fulfilling!”

“Well, I will admit that the science behind how the skin turns red might be a bit boring for a romance novel,” Hashirama said as he joined them in the living room. “But you asked Kakashi to read over the soulmate parts so as to not fill the market with inaccurate portrayals of soulmates, right Jiraiya?”

Jiraiya began to whine about how accurate portrayals of soulmates wouldn’t sell well when the doorbell rang. Hashirama excused himself to answer the door and returned with his nephew. Kakashi eyed the boy from the couch and noticed the nervous tilt of his smile as he greeted Jiraiya. He sat up and placed the manuscript and pen on the coffee table, giving a lazy wave Naruto’s way when the kid’s blue eyes finally landed on him.

“Hey, Kakashi,” he said as Hashirama ushered him further inside to take a seat.

“Hey, kid. What brings you here?”

That nervous smile was still there as he answered, “Well, I just had a few questions for Uncle Hashi about, um, soulmates.”

“Why, kid? Did you find yours?” Jiraiya asked as he sat beside Kakashi and picked up the manuscript, his eyes scanning over Kakashi’s notes.

“You don’t have to answer that, Naruto,” Hashirama said with a slight pout at Jiraiya. “Finding your soulmate is a very intimate thing, and I have no desire to force you into revealing anything you’d rather not.”

Kakashi cocked his head to the side at seeing a very light blush spread on Naruto’s cheeks, letting his eyes slide down to his left hand only to see it covered with a glove. “What kind of questions do you have, Naruto?” Kakashi prompted.

Naruto let out a breath. “Um, okay, well. Sakura and I were just, you know, reviewing some literature on soulmates – because, you know, my patient and his wife were soulmates, and he just passed – and she ran across some of your articles, Uncle Hashi, about the, uh, the thin rings.”

Hashirama’s brows rose in surprise. “Oh, the weak bond theory. Yes, not my most popular theory, but until we can get better data, no one can really refute it.”

Naruto nodded. “Yeah, well, I guess I just wanted to know more about it.”

Kakashi was so close to asking the kid why he’d want to know something like that, but a subtle signal from Hashirama had him pressing his lips together to keep silent.

“What, in particular, would you like to know, Naruto?” Hashirama asked gently.

“Uh, well, Sakura said you had two theories as to why a thin, pale ring would form instead of a normal one.”

Hashirama nodded as he sat back and crossed his arms. “Yes. So, one theory is that the bond is not romantic in nature. A strong friendship could create the rings, for example. Or the bond could form between someone and a person who will have a profound effect on his or her life, such as a bully or a savior. And the second theory is that the bond between soulmates with thin, pale rings is easily broken.”

Naruto looked slightly pale at the second one. “Like, if your soulmate is an asshole or something, you’d be able to leave the relationship?”

Hashirama laughed. “Well, I wasn’t thinking about that when I came up with the theory, but maybe.” He chuckled again. “No, what I had in mind was that perhaps one of the soulmates has a shortened lifespan, and the weak bond would allow the one left to heal from the heartbreak of losing his or her soulmate and move on.”

If it was possible, Naruto looked even more pale at that information, and Kakashi was growing the slightest bit concerned.

Hashirama frowned a bit and looked down, a furrow forming between his brows. “You know, I had a colleague when I first started that thought there was a third theory on the weak bond. He proposed that a thin, pale ring formed when you weren’t your soulmate’s soulmate.”

Naruto looked so surprised at that possibility. Kakashi held back a sigh, though he knew the feeling. There was so much they still didn’t know about the soulmate bond.

“Is that even possible?” Naruto whispered.

“We don’t really know, Naruto.” Hashirama frowned thoughtfully. “In fact, I may have some of that scholarship somewhere in my office. It was a less popular theory than mine, so it didn’t get much circulation.” After staring at Naruto for a moment, Hashirama got up and strode down the hallway to his study.

Kakashi watched as Naruto looked down at his left hand before abruptly standing.

“I’m sorry, I’ve got to get to the hospital. Please give my apologies to Uncle Hashi.” And then he was gone.

“Sorry, I seem to have misspoken. My colleague believed that the ring formed in such a way when the person you touched was in some way connected to your actual soulmate,” Hashirama said as he walked back down the hallway into the living room, an old issue of a scientific journal in his hands. He glanced up and frowned when he noticed Naruto was gone.

“Yeah, he’s gone,” Kakashi said.

“I think your mistaken third theory freaked him out,” Jiraiya added. “I have a feeling we were staring at someone with a real, live weak bond, Hashirama.”

Hashirama looked off in the direction of the front door before sighing. “Well, I’m sure he’ll pull through. I never really got a sense that he wanted a soulmate.”

Kakashi really wanted to bring Naruto back and ask the kid some probing questions, but it wasn’t really his business. He pulled the manuscript out of Jiraiya’s hands and flipped to his stopping point to pick up where he left off.

They were all silent a moment until Jiraiya asked, “So, are you dying to run him down and ask him a bunch of questions for your research?”

“Shut up.” Hashirama pouted at him while Kakashi chuckled.

~*~

Naruto sighed as he leaned against the nurses’ station. His shift was almost over, and he was looking forward to going home and taking a nice, long shower. He liked doing the hospital rotations – they allowed him to see new things and meet new people. But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss the normalcy of a single client and their families. Tsunade said she’d let him know as soon as he was needed, so it was hospital rotations until then.

Of course, since there was a nursing shortage, he was being scheduled an awful lot lately. His eyes drifted over to the scheduling chart, seeing the many ‘Naruto’ listed in the coming weeks. Next week would be difficult, seeing as how it was the Christmas holiday. Not that he was unhappy about it – Uncle Hashi and Auntie Mito were always very welcoming, but spending the holidays with them and their children and grandchildren and all the significant others still somehow made Naruto feel like he wasn’t supposed to be there, the odd man out in a room full of couples.

His eyes drifted down to his left hand. He’d had a couple of days to absorb the situation and the information Uncle Hashi had given him. So, Itachi was either supposed to just be like a really good friend or something, or he was Naruto’s destined romantic partner. Naruto was good with the former – Itachi seemed like a great guy. But if it was the latter, Naruto was just afraid the weak bond was due to Itachi’s condition – did it mean Itachi wouldn’t have a long life? It was possible with the man’s condition.

But maybe it really was the former. Sure, Naruto didn’t know much about how soulmates felt when they met, but he was sure there should have been some sort of… spark or something. Like a frozen moment in time where the thought imprinted itself on his heart that this was the person he would spend the rest of his life with. Or something. Not that he’d been giving it a lot of thought or anything.

Naruto frowned slightly and sighed again before looking away from his hand. No way was he upset about this. Nope. Which was why he wasn’t even thinking about that third theory, the one where Itachi was his soulmate, but he wasn't Itachi's. Because he wasn’t interested in Itachi that way. Probably.

“Naruto,” someone called, and he stood up straight and turned to see Hinata walking up to him.

“Hey, Hinata. How are you? Just coming on shift?”

She smiled as she said, “Yes. I’m glad I caught you before you left.” She looked over at the scheduling chart before shifting her eyes back to him. “I was wondering if you’d be willing to trade some shifts with me.”

“Sure. Which ones?”

“I’d like your Christmas Eve and Christmas shifts, if you don’t mind.”

Naruto raised his brow in surprise. “Uh, sure. But why? Usually people are looking for someone to cover those days.”

Hinata grimaced slightly as she tucked a strand of her long hair behind her ear. “Well, my uncle and his family will be joining us this year. I would rather not spend time with them, but I also don’t want to lie. So, I thought, if you would be willing to trade shifts with me, I can at least tell them the truth when I say I have to work.”

“Oh, sure, I get it,” he said with a nod. “I don’t mind trading some shifts.” He looked at the scheduling chart to find Hinata’s name. “I’ll just take any shifts you want to give me. I don’t have anything going on. Just let me know which ones.” He returned his gaze to Hinata and smiled.

“Thank you so much, Naruto! I appreciate your flexibility.” She placed her hand on his arm and squeezed lightly as she smiled. It was gone quickly, and Hinata pulled at her hair to place it up in a bun with a hair tie. “Got any plans for Christmas, now that you’re free?”

He shook his head. “Nah. I mean, I might go to my uncle’s house for a bit, but I may just stay at home and catch up on a book or something.”

Hinata hummed as she reached for a few charts. “Well, thanks again, Naruto. I have to start my rounds, but let’s get dinner one night we’re free, okay?”

“Sure,” he nodded, smiling as she smiled at him and walked off. Checking out the clock, he breathed out and made his way to the locker room. He pulled his jacket on and reached in for his keys and phone and jumped when it started ringing. It was a number he didn’t recognize, so with a slight frown he answered, “This is Naruto.”

“Good evening, Naruto. This is Itachi Uchiha. I hope I’m not bothering you.”

For a short moment, Naruto’s breath caught in his throat. Why was he calling?

“Oh, Itachi! Hi! No, you’re not bothering me,” Naruto said as he closed his locker. His eyes landed on his ring, but he quickly averted his eyes. Had Itachi noticed his own ring or something? “What can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to properly extend my thanks for your assistance the other day. Would you do me the honor of repaying you with dinner?”

Naruto released a relieved breath and nearly laughed at the somewhat formal way Itachi had of speaking. Maybe it was a rich person thing. “Oh, that’s not really necessary, Itachi. I was just happy to help. Kind of pushed it on you, in fact.” He made his way out of the locker room and to the closest exit.

“Still, you even spent your money on an Uber. Please allow me to repay your kindness.”

With a huffed laughed, Naruto agreed. “All right, if you insist. Where and when?”

“Are you free right now? There is a wonderful Japanese place down the street from my apartment. Does that interest you?”

“Totally!” Naruto waved at some nurses and patients that turned at his excited outburst. “I just need to go home and shower. How about I meet you there in an hour or so?”

“That sounds fine. I’ll text you the name and address.”

“Thanks, Itachi!” Naruto disconnected the call after Itachi’s goodbye and shoved his phone in the pocket of his coat. He exited the hospital into the cold air, the chill immediately settling into his legs through the thin material of his scrubs. Again, he was thankful the apartment wasn’t that far away.

Sakura was on the couch instead of at the table when he got home, a mug of tea hovering just under her chin and her eyes glued to the television screen – a show featuring some surgery or another. “Naruto,” she said without looking away from the screen. “You have to see this. There’s this… thing growing under this woman’s skin-”

“Pass,” he interrupted her with a laugh and headed back to his room. He heard her get up and follow him.

“Do you want to go out and get some food?” she asked as she flung herself on his bed. He pulled the top of his scrubs off and tossed them toward the hamper just inside the bathroom door.

“Can’t. Going to dinner after my shower.”

She sat up quickly. “Oh? Got a hot date?” She smirked and waggled her eyebrows.

He snorted. “No,” he said as he walked into his bathroom. “Itachi invited me out as a thank you.”

“Itachi?” she asked as he turned on the tap in the bath. Then something soft whacked him in the back of the head, and with a yelp, Naruto turned to stare at her. “Red ring Itachi?” she asked in shock. Naruto glared half-heartedly at the nickname. “Are you an idiot?”

“Why?” he asked as he stepped back into his bedroom, the pillow she’d thrown at him in his hand. “He wanted to thank me for helping. Was I supposed to turn him down? I did try, FYI.”

Sakura groaned and rolled her eyes. “You don’t think it’s crazy to go to dinner with the guy who might be your soulmate?” Her eyes carried a hint of worry. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Naruto sighed and then sat next to her on the bed. “I won’t be hurt, I promise. I’m not attracted to him in that way, I don’t think. But Uncle Hashi says that the weak bond could be because one person in the bond might not, you know, be around long. And he’s sick. I might just want to… to make sure he’s all right.”

“Naruto,” she said softly, empathically. Then she shook her head. “But he’s your soulmate, even if you’re not attracted to him.”

Naruto hummed. “Uncle Hashi also said that there was some scholarship that hypothesizes that the bond is not reciprocal. You know, Itachi’s my soulmate, but I’m not his.” He shrugged.

“So, you’re really not bothered that you don’t have a normal bond like other soulmates?” she asked.

Naruto looked away from her and frowned. “I’ve never actively desired a soulmate. But I will admit to some… I don’t know, melancholy? At not having a proper soulmate.” He looked back at Sakura. “But I’ll get over it. And you know what? Maybe mine’s just that other one, where the bond is a really good friendship. And that has to start somewhere.” He smiled at her.

After a moment of staring at him, Sakura sighed. “Go take your shower and stop wasting water.”

Naruto laughed as they stood. “Want me to bring you anything back? We’re doing Japanese.”

“Sushi roll!” Sakura yelled as she closed the door.

Naruto returned to his bathroom and slipped his scrub bottoms and boxers down his legs before jumping into the tub and turning on the shower. He quickly cleaned off and hopped out, rubbing a towel quickly over his hair and body. He pulled out jeans, a thick sweater, and clean boxers and tossed them on his bed before running the towel over himself one more time to capture any stray droplets. Then he slipped into his clothes and ran some product through his hair before leaving his room.

Sakura was back on the couch, her tea replenished and her program currently on commercial break. Naruto didn’t miss her side-eye as he pulled on a thick coat and shoved his keys, phone, and wallet in his several pockets. But then he pulled his phone back out and checked his texts for the address before pulling up his Uber app and ordering a car. He had an additional text that told him to give his name at the door.

“Don’t be out too late, Naruto,” Sakura said as he headed to the door.

“Sure thing, Mom,” he said with a laugh and stepped out into the brisk evening. He leaned on the porch gate while waiting for his driver, giving the girl a bright smile when she pulled up a few minutes later. He spent the brief ride to the restaurant chatting with her – she had become a driver to earn some extra cash for Christmas. When she pulled up to the curb in front of the restaurant, Naruto wished her a happy holiday and stepped out, whistling as he took in his destination.

This wasn’t some Mom and Pop, hole in the wall, Japanese place Itachi had invited him to. It was swank – all sleek lines and modern edges, dim lights and velvet ropes, and a line of shivering patrons waiting to get in. Suddenly a little nervous, Naruto made his way to the door where a girl bundled up in a fur coat was standing behind a podium.

“Um, hi,” he said, and the girl looked up at him with a slight scowl. “I’m, uh, meeting someone here – Itachi Uchiha? My name is Naruto Uzumaki.”

She looked down at her ledger and placed a manicured nail to the sheet. “Oh, yes. Please, go on in, and someone will escort you to Mr. Uchiha’s table. Have a wonderful meal, Mr. Uzumaki.” She bowed slightly as she pressed a finger against the headset she wore, speaking to someone inside in quiet Japanese.

Naruto thanked her and took the few steps over to the door, jumping slightly when it was opened by someone standing just inside who ushered him in. Another person stepped over to him and murmured a quiet, “Right this way, Mr. Uzumaki.”

As he followed the man, Naruto took in the dining area. The floor was black faux wood tile, and the tables and chairs were also in black and lower to the ground than most. There were red and white accents throughout – the napkins, the sconces, the wait staff, the decorative furniture and statuary. And then there was the one wall made up entirely of shoji, painted beautifully with a dragon reaching down to attack a tiger.

It was to this wall that Naruto was led, and the man pushed a portion of the wall open to reveal a more traditional side of the restaurant. Naruto gawked as he was led down a corridor, eyeing the shadows of the patrons on the other side of the shoji and the open rooms of traditional tatami and short tables.

They stopped in front of the only room that had the door closed, and the man slid it open and directed Naruto inside. Itachi was seated at the low table, though rather than being seated upon a cushion, his legs were stretched out in front of him as he leaned against a floor recliner.

“Hello, Naruto,” Itachi greeted with a small smile. “Please excuse me for not standing to greet you.”

“Oh, no, you’re fine, Itachi!” Naruto said, waving a hand in front of him as he stepped into the room more fully. The man that had guided him there asked for his jacket, and Naruto handed it over before sitting down across from Itachi. The man informed them that drinks and the first course would be there shortly, and then he closed the door. Naruto looked at the closed door for a second and then leaned over the table to whisper, “Are you a celebrity or something, Itachi?”

Itachi laughed softly. “Hardly.”

Naruto sat back and took in the small room – the tatami, the lacquer furniture, the fine vases. It felt like a real ryokan, when just on the other side of the wall was a modern restaurant. “Shit, Itachi – I thought you were talking like, a noodle shop or something. This must be super expensive!”

“Please calm yourself, Naruto. This is my mother’s restaurant; it’s no hardship to treat you to a traditional dinner in thanks.” Itachi pushed a lock of hair behind his ear with his left hand, and Naruto found himself following the movement, trying to see if Itachi also had a ring, but he couldn’t quite tell from the quick movement.

“Oh, is your mother a chef?” Naruto asked. He knew some chefs owned their own restaurants.

“Yes, and a restaurateur,” Itachi said. “She has several restaurants all over the world, including real ryokans in Japan.”

“Oh, my God!” Naruto grabbed at the edge of the table and leaned over it slightly. “I mean, I knew you had money, but man!” Then he smiled at Itachi and asked, “So what do you do? Do you help her out?”

The door slid open, and a server brought in a tray with sake and appetizers. Naruto politely asked for water as she turned to leave.

“I guess you could say I help her out. I’m an interior designer. When she opens a new restaurant, I do help her design the layout and purchase the furniture and decorations.” Itachi reached for the sake bottle and poured Naruto a cup. “I hope you don’t mind the alcohol.”

“Not at all,” Naruto said as he reached for the bottle and poured Itachi’s cup. Itachi looked startled for a second, at which Naruto let out a small chuckle. “As I’m sure you can tell by my name, I am also Japanese and do know the customs. Somewhat. My family’s pretty assimilated.”

Itachi smirked. “I didn’t want to assume, what with your coloring.”

Naruto laughed again as he ran a hand over his blond hair. “Yeah, Dad wasn’t completely Asian, and I took after him.”

Itachi cleared his throat softly. “Wasn’t?”

Naruto hummed in agreement as he pulled one of the dishes toward him and picked up a set of chopsticks. “My parents died when I was fifteen.”

“I’m sorry, Naruto.”

He shook his head. “No worries. It was hard, but I had friends and family to help me through it.” He popped a piece of an appetizer in his mouth and immediately salivated at the tart and acidic taste – very bright on his tongue. He quickly plucked another piece off the plate and shoved it in his mouth. “This is delicious!”

“I’m glad you approve.” Itachi ate a few pieces himself before he spoke again. “In addition to thanking you, I also wished to apologize for my behavior that night.”

Naruto tilted his head to the side in question as he sat down his sake cup. “What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t very receptive of your assistance, and I was rude.”

Naruto waved him off. “Please. Compared to some other patients I’ve worked with, you were down right pleasant.” He laughed and was pleased to see Itachi smile slightly. Then his left hand came up to pick up his own cup, and Naruto found himself studying it again, trying to see any hint of red against the pale skin.

“Naruto?” Itachi asked, one brow raised when Naruto looked over to meet his gaze. “You seem a little preoccupied. Is something wrong?”

Momentarily, Naruto thought about waving the topic off and moving on. He also thought about just telling Itachi straight up what had happened and talk it through with him – he was a concerned party, after all. With that thought came all the hassle Sakura would give him should he do what he was thinking about, as well as the burden it might put on Itachi.

But Naruto never had been one to back down from a challenge or problem, so with a deep breath, he started, “Well, this is going to sound strange, but,” and here he lifted his left hand, palm facing him, “When I touched you the other day, a red ring showed up on my finger. I was just, you know,” he said as he laid his hand down, “Looking to see if you had one, too.”

Itachi’s eyes were wide in surprise, and he lifted his left hand to look at it. After a moment, he showed his hand to Naruto. “There’s no ring. Are you sure it was me?”

Naruto stared at the unblemished white skin and was surprised by the disappointment he felt. So, maybe his uncle’s colleague had been right. He nodded. “Yeah, I know for a fact it wasn’t there before I touched you, and I noticed it as soon as I got home.”

Itachi frowned. “Can I see your hand?” Naruto reached across the table and put his hand in Itachi’s, who gazed at his hand and swiped his thumb across the red skin of his ring finger. “It’s not how I would have expected it to look.”

Naruto took his hand back and shrugged. “There is scholarship out there that suggests it’s a weak bond, maybe not even a romantic connection. I mean, you’re nice looking, but to be honest? I’m not attracted to you.”

Itachi smirked and huffed out a laugh. “Not something I hear often.” He looked down at where Naruto’s hand rested against the table. “What scholar is this?”

“Oh, uh, Dr. Hashirama Senju? He’s one of the leading experts on soulmates, apparently.” Naruto shook his head. “Look, I’m… I’m not really sure what it means, but I’m not looking for anything from you except maybe friendship? You seem like a really nice guy, kinda cool and all. I wouldn’t mind a friendship bond or whatever.”

“Of course, Naruto. I would be more than happy to be your friend,” Itachi said with some surprise, like no one had ever asked to be his friend before. He stared at Naruto a moment before continuing quietly, “Are you not upset that you are not my soulmate?”

Naruto sighed and looked down at his unfinished appetizer. “Honestly? I was a little disappointed not to see a ring on your finger.” He looked back up at Itachi and smiled ruefully. “But I don’t right now have any romantic interest in you, so I think it worked out okay in the end.”

Itachi nodded and smirked. “You don’t seem to be the type of person to get worked up over soulmates.”

Naruto frowned down at the table before refilling his sake cup and downing it. Not very many people knew about Naruto’s past, and he really had no reason to fill Itachi in on it. But he was his soulmate, after all, and though Itachi hadn’t asked a question, it was there in his eyes.

“Soulmates are special – I know that. There’s a lot of information out there about how happy soulmates are together. But what doesn’t seem to be all that obvious is the pain soulmates can cause themselves and others. Like, no one ever seems to talk about when soulmates find each other too late or too early or whatever.” He thought about the Anglers for a moment – how Mr. Angler had been in a pretty serious relationship when he’d found his soulmate in Mrs. Angler.

“Do you have some experience with that, Naruto?” Itachi asked softly.

“Hm.” Naruto stuck another piece of the appetizer in his mouth. He exhaled softly after he swallowed. “My parents weren’t soulmates, but they loved each other very much, like they were. My mom used to take strands of her hair and tie them around their fingers. Actually,” he laughed, remembering how sincerely his mother would tell him this, “She used to tell me that the universe got it wrong somehow – that they were supposed to be soulmates.”

He sighed as he looked off at something in the corner. “When I was fifteen, my dad found his real soulmate. But he loved my mother and refused to leave her. And the other woman killed them.”

“Oh, my God,” Itachi whispered.

Naruto glanced at him and saw the shock in his eyes. He nodded his head slightly. “Yeah. It’s awful, right? As it turns out, the woman had a history of psychotic breaks, and having her soulmate reject her just made her… snap, I guess.”

“I’m surprised you don’t despise the very idea of soulmates after that,” Itachi said.

Naruto laughed a little. “Don’t get me wrong – my family and friends avoided the word around me for a couple of years after that, and I was angry at the woman for a long time. But I’ve found peace with it, and the knowledge that most soulmates are happy together helped.” He paused as he spun his sake cup back and forth. “But I think what really helped was my patient and his wife – they were soulmates, and for the past five years, I’ve been audience to the love, peace, joy… just the good things they felt together as soulmates that flowed outward and touched everyone around them. I started to wonder what it would be like to share my life with someone like that.”

“I’m… I’m so sorry, Naruto,” Itachi said quietly, as if he could help that Naruto wasn't his soulmate.

Naruto smiled a little sadly and shook his head. “Enough about me and my sad life story. Tell me something about you, new friend Itachi.” His smile brightened to a grin at Itachi’s lifted brow.

“Is there anything in particular you’d like to know?”

“Well, since you ask – this may be too forward of me, but I’m… ‘curious’ is obviously a bad word to use, but it’s the only one I can think of, just… your bracelet says you have MS, and I guess I just want to know if you’re all right?” He scrunched his nose in dissatisfaction at how that had come out, but his eyes shot to the wheelchair in the corner.

Itachi laughed quietly. “You’re funny, Naruto.” He took a sip from his sake cup. “I have RRMS and am in remission right now. But my last attack left my balance impaired, so I tend to use the wheelchair rather than ambulating when there’s high risk of an accident, like during the winter with ice and wind.”

Naruto nodded. “But you still do your PT, right? Don’t want those muscles to atrophy!”

Itachi agreed as the door slid open again. There were two servers this time – one brought in the next course while the other sat a pitcher of water and glasses on the table. As they left, Itachi asked, “Is there anything else you’d like to know, new friend Naruto?”

Naruto laughed as he poured water for them. “Whatever you want to tell me, I guess. Um, do you have a significant other? Siblings? Do you like your job? Anything.”

Itachi was very forthcoming with the information as they dug into their food: he didn’t have a lover at the moment; he had a large family consisting of a restaurateur mother that he loved, an author father who he respected above all others, a vaguely mentioned brother, and myriad aunts, uncles, and cousins that held many high positions in both the public and private sectors; he loved his job and discussed in detail his employees who he trusted implicitly to run his business during his relapses; oh, and that he owned his interior design business.

Naruto was having a great time despite some of the topics they’d discussed. Itachi was just an amazing person, and he left after dessert with plans to meet up with him tomorrow.

TBC

Chapter Text

Itachi’s eyes flitted over to his phone again, and he sighed as he took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d been trying to get some work done after his dinner with Naruto, but the blond’s situation kept his mind more engaged than the client’s design requests.

Itachi knew the weak bond theory quite intimately. Hashirama Senju posited both a non-romantic bond theory and a short-term romantic bond theory, but both shared the hypothesis that both parties had a pale ring. Not that it could be proven. He was also quite aware of the other theory that, limited information aside, seemed to fit Naruto’s situation a little more closely.

And as much as Naruto seemed to say he was okay with the fact that he wasn’t Itachi’s soulmate, Itachi had seen the disappointment in his eyes. If there was even a chance that Naruto had a soulmate – someone Itachi knew – then…

Itachi picked up his phone and dialed a number he didn’t use often.

“Good evening, Itachi. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Hello, Uncle Madara. I hope I’m not bothering you, but I had the most interesting dinner conversation today that I thought I would share with you.”

“Oh?” His uncle’s voice was deep and sounded bored, betraying no interest he might have in why Itachi would call him out of the blue.

“You see, a young man helped me out a couple of days ago, and to thank him, I treated him to dinner tonight. In the course of getting to know one another, this young man informed me that, when he touched me, a red ring formed on his finger. But we have both confirmed that no such ring has formed on me.”

His uncle didn’t respond immediately, but when he did, Itachi could hear the smile. “That is an interesting conversation. Now, what would you have me do with the information?”

“Hm,” Itachi hummed as he moved the mouse around on the screen of his laptop. “Well, since all hypotheses of the weak bond theory have yet to be proven, I was wondering – what would one do if one wanted to test a hypothesis?”

“I would imagine, Itachi, that it would depend entirely on which hypothesis you wished to test.”

Itachi refrained from rolling his eyes at how his uncle was playing with him at this moment. “If I had wanted to test the non-romantic or short-term bond theories, I would have called Dr. Senju.” Without letting his uncle respond to that, he continued, “Your theory suggests that I am a bridge of sorts to this young man’s true soulmate. But what kind of connection do you mean? If it’s just anyone I’ve happened to come across, do you know how many tens of thousands of transient encounters I’ve had over my life?”

“Calm yourself, Itachi,” Madara murmured before he could continue. “The connection of which I speak in my research is specific. I feel, though I could never prove, that this type of bond recognizes a person as like the actual bond mate. I was displeased when my theory was lumped into Hashirama’s weak bond theory, as in mine it’s more of an incomplete bond than anything. I would put forth that this young man’s bond has recognized you as very alike his soulmate, perhaps physically or even genetically.”

“So, someone in the Uchiha family.” Itachi repressed a sigh. That was a lot of people. Almost the entire clan had emigrated.

“If my incomplete bond theory is correct, yes.” Madara paused before saying, “Invite him to Shōgatsu. A lot of the family will stop by. If he’s lucky, he might find his bond mate.”

Itachi raised a brow at that. Inviting Naruto, after only a handful of days’ acquaintance, to a very large family gathering? Even he realized how awkward that might be for Naruto. But if he was forthcoming as to why, perhaps Naruto would be all for it.

“Well, I appreciate your time and suggestion, Uncle Madara.”

“Of course, Itachi.”

Itachi disconnected the call and let out a soft breath. Well, he’d think on it some more, about how to approach this with Naruto, and bring it up when they meet tomorrow.

~*~

Itachi sat quietly, perusing the menu of the restaurant Naruto had chosen for lunch – Vietnamese, because “it was perfect phở weather,” as Naruto put it. The crowd was thin, so they’d easily been able to accommodate his wheelchair. He’d ordered himself a pot of jasmine tea and spring rolls for both of them, and as he poured himself a second cup, Naruto plopped down in the seat across from him.

“Hey, Itachi!” he greeted as he immediately opened the menu and turned to the soup page.

“Good afternoon, Naruto,” he murmured as he smiled at the younger man, watching as Naruto removed his jacket to reveal pale orange scrubs. “I didn’t think you had a shift today.”

Naruto looked up at him briefly with a small smile. “Yeah, well, a friend called out sick this morning. Not that I’m complaining – I like my job!”

Itachi nodded at that. They’d only met recently, but Itachi could sense that Naruto’s profession matched his personality nicely and that it was a job that could bring great sadness but equal amounts of joy. The waitress came over to take their orders – Naruto got his phở, and at his urging, Itachi did, too.

“Well, since you’re in need of getting back to work timely, there is something I wished to discuss today,” Itachi said as they both took a spring roll from the plate in the middle of the table.

“Yeah?” Naruto asked with a raised brow before dipping his roll in the peanut sauce.

“Naruto, how much do you know about the weak bond theory?”

Naruto’s brows furrowed as he chewed his bite. He set his roll down on his small plate and reached for his napkin as he swallowed. “Not much. I just learned about Uncle Hashi’s research yesterday.”

“Uncle Hashi?” Itachi queried.

“Oh! Uh, Dr. Senju. He’s my uncle. Did I not mention that?” Naruto laughed a little.

Pushing that small irony aside, Itachi continued, “Well, Dr. Senju isn’t the only scholar on the weak bond theory. There is one who believes that, rather than a weak bond, the pale ring is merely an incomplete bond and that the person you’ve touched is in some way like your actual soulmate.”

Itachi watched as Naruto’s eyes widened. In the ensuing silence, the waitress brought their orders, and Itachi cracked open his chopsticks and picked up the soup spoon to begin eating.

Eventually, Naruto looked down at his own soup, grabbing his own utensils as he said quietly, “So, you’re not my soulmate because someone like you is?”

Itachi swallowed his mouthful of broth. “Essentially.”

“Like in what way?” Naruto asked as he used his spoon to spin his noodles around his chopsticks.

Itachi shrugged. “He isn’t too sure, but he posits that it’s a physical or genetic similarity.” Naruto looked up at him. “I apologize for the abruptness of this suggestion, but we believe it may be someone in the Uchiha family, and I wondered if you’d accompany me to our New Year celebration to see if we can find your soulmate.”

“We?”

“Yes. The scholar is my uncle, Madara Uchiha. I believe he and Dr. Senju are well acquainted.” Naruto frowned as he looked back down at his meal. Itachi cleared his throat. “Of course, if we do find your soulmate and the bond is completed, it could still turn out to be a weak bond. There’s just no knowing at this point.”

Surprisingly, Naruto laughed. “I feel like I’m in the middle of one of Jiraiya’s novels.”

Itachi arched a brow, not understanding the reference, though he could infer the meaning. “Well, I just thought I’d offer the opportunity. It’s completely up to you what happens from here.”

Naruto nodded and smiled. “I do appreciate it. And I’ll have to think on it. Thank you.”

Itachi nodded his head, and conversation moved on to what Itachi was working on right now, and he began to regale Naruto with the tale of the client that told Itachi five different designs he wanted for one room and how the man hated them all in the end.

~*~

Sakura stared at Naruto – pacing in their living room – with wide eyes and a slack jaw. Because she absolutely could not believe what the blond just told her.

Naruto stopped and looked at her worriedly. “So, what do you think I should do?”

Sakura closed her mouth so hard her teeth clacked, trying to calm down before she inadvertently screamed at him. After a couple of deep inhales, she opened her eyes and said, “Okay. Here are the facts as I understand them.” She held up one finger. “You met your soulmate and had dinner with him, during which you informed him that he was your soulmate, and he informed you in turn that you were not his.” She held up another finger. “You went to lunch with him, where he told you that he thought you were one part of an incomplete bond with one of his relatives.” She held up a third finger. “He then invited you to his family’s New Year celebration on the off chance that his theory is correct and that your soulmate will be there.” She crossed her arms and lifted a brow at him. “Do I have all that right?”

“Uh, yeah,” he said, one hand coming up to rub at the short hairs at the nape of his neck.

She sighed as she brought her fingers up to rub at her forehead. “Okay, well,” she said after a moment, looking back up at Naruto. “I guess I should applaud you for somehow taking an awkward confession and making a new friend from it. And to be honest? If it were me, I think I’d take any opportunity to confirm who my soulmate truly is.” She frowned down at the coffee table between them. “But you and I are different people. So, Naruto – are you even interested in finding if someone else might be your soulmate instead of Itachi?”

Naruto only looked at her at that before letting out an explosive breath and moving to collapse on the couch next to her. “Honestly?” he said after another moment of silence. “If there’s a chance that Itachi could lead me to my soulmate… I think I would regret not taking that chance at some point down the road.”

“Then I think you have your answer, Sunshine.” Naruto grunted at her, his fingers fiddling together nervously. “Do you want me to come with you?” she offered.

He turned his big, blue, watery eyes on her. “Could you?”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I’ll see about rearranging my rounds. But make sure it’s okay with Itachi.”

“Thank you so much, Sakura!” Naruto threw himself on her and squeezed the life out of her.

“Get off!” she yelled through her laughter. After a moment, Naruto lifted off her, and they sat side by side in silence for a minute. Then she asked, “Do I have to wear a kimono?”

~*~

Naruto’s leg shook up and down quickly as the limo – limo! – continued its journey to their destination. Itachi had assured him that Sakura could come, and he had picked them both up at the apartment. The driver had placed their overnight bags in the trunk, and the sound of the trunk lid closing seemed to set off a weird chain of thoughts that plagued Naruto about how this was probably an extremely stupid decision. There was this inexplicable nervous energy coursing through him that he couldn’t shake and that only seemed to grow the closer they got to Itachi’s family home.

“Naruto, stop it!” Sakura hissed at him as she placed a hand on top of his leg.

Naruto looked from the window over to her, a sheepish smile on his face. “Sorry, Sakura. I’m just a little nervous.”

“There’s no need to be nervous, Naruto,” Itachi said from his seat across from them. “Friends are more than welcome during New Year – no one has to know why you’re there.”

Naruto turned the smile on Itachi. “Thanks, Itachi. But I don’t think that’s what’s got me all wound up. I don’t know… I call it nervous energy, but… maybe it’s anticipation?”

Sakura grabbed his hand between them and squeezed. “Naruto… I hope, hm, that you’re not getting your hopes up or anything,” she said quietly.

He frowned at that but assured her he wasn’t. This whole soulmate business was complicated enough without adding hope in the mix. He returned to gazing out the window, watching as the sky began to darken and the city fell away to the countryside.

“So, where are we going, Itachi?” Sakura asked.

“The celebration takes place on the family manor upstate. We’ll be there shortly.”

“Uh, manor?” Sakura chuckled slightly. “Are you like, old money or something?”

Itachi chuckled, too, and Naruto looked at him as he said, “Extremely old money, to be honest. And I don’t say this to intimidate you but to prepare you, I guess, for what you’ll see. Most of the clan came here from the old country, and they brought all their money with them. The Uchiha family is wealthy and influential – but quietly so. They don’t seek the limelight and continue to build wealth and status in the background.” He shrugged.

“Whoa,” Sakura said, sliding her hand over her skinny jeans. “That’s kind of intimidating, though,” she said with a laugh.

“Please!” Naruto said with a smile as he turned to look at her. “The Harunos have more money than God. And everybody knows your family. These are your people.”

“Shut up, Naruto!” Sakura slapped his thigh, causing him and Itachi to laugh. She shifted in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. “Anyway – so like, what kind of careers do your relatives have, Itachi?”

Itachi began to detail some of his relatives’ professions, and Naruto turned his attention back to the passing scenery and its pristine blanket of snow. He let Sakura and Itachi carry on a conversation as night fell around them. But soon he noticed how the empty land started boasting large, sprawling estates with gates and fountains and hedges, and Naruto watched wide-eyed as they pulled up to one of the largest houses he’d ever seen in his life.

The gates – framed by large and ornate kadomatsu – opened, and the limo entered the drive and circled the fountain in the courtyard, which was strung up with many paper lanterns that generated a gentle, golden glow across the shoveled drive. Naruto felt Sakura press up against his back to stare out his window with him, a quiet “Oh, my God” whispering past his ear.

The car came to a stop, and the driver immediately hopped out to open Naruto’s door. He quickly stepped out, reaching a hand back to help Sakura as he watched the front door open. What could only be a butler, of all things, came out with a wheelchair, which he wheeled over to the car, helping Itachi into it after the man stepped out of the car.

“Welcome home, Master Itachi. Your parents are especially eager to see you. We have special guests this year.”

“Oh?” Itachi said as he laid his cane across his lap. “These are my friends Naruto and Sakura. Please see that their bags are taken upstairs.”

“Of course,” the man said, bowing politely Naruto and Sakura’s way before wheeling Itachi to the front door. Naruto and Sakura followed behind, and Naruto’s eyes took in the shime-kazari hung above the door as they entered.

“You guys are like, legit about New Year, huh?” Naruto said as his eyes caught on a kagami mochi on the entrance table.

“Yes,” Itachi replied with humor. “Old money comes with old traditions. Our elders believe our continued good fortune is because we still practice the old traditions. So, the New Year celebration is taken very seriously.” They made their way closer to where Naruto could hear lots of chatter. “Now, remember, Naruto – it will be tedious, but I’m going to introduce you to everyone individually and give you an opportunity to touch them.”

Naruto groaned quietly. “That just sounds so wrong,” he whispered. Sakura elbowed him in the side.

“You only need to shake their hands, Naruto.” Her nose scrunched as a thought seemed to hit her. “Ah, will they all shake hands, Itachi? I mean, like, are they not too traditional to do that?”

“Hm, maybe not the elders, but it should be fine with everyone else.” They entered a large sitting room, and all eyes turned to them. It was weird for Naruto – it was like a sea of pale skin and dark eyes, almost like a horror movie.

“Itachi!” A very beautiful woman separated from the group, her long, black hair swishing behind her as she walked over and bent down to hug and kiss Itachi. “It’s so good to see you, my son.”

“Hello, Mother,” Itachi returned fondly. Naruto watched as a man came up and shook Itachi’s hand with a quiet, “Son.” Itachi nodded as he shook hands. “Hello, Father.” He held a hand out to indicate Naruto and Sakura. “Please meet my friends, Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno.”

“Oh, hello!” his mother said and reached her hand out to him. “I’m Mikoto, Itachi’s mother. It’s nice to meet you.” Naruto grasped her slim hand in his to shake, and then she offered her hand to Sakura. “This is my husband, Fugaku.” The man stepped forward and shook their hands, too.

“I didn’t know Itachi knew anyone from the Haruno family,” Fugaku said as he placed an arm around Mikoto’s waist.

Sakura smiled at him. “Well, actually, I’m Naruto’s friend, and I met Itachi recently through him.”

Fugaku looked at Naruto and frowned in thought. “Uzumaki, right? Are you, by chance, related to Mito Uzumaki?”

Surprised, Naruto nodded his head. “Yes, she’s my great aunt on my mother’s side.”

“How delightful!” Mikoto said, clapping her hands together softly. “What are the chances? Fugaku is a big fan of Mito’s calligraphy. And it just so happens that her husband is here with us today.” She turned to Itachi. “A guest of Madara’s. It’s just a shame Mito is in Japan at this time.”

“Uncle Hashi’s here?” Naruto asked, surprised yet again and reminding himself that his aunt had indeed flown out to Japan right after Christmas.

“Yes,” Mikoto said. “Our relative Madara is an old colleague of his and invited him tonight. And he brought the most wonderfully eccentric friend with him.”

Naruto’s face fell, and Sakura covered her mouth to prevent a snort from coming out. “Jiraiya?” he asked.

“Yes! He’s quite a character.” Mikoto laughed as Fugaku rolled his eyes. Naruto let slip a laugh. He loved Jiraiya like family, but he was sure an author like Fugaku and an author like Jiraiya in the same room was a little much.

“I was just going to introduce Naruto and Sakura to everyone,” Itachi said as he handed his cane to the butler and put his hands on the wheels of his chair. His parents expressed their pleasure in meeting them again and moved on. Itachi then guided them around the room and introduced them to everyone, giving Naruto the opportunity to shake everyone’s hand.

He met quite a number of people: a couple of cousins, Shisui and Izumi; several uncles – Madara (next to whom was Hashirama), Izuna, Kagami, and Obito (next to whom Naruto was surprised to find Kakashi); and several other people for whom he actually couldn’t remember the names. And after each handshake, he’d quickly checked his left hand, as planned, to see no reaction from his ring. And after each handshake, he’d received a small shake of the head from Itachi, who was surreptitiously checking everyone’s left hand for a matching ring.

And it didn’t bother him, which surprised and confused Naruto. Sure, he wasn’t attracted to Itachi, but he’d still experienced some slight disappointment when he turned out not to be the man’s soulmate. With these people, it was almost – strangely – relief that he felt.

Of course, maybe it had something to do with how distracted he felt. As soon as he’d moved deeper into the sitting room, it felt like something was calling his attention away from the introductions. He had no idea what it might be, though.

When the introductions were done, he, Itachi, and Sakura clustered in a corner where Itachi assured him that more relatives would show up on New Year’s Day and that they could try again. Naruto only shrugged while Sakura asked after a few members they’d learned were in the medical field.

Naruto let his eyes wander over the room, coming to rest on a framed photo on a nearby table. It was about the fiftieth family photo he’d spotted during his rounds, but now he actually had a chance to look. He carefully picked it up to see a smiling family of four – Mikoto, Fugaku, Itachi, and…

Naruto inhaled quickly, bringing the photo closer to his face. The fourth person was who he assumed to be Itachi’s younger brother Sasuke. He could see the family resemblance to Itachi through the shared genes from their mother. But where Naruto appreciated Itachi’s good looks and moved on, Sasuke’s good looks moved him.

“What are you looking at?” Sakura said as she sidled up next to him, and so as not to seem anything but comfortable, he handed it over – reluctantly. Sakura ran her eyes over the photo, whistling lowly. “Is this your brother, Itachi?” she asked as she turned the photo his way.

“Ah, yes,” Itachi said, an odd note in his voice. “That’s Sasuke.”

“Where is he?” Sakura asked as she handed the photo back to Naruto to return to the table. He did – also reluctantly – but his eyes were still taking in the pale skin, dark hair and eyes, and the smirkle (because it wasn’t quite a smile, but it was more than a smirk). A burning desire to see it all in person snuck up on him, causing him to frown slightly.

Itachi cleared his throat softly. “He could be anywhere, honestly. He hasn’t visited home in a while.” Naruto remembered how little Itachi had said about his brother at that first dinner and wondered if Sasuke was some sort of taboo subject.

A little more time passed that Naruto spent talking with his uncle and Jiraiya, as well as Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, who happened to be Obito’s wife, before Mikoto announced that dinner was ready. They all trekked into an adjacent room, and Naruto’s jaw dropped as he took in the decorated expanse of the dining room. There were two chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and the expansive table was overflowing with red and black lacquer jūbako filled with osechi.

Sakura pressed into his side, her hand clenching around his upper arm. “Why do I feel like I’ve stepped into Crazy Rich Asians?” she whispered.

“Because you have,” Kakashi said with a laugh as he passed behind them. “Come, Miss Haruno. This really can’t be that different than your family celebrations.”

Sakura rounded on him. “Oh, no. We are full legit nouveau riche American. I may party it up on a yacht here and there, but no way do we have towers of traditional food and crystal chandeliers.” They all laughed at that, and Kakashi continued his trek over to Obito and Rin. Itachi came up on Sakura’s other side, and she pulled Naruto down with her when she bent over and whispered, “This is insane.”

Itachi chuckled. “Just wait until tomorrow. My mother has only just started feeding us.” Itachi motioned for them to join everyone at the table, so Naruto led Sakura over that way, and they sat at the first free chairs they found.

Itachi was called to sit down by his uncle Madara, which left Naruto and Sakura to socialize with some of the Uchiha family members they’d just met. At one point, Naruto was pulled into a fascinating conversation with Mikoto about her early years as a chef and trying to be a woman in the culinary arts while also being a mother.

“It was very hard when I was pregnant with Itachi. I had so many men lined up trying to take my position – I was terrified when I found out I was pregnant. I found myself pouring out all my fears to Fugaku’s mother, and the next thing I knew, she’d purchased the restaurant and ensured my job, even though I was sure she hated me!” Mikoto laughed as she brought her wine glass to her lips. Naruto smiled at her as he continued to eat whatever it was she’d shoved in front of him. It was delicious, whatever.

“So,” she continued, “I vowed to work harder and make sure my own renown secured my future jobs rather than my mother-in-law. And by the time I was pregnant with Sasuke, I had a couple of restaurants and a couple of Michelin stars.”

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat at Sasuke’s name, and he covered his slight shock and confusion by laughing and saying, “That’s so awesome, Mikoto.” And it was. Mikoto was really great, and his interaction with her was making him yearn for his own mother. He cleared his throat and softly asked, “So, um, where is Sasuke? I don’t think I’ve met him.”

Mikoto’s smile fell into a frown, and she was quiet a moment, spinning her wineglass around and watching the liquid swish against the sides. “I don’t know,” she said with a sigh. “He drops a letter every once in a while, to let us know he’s okay, but… we haven’t seen him in about ten years.”

“Really?” Sakura said from next to him, making Naruto jump because he hadn’t known she’d been listening. “The letters never say where he is?”

“No,” Mikoto said softly as she picked up her chopsticks and picked at a tomato dish near her. “Every year, I hope that he’ll come home, and every year, I’m disappointed.”

Naruto looked at Sakura as the silence stretched between them after Mikoto’s statement, a sad sense of helplessness coming over him. He was sure it was from the fact that he had nothing to say to cheer Mikoto up, but some small part of him wondered if it wasn’t a smidgen of hopelessness that it seemed like he wouldn’t get a chance to meet Sasuke.

A thought – a reason – as to why that would be tried to worm its way into Naruto’s mind, but he held it at bay, not really looking for more disappointment. He was aided in that endeavor by many of the table’s occupants suddenly standing and moving on to other entertainments of the night. He and Sakura had a great time moving from room to room, playing games, listening to poetry, watching insane Japanese specials – all as midnight came closer and closer.

But Naruto would always find his mind going back to those dark eyes and that smirkle, Mikoto’s words echoing – every year, I’m disappointed.

TBC

Chapter Text

Itachi sighed as he rolled into the front sitting room, glad for a momentary reprieve from Jiraiya’s drunken stories of excess and debauchery. Of course, they were hilariously entertaining, but the throbbing vein in his father’s temple was getting bigger – which, in his slightly inebriated state, he almost wanted Sakura to look at it; it had to be a medical condition or something – so he wanted to be as far away as possible when his father finally lost his cool.

Shaking his head with a small smile, Itachi looked up and around the room, surprised when his eyes landed on Naruto standing by the fireplace examining the many photos that covered the walls and spread out over the mantle. At some noise he made, Naruto turned around, a sad look in his blue eyes.

With a frown, Itachi carefully wheeled himself past the furniture and over to Naruto’s side. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but Naruto beat him to it, quietly asking, “What happened, Itachi?”

He blinked, the slight haze of alcohol still over his mind. “What do you mean?”

Naruto looked back at the photos. “There are like, fifty photos in here of Sasuke as a child. And then just… nothing. Just that one photo over there.” He tossed his head back lightly, indicating the photo they’d been looking at earlier. “And then your mom said that you haven’t seen him in like, ten years.” Naruto’s gaze slowly traveled back to Itachi’s face. “What happened?” he repeated.

Itachi looked – really looked – at Naruto at the man’s broken whisper. His cheeks were a little flushed, as if he, too, were slightly drunk, and his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. Itachi found himself wondering if Naruto was a sad drunk, but then Kakashi’s airy question of whether Sasuke might be Naruto’s soulmate at dinner flitted across his mind. Madara had seen the merit, but Itachi had dismissed the idea. He didn’t really know why; Sasuke was the closest relative he had that shared the same genes and physical traits, so Sasuke would have normally been the easiest guess.

But they hadn’t seen Sasuke in so long, and there was no telling if they’d ever see him again. Perhaps Itachi had dismissed the idea for emotional reasons, not wanting to give Naruto the idea that Sasuke was his bond mate with no hope of ever meeting the man. Or maybe a tiny bit of anger had reared its head – someone as selfish as Sasuke didn’t deserve someone as selfless as Naruto (a thought that was gone as soon as it had come, for Itachi still thought his brother deserved every happiness, and he didn’t know Naruto all that well enough to say, for certain, what kind of man he truly was).

His eyes turned to a photo on the mantle of Sasuke, five years old and smiling from ear to ear as he tried to pet a stray cat in the park. He tried to remember the last time he’d seen Sasuke’s smile, cringing internally when he realized it had been long before Sasuke had even left them. With a sigh, Itachi backed up and turned to wheel over to the photo they’d glanced at earlier, picking it up from the end table and gazing at Sasuke’s grown face.

He heard Naruto move behind him, and then he saw the man sit on the couch next to the table, his attention on Itachi and probably waiting for Itachi to speak. With another sigh, Itachi set the photo down and leaned back in his chair.

“We don’t talk about Sasuke, not really. He’s a topic that never fails to make Mother cry. Most of the family avoids his name altogether, for many reasons.”

After a moment, Naruto quietly but firmly said, “Tell me. Please.”

Itachi closed his eyes and tilted his head down. “When I was thirteen, Sasuke and I were playing out back, climbing trees. We were up on a high branch, and I fell. I don’t really know what happened – I was unconscious for a few days – but I quickly gathered that everyone blamed Sasuke. I think he was a little traumatized from the event, because from what I’ve heard, he had an acute case of mutism. He wouldn’t talk, he wouldn’t explain what happened, and everyone concluded that he had, I don’t know, pushed me out of the tree.”

“Did he?” Naruto asked.

Itachi looked up. Naruto still looked sad, and he didn’t look like he was judging Sasuke. He shook his head. “No, when I woke up, I was able to tell everyone what happened. But it was too late.” He clasped his hands together on his lap, trying not to get angry at something that had happened so many years ago. “Mother and Father were too preoccupied with me, so Grandmother took it upon herself to punish Sasuke. To this day, none of us know what she did, but Sasuke… he stopped smiling.” He paused, the old pain of seeing his cute, playful brother retreat into himself, becoming hesitant and quiet, washing over him again.

“I think Grandmother convinced Sasuke that he was at fault for my accident. He became very reserved around me.” He paused again, remembering how Sasuke would make it a point to be the furthest away he could whenever they were in a room together.

“What did cause the accident?” Naruto asked quietly.

“Hm?” Itachi returned his attention to Naruto. “Oh, well, after explaining what I had experienced prior to the fall, the doctor diagnosed CIS.”

Naruto’s eyes widened. “That young?”

Itachi nodded. “Yes. I am, apparently, an outlier, and my symptoms presented earlier than usual. Which meant that my family began to treat me differently – I was constantly watched, given preferential treatment, to the point that, well, Sasuke was neglected. And when I was eighteen, I was diagnosed with MS. And something happened between Mother and Sasuke – I don’t know what. But Sasuke… He ran away from home.”

Naruto inhaled sharply. “But he came back, right?”

Itachi unclasped his hands and placed one over his eyes as he leaned to the side in his chair, old emotions returning with the memories. “Five years later. He ran away when he was thirteen, and none of our money or influence could find him and bring him home.” He felt the hot tears slide out from under his hand and down his cheeks. He remained silent for a few minutes, trying to compose himself. Naruto didn’t pester him to continue, but he eventually wiped his face dry with his sleeve and picked up the story.

“We were devastated. Mother was inconsolable, maybe wracked with guilt, I can’t be sure. And then one day, he just showed up at the front door – eighteen, tattooed, and in recovery from drug addiction.” Itachi watched as tears began to roll down Naruto’s cheeks. “He talked about his time away briefly, vaguely, but it was clear he had done whatever he could to survive and had fallen in with the wrong kind of people. But he’d somehow picked himself up and gained enough confidence to come back home.” He reached for the photo on the table again, a small smile tugging at his lips. “This is from that time.”

“I don’t understand,” Naruto said, and Itachi glanced at him. He’d wiped away his tears, and his confusion was written all over his face. “He came home, but Mikoto said you haven’t seen him…”

“He did come back, and he stayed for a bit. Some of the family questioned the wisdom of welcoming him home – you know, with the reputation of tattoos in Japan and all – but we didn’t care. We were just so happy to have him back. We all made our peace with each other. But then he told us he was leaving again. He wouldn’t tell us where he intended to go, but he said he’d keep in touch to let us know he was okay. And we couldn’t stop him – he was an adult.”

“And you haven’t seen him in ten years,” Naruto finished, and Itachi nodded.

“He sends letters every now and then. The envelopes are unmarked – no postage or anything. They’re hand-delivered by a local currier, but the company assures us that they’ve never seen a man that matches Sasuke’s description request a delivery. But the letters contain information about his health and general wellbeing and his wishes for our safety and happiness. They contain his love. And we have to be content with that for now.”

Naruto was quiet, and he reached for the photo in Itachi’s hand. Itachi imagined his eyes were glued to Sasuke, and he quietly asked, “Why do you want to know about Sasuke?”

Naruto shook his head slowly, eyes still on the photo. “I don’t know. It’s just… ever since I’ve stepped into this house, something has been tugging at me. I don’t know how to explain it. But every time I heard Sasuke’s name tonight… I just had to know.” With a deep exhale of breath, Naruto leaned over and set the photo back on the table. “Thanks for telling me, Itachi. I know sharing family secrets like that isn’t exactly a normal thing.” He smiled slightly.

Itachi contemplated all that had transpired and been discussed since he’d met Naruto and concluded what he’d tried to deny earlier. “I think, if anyone should know, it’s you.” Instead of the confusion he’d expected, Naruto’s eyes lowered, hiding his thoughts from Itachi, and he figured Naruto must have concluded the same.

“I think I’ll go to bed now, Itachi. I’ll see you, uh, later this morning.” Naruto stood from the couch and, after Itachi wished him a good night, left the sitting room.

Itachi sighed and gave one last glance at the last photo they’d taken of Sasuke. Bed sounded like a fantastic idea to him. He’d just go make sure his father hadn’t murdered Jiraiya and then head to bed himself.

~*~

Itachi’s bed was calling to him. When he’d checked up on his father and Jiraiya, it had been about two in the morning, and somehow, he’d been detained until – he checked the clock – nearly four. He groaned as he wheeled over to his dresser, carefully standing and changing into the sleep pants that had been laid out for him. He grabbed his cane and walked to his bed, but before he could settle in, there was a knock at his door.

“Come in,” he said with a frown. The door opened to admit the butler.

“Master Itachi, my apologies for disturbing you, but there is someone at the door asking for you.”

“Who could possibly need me at four in the morning?” he muttered as he walked back to the dresser and found the matching shirt and slipped it on. “Who is it?” he asked as he headed toward his door.

“Ah,” the butler stuttered. “I think it best for you to see.”

Curiouser and curiouser, he thought as he brushed past the butler and ambled down the hallway. He turned into the entrance hall, his eyes immediately falling on the dark green duffle bag on the ground before lifting to take in the man in Army fatigues.

His eyes widened and his breath stalled as he took in dark eyes and dark hair that lifted in the back and fell to either side of the man’s face – a face that hadn’t seemed to age in the ten years he’d been gone. As tears clouded his vision, Itachi dropped his cane and moved forward unsteadily, his arms coming up to wrap around his little brother.

“Otouto,” he whispered harshly, his arms squeezing as hard as they could as if to make sure his brother was really there.

Sasuke’s arms finally lifted and curled around him, holding just as tightly, and he buried his head in Itachi’s neck. “Aniki,” Sasuke murmured against his skin. “It’s… good to be home.”

Itachi shifted away from Sasuke, his hands placed on Sasuke’s shoulders as he looked his brother in the eyes. “It would have been good years ago, too, Sasuke,” he chided softly. Sasuke lowered his eyes, and Itachi let the silence stretch for only a short moment before he was slipping an arm around Sasuke’s shoulder and guiding him into the house, grabbing his cane from the butler, who waited until they’d passed before retrieving Sasuke’s duffle bag. “Mother will be over the moon that you’ve come home, especially on New Year’s Day. The gods are smiling on us, she’ll say.”

Sasuke halted in their trek, pulling away from Itachi and darting a nervous glance at the stairs. “It can wait until later. There’s no reason to wake them now. Plus, I need some sleep.”

Itachi stared at Sasuke a moment before nodding and redirecting them toward his room. “Of course. You can bunk with me for the night. We have some additional guests for Shōgatsu this year, and your room is currently occupied.”

Sasuke nodded as they entered his room, where the butler had anticipated their needs and left Sasuke’s duffle bag. Itachi walked over to his dresser to remove his shirt, and when he turned around, Sasuke was down to his pants and starting to unlace his boots.

“The Army?” Itachi inquired softly.

Sasuke paused briefly in his actions, glancing up at Itachi before going back to his task. Itachi’s eyes roamed over Sasuke’s exposed skin, tracing the colored lines of his tattoos and marveling that whatever pale skin was still visible was still pale despite Sasuke apparently being in the Army. He also eyed the places where Sasuke’s arms used to bare evidence of drug use, but ten years had apparently been long enough for the marks to fade to nothing. At least from a distance.

“I felt the structured life and discipline necessary to succeed would help keep me sober,” Sasuke eventually answered quietly as he pulled his duffle bag over. He rubbed up and down his left arm, a frown on his face, then rummaged through the duffle and brought out a pair of black sweats and a gray shirt that had the Army’s logo on the front.

Itachi’s brow furrowed. “And you couldn’t tell us you were in the Army why?”

Sasuke glared at him as he stood and dropped his pants, his movements short and jerky as he pulled on his sleep clothes. “I’m not really in the mood to talk about this right now, Itachi.”

Itachi pressed his lips together, wanting to continue the discussion, but he only nodded and walked the few steps to the bed. He let his anger slowly wash away to allow the joy of having Sasuke home to return. He watched as Sasuke moved to the other side of the bed and slid beneath the blankets.

“Why do you need a king-sized bed?” Sasuke grumbled as he made himself comfortable. Silence settled between them, but Sasuke kept fidgeting, constantly lifting his left arm and wiggling his fingers, shifting from his side to his back to his side again.

Itachi sighed, a chuckle escaping at the end. “This, Sasuke. This is why I have a king-sized bed. So that all your fidgeting won’t bother me. But that generally only works if I’m asleep while you fidget.”

“Sorry,” Sasuke mumbled. “Just a little uncomfortable. My left arm’s been tingling since I stepped in the house, like it’s asleep.”

“It’s trying to tell you something. Sleep.” Sasuke huffed out a breath, but he settled down, and Itachi released his own breath and closed his eyes. After several minutes, Itachi said, “I’m extremely happy to have you home, Sasuke, but I also can’t help but be upset with your behavior these past ten years. And the five before that, if I’m honest. And I know that you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone – you’re a grown man – but I hope, for the sake of our parents, that you can offer something along those lines when you see them later.” When Sasuke gave no reply – contrite, angry, or otherwise – Itachi said, “Your silence is deafening, Sasuke.”

“It’s trying to tell you something. Sleep.”

Itachi couldn’t help himself – he laughed. He heard Sasuke chuckle quietly, and he let the conversation go in favor of sleeping. Hopefully, Sasuke was home for good this time, and they would have plenty of time to talk. As he closed his eyes, he thought about what everyone’s reaction would be when he and Sasuke joined them later in the morning – his mother and father, Madara, Shisui, Naru-

Naruto!

Itachi’s eyes flew open, and he turned his head to look at Sasuke, curled up on his side facing Itachi, the fingers of his right hand wrapped around his left arm.

Tomorrow, they could very well find out if Madara’s theory was true and if Sasuke was Naruto’s soulmate.

Itachi’s heart began to race. Maybe the gods really were smiling on them. It certainly felt like it in that moment.

~*~

Something was tugging him from sleep. Something annoying, incessant, and tinny, like bells or chimes or… ringtone!

Naruto lifted his hand to fumble at the nightstand, searching for his phone that finally stopped ringing, and he groaned. If that had been Tsunade, she was going to rip him a new one for not answering. Finally finding the device, Naruto squinted his eyes open and brought the screen close to his face, seeing the unfamiliar number across the screen.

He also took note of the time – a little before eight – and groaned. He’d only been asleep for like, five hours, and he’d been hoping to sleep through until like, noon. But now that he was awake, he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. Especially with the annoying tingle of his left arm – he must have slept on top of it or something.

Rolling over, he flexed his fingers, trying to get the pins-and-needles feeling to subside, when his phone chimed to let him know whoever had called had also left a message. Frowning, Naruto unlocked his phone and called his voicemail.

“Hi, Naruto. This is John Angler. I’m sorry for calling so early in the morning, but my mother has been hospitalized and… and it’s not looking good. She’d like to see you, if possible. We’d appreciate it if you’re able to come see her. This is my cell – you can give me a call back at this number. Thank you, goodbye.”

Naruto was out of bed and stumbling around to get dressed almost before the message was done playing. His heart was racing, and as he pulled on his jeans from yesterday, he felt a few tears slide down his cheeks. God, he couldn’t believe… Mrs. Angler!

He quickly pulled a clean T-shirt out of his bag and over his head, shoving all his things back into the bag and zipping it up. He shoved his phone in his back pocket and left the room, quickly striding down the hall to Sakura’s room and quietly but urgently knocking until he heard her muttered curses and footsteps coming closer to the door.

The door swung open, and Sakura had a slightly disgruntled look on her face (it probably would have been a full-blown glare if Sakura could have been sure it wasn’t someone of the hosting family knocking on the door, Naruto thought), but it disappeared as soon as she laid eyes on Naruto.

“Naruto? What’s wrong?”

“Sakura, it’s Mrs. Angler. Her son just called me to say she’s in the hospital. He said… it doesn’t look good, and she’s asking for me.”

“Oh, my God, Naruto, I’m so sorry.” She turned her head back toward the bed, probably trying to catch sight of the time. Then she nodded to herself and said, “Okay. I’ll get dressed and meet you downstairs. Call a car. We’ll go back.”

Naruto was stunned for a moment; he’d only meant to tell her he was leaving and apologize, not force her to leave, too. He opened his mouth to protest, but she placed an arm around his neck and pulled him into a hug.

“Hey, don’t think I’m going to let you be alone in a trying time like this. If the worst should happen, I’m going to be there for you.”

Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing her tightly as he pressed his nose into her hair. Roses – she always smelled of roses, and it was so comforting. She was the absolute best, and he was so lucky to have met her.

“Okay, let me get dressed. Go, uh, apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha for our abrupt departure, and Itachi.”

Naruto nodded and let her go and then returned to his room quickly to pick up his bag, briefly frowning as he realized his arm was still tingling. Maybe he’d have Sakura look at it on the way to the hospital. Shoving that aside in his mind, he quietly went downstairs and tried to remember how to get to the kitchen. He was sure, though, if he roamed around long enough, the butler would find him.

Luckily, the smell of breakfast led him to his destination, and he walked in hesitantly, taking in the room’s occupants. Mikoto, Rin, and Izumi were moving about the kitchen and preparing breakfast, and Fugaku sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee and reading the paper. He looked up as Naruto entered, glancing at him over the rim of his glasses before he sat his paper down.

“You look like you’re going somewhere, son,” Fugaku said, at which the ladies turned from their tasks and wished Naruto a good morning. Mikoto wiped her hands on a towel and walked over to him.

“Naruto? Are you leaving?”

Naruto nodded nervously. “Uh, yes. I, uh, got a call this morning that a friend is in the hospital, and I need to leave. Sakura is coming with me. We’re sorry we have to leave so soon, but we want to thank you for your hospitality.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that!” Mikoto said, placing her hand on his shoulder briefly and squeezing. “Of course, you should go be with your friend. Fugaku,” Mikoto turned to her husband. “Have the driver called.” Fugaku grunted as he stood from the table and left the kitchen.

“Oh, no, Mikoto!” Naruto said, raising his hand up in a halting motion. “We can just call a cab or something.”

“Nonsense,” she said, turning back to him. “After the help you gave my son, it’s the least we can do for you.”

Naruto blushed, remembering at some point last night how the tale of their meeting had been relayed to everyone. “Well, we, uh, we appreciate it, then.”

Mikoto smiled and patted him on the cheek before turning back to the counter, hurriedly putting together some fruits and muffins on a plate and wrapping it in saran wrap. Sakura showed up at his side, and when Mikoto turned around, she greeted Sakura and handed Naruto the plate. “I won’t have you two skipping breakfast.” Fugaku and the butler entered the kitchen, and while Fugaku returned to the table, the butler picked up his and Sakura’s bags and announced that the car was waiting out front.

Mikoto stepped forward and hugged them both. “I’m so glad you could come. Don’t be strangers!”

Naruto and Sakura murmured their goodbyes and turned to follow the butler, but then Sakura grabbed his arm and asked, “Oh, what about Itachi?”

“Master Itachi is still asleep. The master and mistress will let him know what happened,” the butler said as he opened the front door.

Naruto frowned – he was regretful that he was leaving without telling Itachi personally, but Itachi needed his sleep. He would just call Itachi later and apologize. With that decision made, he slid into the backseat of the sedan that was waiting for them, Sakura following just behind, and they were off as soon as the butler had closed the trunk.

“Am I taking you to your house?” the driver asked from the front.

“Please take us to the general hospital on Main,” Sakura said, and the driver nodded his head.

“Are you sure, Sakura? I can just walk to the hospital from the apartment.”

“And I can walk to the apartment from the hospital,” she said, smiling as she set her hand on his leg briefly. “Don’t worry about me.”

Naruto returned her smile and then fished his phone from his back pocket. He unlocked the screen and redialed Mr. Angler’s number. The phone rang a few times before it picked up.

“Hi, Mr. Angler, it’s Naruto. Sorry I missed your call earlier.”

“That’s all right, Naruto. It’s rather early – I’m sure you were asleep.”

“Hm. How’s Mrs. Angler?” he asked hesitantly.

Mr. Angler sighed. “She’s comfortable, but the doctor has asked us to be prepared.”

Naruto closed his eyes, covering them with his free hand. Mrs. Angler was the closest thing he’d had to a mother in so long – the thought of losing her was hard to take. He inhaled shakily and cleared his throat. “Okay. I’m on my way to the hospital now. I’m coming in from upstate, so I’ll be there in about an hour or so, if now’s a good time.”

“Oh, yes, please do come now. Thank you, Naruto. It means a lot to her. And us.”

“Of course,” he whispered, and then they said their goodbyes. He shoved his phone back into his pocket, and Sakura grabbed his hand. He squeezed it, staring at the contrast of her milky skin to his bronzed skin. “Sakura,” he said after a minute, “There’s not any evidence that losing a soulmate shortens your lifespan, is there?”

“Actually, that was a theory several decades ago, but it’s since been disproven. There’s no empirical evidence suggesting that soulmates don’t long outlive their deceased partners. In fact, it’s the opposite. But you know how the mind works, Naruto. The will to live is an important factor for everyone. Mrs. Angler’s very old. Now that her partner in life – soulmate or not – is gone, her will to live is being tested.”

He nodded and spent the rest of the ride in silence, thinking back on all the good times he spent in the Anglers’ home and how Mrs. Angler had always treated him like one of her own. The driver pulled up to the entrance of the hospital and got out to retrieve their bags as Naruto and Sakura climbed out of the backseat.

Naruto picked up his bag and headed into the hospital, leaving Sakura to give their thanks to the driver. He strode up to the reception desk and greeted the nurse on duty. “I’m here to see Elizabeth Angler.”

“One sec,” the nurse said as she typed on the computer. “She’s in room 307.”

Naruto thanked her and looked behind him to see Sakura coming through the entrance. She nodded at him and followed as he headed to the elevator, pressing the button for the third floor when he’d entered the car. It was a quick ride, and soon he was standing in front of her door and hesitating to go in.

“Hey,” Sakura said gently. “I’ll be right out here, okay?”

He nodded without looking at her, and after a deep breath, he knocked on the door and walked in. All the Angler children were in the room, and they all looked up at him when he got closer to Mrs. Angler’s bed.

“Well, angel!” Mrs. Angler said, a tired smile gracing her pale face. “Come to me.” She held out her hand, and Naruto was quick to step to her side and take her hand gently between his. She turned to her children. “Give us a moment.”

Her children – the three of them – murmured their acquiescence and moved to leave, each stopping to touch Naruto briefly on the back in greeting. But he only had eyes for Mrs. Angler as she smiled at her children before turning her attention to him.

“Well, don’t hover, angel. Grab a chair,” she said when they were alone, and Naruto chuckled as he complied.

He looked at her, at the lines and tubes trailing from her body to the machines around her, and he swallowed. “I just don’t know what to say.”

“You might start with ‘how d’ do,’ dearie.” She laughed at him when he could only stare, but then he was laughing, too.

“Well, uh, how d’ do?” he asked, the question more of ‘did I say that right?’ rather than ‘how do you do?’ – there were just some of those southern things they’d brought with them that he’d never quite caught on to, even after five years of living with the Anglers.

They laughed together for a moment, but as it leveled off, Naruto found himself falling back into sadness. Mrs. Angler grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Oh, don’t be sad, angel. It’s just my time, and I’ll be with John, watching over all our children together. You included.”

Naruto felt the tears coming and let them fall, but after a moment, he reached up with his free hand to wipe them off his cheeks.

“Oh!” Mrs. Angler exclaimed, and Naruto looked at her in alarm. “You have a ring, angel!” she said excitedly, dropping his right hand and reaching for his left. “You have a soulmate!”

Naruto blushed. “Yes, but… not exactly,” he said, bringing his right hand up to rub at the nape of his neck. She frowned at him, leaning back against her pillows, and he sighed before telling her everything that had happened with Itachi and going to his family’s home.

“Oh, my! I had no idea any of that could happen with soulmates!” She looked off to the side, contemplating something he couldn’t guess as she rubbed his hand softly. “You know, I’ve been thinking more and more about the day I met John since he’s passed,” she said eventually. “That moment – I’ve been thinking of everything that led to that moment. It’s just funny because… I had never bought a newspaper in my life before that day.”

Naruto cocked his head to the side, remembering her briefly telling him how they met. “What made you want to buy one that day?”

She smiled as she looked down at his left hand. “Well, it was really just an excuse to touch him, to catch his eyes. I was waiting at the bus stop, next to the newsstand, and I thought it would be a good idea to buy a copy of Better Homes and Gardens for the ride. I had tucked the issue under my arm and was perusing the latest Vogue, and I dropped it. I think my arm fell asleep or something – I remember it feeling odd. But I picked it up, and when I stood, my eyes fell on him as he walked up to the stand and reached for the last newspaper.

“Well, my heart began racing, and something inside me just said – touch him. I had a moment of panic, of resistance – why would I touch a complete stranger, I asked myself. But I knew, if I didn’t follow through, he’d be gone, and I’d never see him again. So, I reached out and just… grabbed the paper. And his hand. And it was like… magic!” Tears began to roll down her cheeks, and Naruto pulled away from her light grip to get her a tissue. She took it from him and dabbed at her eyes, letting out a light laugh. “And you know what? He told me later that he hadn’t even needed a newspaper that day. Something just told him he needed to be at the newsstand.”

She let her hands fall to her lap and smiled at him again. “I guess I’m just saying that Fate will drive you and your soulmate together. Just like it did with us. So, don’t despair.”

Unbidden, Naruto’s eyes began to tear up. Don’t despair, she said. Despair was certainly what he’d felt last night after Itachi had shared his story about Sasuke – because he had allowed the thought to manifest that perhaps Sasuke was his soulmate, and there was a chance that he’d never meet the man to find out.

But if what Mrs. Angler said was true – that Fate would bring them together – then all Naruto could do was wait and have faith that he’d be able to meet Sasuke, just once.

TBC

Chapter Text

Removing the clan from the old country has made us soft.

Sasuke’s eyes popped open, the fuzzy images of his dreams fading with the echo of the words that had whispered through his head. A brief wave a fear held him, stalled his breath, before he forced himself to inhale and exhale deeply, calming his heart.

He’d tried hard not to think of those words said to him so many years ago, but it must have been this place, the home of his parents, his grandparents, and their parents before them, that had brought them back. With a shaky sigh, Sasuke sat up and glanced around the room.

It hadn’t changed much from ten years ago, but he was sure Itachi didn’t live here anymore, the room kept pristine and unchanged. He glanced over at his brother, sleeping on his side and facing away from Sasuke. His eyes moved over to the cane that leaned against Itachi’s nightstand, then over to the wheelchair by the dresser. It seemed Itachi was in remission, and Sasuke was happy to know that, a small smile flitting over his lips.

But then it was gone. Seeing Itachi for the first time in so long… Sasuke had wanted to cry – did cry, if he was honest. But now that the moment had passed, he could only feel how much he didn’t want to be here, could only be reminded of how he’d vowed never to return to this house – because it wasn’t a home, not anymore – and yet… here he was, and he had a strange feeling deep inside telling him he shouldn’t leave, that he belonged here.

Maybe it was the desire for reconciliation. He had meant it to be ten years ago, when he’d finally returned, had wanted to make amends with his mother and apologize to his father and brother. But he’d been a fool to think it would be that easy, and he’d left – with cause – only able to let his family know he was all right every now and again, to keep them safe.

He was pulled from his thoughts as Itachi roused next to him, and he watched as his brother turned to his back and stretched before rubbing at his eyes. Then he had Itachi’s sharp gaze on him.

“You’re here.”

Sasuke lifted a brow. “Did you think it was a dream?”

Itachi hummed as he sat up. “No. I only wondered if you’d still be here when I woke up.”

Fair enough, he thought as he shrugged, as Sasuke knew he didn’t have the greatest track record of sticking around. He looked around Itachi at the clock on his nightstand – 10:47AM. Itachi also twisted around to look and then gave Sasuke a questioning look.

“So, how do you want to do this?”

Sasuke frowned, slightly confused, until he realized Itachi was intent on a family reunion. He shrugged. “I don’t really know. I don’t think I’d know what to say.”

Itachi nodded as he scooted back and leaned against the headboard. “I’m sure. Why don’t you run it by me first?”

Sasuke glared slightly, but it wasn’t exactly a horrible idea. He just really didn’t know where or how to begin.

“Let’s start with an easy question: how long have you been in the Army?”

Sasuke let out a long breath. “Eight years. I enlisted, on a six-year active duty, two-year IRR contract. I’ve just finished my final tour, and now I just need to do my reserve to finish out my contract.”

“Where all have you been?”

Sasuke hummed as he stretched out his back. “Iran, Germany, Japan – wherever they needed me.”

Itachi was quiet for a moment. “What made you join?” Sasuke turned around to peer at his brother. “I know you said that it helped… to keep you sober, but was that really the only motivation?”

Sasuke kept his gaze on his brother a moment longer before turning away. “I didn’t think there was anything else I could do. In my predicament, having the security of food, clothing, and shelter provided on a regular basis seemed like the best deal.”

“Would you care to elaborate on ‘predicament’?”

Sasuke glared down at the sheet and shrugged. “I don’t know – a homeless, middle-school drop out recovering from drug addiction? I wasn’t exactly qualified for a normal job or even higher education.”

He heard Itachi inhale sharply at his harsh words. “Sasuke – you didn’t have to leave. We would have helped you. You didn’t have to do anything alone.” He could hear the hurt and anguish in Itachi’s voice, but he had nothing to say. “Why did you leave?”

That was a question he wasn’t ready to answer – didn’t know if he’d ever be ready – and in order to avoid it, he threw the covers back and marched over to his duffle bag, searching through it for something presentable.

Itachi must have gotten the message since he changed the subject. “Do you want to shower?” He shook his head, but he did want to brush his teeth. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a blue sweater, setting them aside as he pulled out his small toiletry bag and dug around in it for his toothbrush.

“All right. I’m going to shower and change, and then we can let Mom and Dad know you’re home. We can do it in the front sitting room.”

Sasuke nodded, listening intently as Itachi got out of bed and walked into his adjoining bathroom. He let out a sigh and grabbed all his things before moving back to the bed. He pulled off his sweats and tee, quickly replacing them with his chosen outfit, before reaching for his phone. He unlocked the screen and saw it was still in airplane mode. He turned the setting off, and after a moment saw a message that had come through around two in the morning.

Did your plane land yet? Should I make up my extra bed?

There was no other message, so perhaps it had been determined that Sasuke had found other accommodations. He glanced around Itachi’s room again. They certainly weren’t any accommodations he would have chosen for himself before he’d returned to the country, but as soon as he’d stepped foot on solid land and completed his paperwork, this was just… where he’d been led. And maybe it really was time to come home.

But not forever. He’d need to get a job, and upstate wasn’t the best place for that. The city would offer the best opportunities and resources for him – as a veteran – so he’d return there after a while. Maybe sooner, depending on how this reunion went.

Thanks for the offer, he responded. I’m fine for now.

Itachi didn’t take too long, and when he came out to dress, Sasuke slipped into the bathroom to brush his teeth and brush his hair. When he stepped back out, Itachi was waiting for him in his wheelchair.

“Go wait in the front sitting room. I’ll bring Mom and Dad so we can do this in private. Whether you want to join the rest of the family for the celebration is up to you.”

Sasuke frowned as he nodded. Curious, he asked, “What did you tell the rest of the family about me?”

Itachi shrugged as he wheeled over to the door. “That you were out finding yourself. Like a hippie.” Itachi smirked at him over his shoulder as he pulled the door open.

Sasuke smiled wryly to himself as he followed behind Itachi. It wasn’t too far from the truth, all in all.

They diverged in the hallway, and while Itachi rolled deeper into the house, Sasuke headed back to the entrance and the front sitting room. He passed through the doorway and halted at the sight of all the pictures of him on the walls and surfaces of the room. It was the same as it had been ten years ago – Itachi had informed him that their mother had moved all the photos into this room so she wouldn’t have to see them all the time, but she could still see them when she wanted. It surprised him that his memory was still segregated from the rest of the house, but as he swallowed a sudden lump in his throat, he felt he probably deserved it.

He had no excuse for running away – only that children were sometimes too emotional and sometimes did stupid things. He knew that now.

He walked further into the room and around the sofa, stopping as he spotted the photo on the end table, the one they’d taken when he’d finally been able to return home when he was eighteen. He could still remember how he’d felt returning after all that time – a mixture of shame and relief and hope that he could put everything behind him. Only for that hope to be shattered.

They’re looking for you, bro! You gotta get the fuck out!

Shutting that memory down, Sasuke continued to look at the photos all over the room, observing as they began to thin at the age of eight and become nonexistent at the age of thirteen. Before too much longer, he heard footsteps coming down the hallway, his mother’s voice asking Itachi what was so important, and he turned to face the doorway.

His mother rounded the corner and stepped through the doorway, her long hair swirling around her hips as she looked behind her to say to Itachi, “I need to return to the kitchen in fifteen minutes. Will this take long, dear?” Then she faced forward again to navigate her way into the room, and he could tell the moment she noticed someone in the room and the moment she realized who he was.

She gasped, both of her hands coming up to cover her mouth, and Sasuke watched as she began to sob, tears pooling in her eyes and slipping down her cheeks. His father rushed up behind her, his hand coming up to curl around her waist before his eyes shifted to Sasuke. Again, he knew the moment recognition hit his father, the man stunned as his mother continued to cry.

Then she was flying around the sofa and pulling him into a tight embrace, repeating his name over and over into his sweater. Sasuke was frozen for a moment before hesitantly wrapping his arms around his mother, feeling her small body shake with her sobs. And maybe more surprising was when his father joined them and enveloped them both in his arms. He wasn’t shaking, Sasuke noted; his arms were strong and steady, throwing him back to his childhood, before Itachi’s illness, when Sasuke had his parents’ effusive love at his fingertips.

And he cried.

~*~

Itachi had to avert his eyes from the scene before him as tears started forming and falling from his eyes. It had been one thing to wake up this morning and find that Sasuke’s homecoming hadn’t been a dream, but to see this – his family whole again, after years of wishing – was almost too much to bear.

He heard footsteps coming down the hallway, so he quickly wiped at his eyes and wheeled himself backward to intercept whoever to keep them from interrupting. He turned his head down the hallway and saw Rin waving at him.

“Hey, Itachi. Have you seen Mikoto? The pastries are about ready to come out of the oven.”

“I’m sorry, Rin, but Mother is unexpectedly engaged. Do you think you and Izumi can handle the kitchen for a half hour or so?”

Rin looked to the doorway of the sitting room briefly before smiling and nodding, her face the picture of sympathy. “Of course, Itachi. Let her know we can handle everything.” Then she turned and walked back down the hall. Itachi raised a brow, sure Rin had jumped to the wrong conclusion but not really keen on correcting her.

He wheeled himself back into the room and this time rounded the sofa to join the family. His mom and dad had released Sasuke, and they sat on the sofa as his mother wiped her face free of tears. Itachi smiled softly as he watched Sasuke do the same, his cheeks slightly red as he did so.

Their mother laughed shortly, her hand coming up to run fingers through Sasuke’s hair. “My little boy.” Her thumb slipped down to run over the bags under his eyes. “I’m just… so glad you’re home.” She sniffled, pulling her hand back to unfold the tissue she’d obtained, bringing it up to dab at her nose. She looked back up at Sasuke and asked, “When did you get here?”

“Ah, about four this morning. My plane landed a little after one, and… I just… came home.”

Itachi raised a brow at that, since it sounded like it hadn’t entirely been Sasuke’s intention to do so. But the answer had his mother smiling so happily that he would save the interrogation for later, and she continued her questioning with, “So, what have you been up to?”

Of course, their mother wouldn’t outright demand to know where he’d been – probably scared that Sasuke would be driven away again.

Sasuke shrugged as he looked down at his lap. “I joined the Army. I just finished active duty, so I’ve been released back into civilian life while I finish up my contract.”

Itachi watched as both his parents’ eyes widened, which he understood. None of their family had served in the military since the early days of their clan, when they hadn’t enough money to avoid conscription.

“Oh,” their mother murmured, her brow furrowing a bit with worry. She grabbed Sasuke’s hand. “What… what did you do? Was it… was it dangerous?”

Sasuke shrugged again. “The level of danger depends on the deployment. But… I’m a linguist. They deployed me to Japan since I speak, read, and write the language. And in my downtime, I picked up German and Farsi, so I was sent other places. Japan and Germany weren’t dangerous, but,” he shrugged again, “Iran could be deemed dangerous, even if my job wasn’t.”

Itachi held back a scoff – Iran was only deemed dangerous? That was Sasuke trying to understate the danger, of course; though, based on how pale his mother’s face became, it hadn’t exactly worked.

“Well, good for you,” their father said, his hand coming up to pat Sasuke on the shoulder. “And it’s good to have you home, son.”

Sasuke gave him a tentative smile, and their mother lifted the hand she held and wrapped her other hand around it, too. “Yes, it’s so good, Sasuke. I almost can’t believe it.” Tears began to roll down her cheeks again. “The gods have smiled upon us this year.”

Itachi caught Sasuke’s eyes and smirked, laughing quietly when Sasuke turned his eyes away and blushed.

Sasuke cleared his throat. “Yes, I’m glad to be home.”

Their mother let out a small sob and pulled Sasuke into another tight hug. “Okaeri,” she whispered.

Itachi watched Sasuke swallow a couple of times before returning, “Tadaima, kaa-san.”

His father’s hand came up again to land on Sasuke’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze and staying there until his mother pushed away from Sasuke with a sniff.

“Well,” she said as she brought her tissue to her nose again, “I’m sure you’re hungry. Lunch won’t be for another hour or so, but there should be some imagawayaki just prepared. Come, come!”

She began to rise and pull Sasuke with her, but their father halted her with, “Dear, maybe Sasuke isn’t ready to see the whole family.”

She bit her lip as she smoothed her hand down Sasuke’s sleeve. “Of course. Sasuke, dear, what do you want to do?”

Sasuke was looking down at the floor. “I would like something to eat, Mother, but Dad’s right. I… I don’t think…”

She cut him off with a nod of her head. “Not a problem. I’ll bring you a tray. Where would you like to eat? Itachi’s room? The solarium?”

Sasuke looked up and smiled slightly. “I’d like to see the solarium again.”

Their mother nodded. “Of course. Ah, but,” and she wrung her fingers together. “It may be best if you at least greet Madara. With your grandparents gone, he is the head of the clan.” She looked over Sasuke’s shoulder at their father.

He nodded. “It would. Madara isn’t really strict on the customs, but it being New Year’s, we might as well. Sasuke, can you handle that?”

Itachi hid his smile at the tick in Sasuke’s brow.

“Of course, Father,” Sasuke said quietly.

“Great!” His mother clapped her hands together. “Itachi, take him to the library. Madara is there with his guests.”

“Of course, Mother,” he said, and he waited for the three of them to move from in front of the sofa before wheeling after them. As their parents went down the hallway that led to the inner house, Sasuke and Itachi headed for the stairs. Once at the base, Itachi carefully stood from his wheelchair and sat in the chair of the stairlift his parents had installed when Itachi had gone through his first bout with immobility.

He flipped the switch to start the lift, and Sasuke climbed the stairs slowly, keeping below Itachi until they reached the second-floor landing. He grabbed the cane that was always left there and stood, carefully walking along the corridor to the library.

“Are you sure you don’t mind greeting Uncle Madara?” Itachi asked as they walked.

“Hn,” Sasuke said as he shrugged, and Itachi smiled at hearing that non-committal sound for the first time in ten years. “Mother and Father will be disappointed if I back out.”

“True,” Itachi murmured. They came to the library door, and he knocked briefly before swinging the door open and walking in.

The library was four solid walls of books, from floor to ceiling. One was used to house the oldest of tomes from Japan that the clan brought over – brittle, leather-bound sheaves of silk parchment and original scrolls displayed in temperature-regulated glass cases. The other three held the more modern books from genres and subjects of all kinds.

Madara was currently scanning titles near the ceiling, balancing on the ladder as his fingers skimmed the book bindings. Kakashi and Jiraiya were huddled over a book laid out on the long table, the latter hastily taking notes as Kakashi muttered as he ran his finger over the lines of text. Hashirama sat in a plush wingback reading something he seemed to find amusing, if the smile was anything to go by.

They all looked up at the sound of the door opening – save Madara – and Itachi gave them a smile. “Good morning, all,” he greeted, feeling Sasuke come up behind him.

“Good morning, Itachi,” Kakashi said, standing up straight. Itachi saw the man’s eyes widen. “Oh.”

Itachi nodded and stepped further into the room. “Uncle Madara. Sasuke has come to greet you.”

Madara’s hand paused in its movement, and a few moments passed before he turned and looked down at Itachi and Sasuke behind him. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he murmured, though the sound traveled through the large room. He began to climb down the ladder, and when he reached the floor, he turned and walked toward them, straightening out his shirt.

Sasuke moved in front of Itachi and bowed. “Tadaima, Madara-ji-san.”

“Welcome home, Sasuke,” Madara said. “It’s been quite some time. How have you been?”

Sasuke straightened. “I’ve been fine, Uncle. I just returned state-side yesterday and arrived home this morning.”

Madara raised a brow. “And you’ve been overseas for ten years?” And Itachi knew Madara was subtly hinting at wanting to know where Sasuke had been this whole time.

“Mostly,” Sasuke answered, not content to answer Madara’s probe, apparently. Itachi turned his head down to hide his smirk.

Madara smirked himself, letting a huff of laughter out. “All right. Well, get on with you.” He shooed them away and returned to the ladder. But the other three occupants of the room popped up in his place.

“Introduce us, Itachi,” Hashirama said.

Itachi cleared his throat. “This is my younger brother, Sasuke. Sasuke, these men are Dr. Hashirama Senju, Dr. Kakashi Hatake, and… Jiraiya.” He turned to Sasuke. “Dr. Senju is a colleague of Uncle Madara’s.”

“Was,” was the growled reply from the ceiling, and Hashirama laughed loudly.

“Yes, well, we haven’t worked together in a very long time, true.” Hashirama held his hand out. “It’s nice to meet you, Sasuke.” Sasuke shook his hand, and then Kakashi held out his.

“It’s good to see you again, Sasuke. You’re looking… better.” Sasuke hesitantly shook Kakashi’s hand.

“What do you mean ‘better’?” Itachi asked as he looked at Sasuke. His brother’s lips were pressed together tightly, and his brows were furrowed.

“Nothing,” his brother forced out.

The sudden tension was cut when Jiraiya shoved Kakashi out of the way and grabbed Sasuke’s hand. “Would you like to be on the cover of my next book, bishounen-kun?”

Sasuke blinked before he and Itachi said, “No,” simultaneously. Kakashi sighed and pulled Jiraiya away as Hashirama laughed. Itachi turned to him and asked, “Dr. Senju, do you know where Naruto and Sakura are? I’d like to introduce them to Sasuke.”

Hashirama frowned. “Did Mikoto not tell you? Naruto had to leave earlier this morning, and Sakura went with him.”

Itachi could only stare for a moment, shocked at the turn in events. But then he sighed – perhaps it was for the best. Sasuke might not appreciate having a soulmate thrown at him after everything he’d already been through this morning.

“All right, thank you. Sasuke and I will leave you to your studies.” Itachi bid them goodbye, Sasuke quietly echoing the sentiments, and they left the library and walked back to the stairs.

This time, on the way down, Sasuke walked in front of him, and Itachi smirked as he realized it was Sasuke’s way of being able to break his fall should something go wrong. His brother was still a very sweet boy.

At the bottom of the stairs, Itachi returned to his wheelchair, and they made their way deeper into the house to the solarium. It was a giant room where three of the walls were floor to ceiling glass that looked out into the sprawling backyard, currently a pristine white except where the children had been out making snowmen and snow angels.

Their tray of fruit and sweet-bean pastries had already been delivered with a pot of tea, so Itachi and Sasuke made themselves comfortable at the table and filled their plates. After a few bites and sips of tea, Sasuke cleared his throat.

“How is your business going?” he asked.

Itachi nodded his head. “Extremely well, thank you for asking. Mother opened a new restaurant near my apartment and used my services – you should check it out.” Sasuke nodded and popped a few grapes in his mouth. “So, what are your plans now that you’ve returned home?”

Sasuke’s mouth twisted slightly. “I’ll stay here for a little while, I guess, but I need to go back to the city at some point and get a job.”

Itachi nodded. “Come stay with me,” he offered, and laughed at Sasuke’s look of surprise. “Finding real estate right now is hard. You need to acclimate back to civilian life. Let your big brother help ease your burden by offering a living space.”

Sasuke scoffed and bit into one of the pastries. With the food tucked into his cheek – adorable – he said, “Maybe.”

“My apartment has two floors. You would have the entire second floor to yourself.” Itachi paused before immediately deciding to start a gentle probe into the Sasuke he didn’t know – the adult Sasuke – and mostly for Naruto’s sake. “You know, to sleep, work, relax. Bring back a date.”

Sasuke scoffed again. “Like I’ll have time.”

“You will eventually, I’m sure,” he murmured. “Did you leave anyone behind in your platoon or at the base?”

And the new adult Sasuke surprised him by simply shaking his head and saying, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell might have been repealed by the time I enlisted, but it’s still not something you go around advertising.”

Itachi blinked, not expecting to receive the information he needed so easily. But it was a relief that at least, if Naruto were his soulmate, he wouldn’t reject him because he was a man.

“Well, I won’t judge you, Sasuke.”

“I know you won’t, Itachi.” Sasuke sipped at his tea and then cleared his throat again. “Who are Naruto and… Sakura?” he asked.

Itachi blinked down at his plate, not having expected Sasuke to be curious about it. He chewed thoughtfully, wondering how he should handle this. Swallowing, he replied, “Just some friends I invited.”

“Are you dating either of these friends?” Sasuke asked. Itachi raised a brow at him, and he rolled his eyes. “Please. I know about you and the gardener’s daughter. And her twin brother.” And he laughed as Itachi found himself blushing. He didn’t think anyone had been around for either of those instances.

Itachi cleared his throat. “Well, no. I’m not dating either of them. I met Naruto a few weeks ago. He helped me when my wheelchair was stuck. We’ve hung out a few times, and Sakura is his friend. He’s a nurse, and she’s a doctor. She also happens to be the daughter of the shipping magnate Haruno.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a picture they took last night, handing it over to Sasuke.

He watched closely as Sasuke stared at the photo, his fingers moving to the screen to enlarge it. In his mind, he saw Naruto staring at the picture of Sasuke and couldn’t help the slight hope that it meant something.

Eventually, Sasuke returned the phone and sat quietly for a moment before asking, “Do you want to date either of them?”

That was a very interesting question, and Itachi was curious what spurred it, but he had to play it cool if he wanted his answers. “Well, I’ve only just recently met Sakura. And Naruto… Well, he has already told me that he doesn’t feel any attraction for me.” Sasuke raised a brow, as if the thought were absurd. “Perhaps I can introduce you when you move to the city.”

Itachi watched Sasuke’s eyes dart to the phone, and he hid a smile behind his teacup. This might be easier than he thought it would be. Though, he still didn’t know how Sasuke felt about soulmates.

“Actually, Naruto is related to Dr. Senju,” he said impulsively. “I don’t know if you recall Uncle Madara’s field of study-”

“Soulmates,” Sasuke murmured, gaze firmly focused on the tea in his cup.

Itachi nodded. “Dr. Senju is a big name in the field of soulmates. His theories are revolutionary, as they claim there are both romantic and non-romantic soulmate pairs. I, myself, find it interesting. Have you heard about this?”

“The idea of soulmates doesn’t concern me,” Sasuke replied coldly.

Itachi frowned. “Why wouldn’t it concern you?”

Sasuke looked away, staring out into the backyard. Itachi was contemplating just changing the subject, when Sasuke quietly said, “Someone like me doesn’t deserve a soulmate.”

TBC

Chapter Text

Itachi sighed irritably, nearly growling, as he knocked on the library door and walked in. His and Sasuke’s conversation had been interrupted by the call to lunch, and Sasuke had quickly disappeared back to his room before Itachi could address the rather stupid declaration his foolish little brother had made.

All four men were still as they’d been before, though Madara was now sitting in another wingback by Hashirama. They all looked up as Itachi entered.

“Mother says lunch is ready.”

“Ah, I guess a break is in order,” Jiraiya said as he stretched and stood from his seat at the long table. Hashirama and Madara set their books aside and stood, too. Itachi moved aside to let the men pass, his eyes glued to Kakashi as the man continued to read a book that was decidedly not part of the Uchiha library.

After the last of the trio had passed through the door, Itachi smoothly closed the door behind them and locked it. Kakashi made no move to indicate he saw or cared that Itachi had locked them in the room together.

After a moment’s hesitation, Itachi walked over to the long table and sat in a chair across from Kakashi. “Are you not in the mood for lunch, Kakashi?”

“I thought I’d finish this chapter,” was his calm reply as he flipped to the next page.

Itachi watched as Kakashi’s eyes moved down the page, and when he turned another page, Itachi blurted out, “What did you mean that Sasuke looked better?”

“Hm? Oh. Well, he was certainly less black and blue than the last time I saw him. I thought it was a step up.” Kakashi continued to read, seemingly unaware of Itachi’s raised brow.

“Did you know where he was this whole time?” Itachi asked, an edge of anger in his voice.

“Nope.” After another moment, Kakashi sighed and put his book down. “Look, I don’t know much, okay? And I don’t think Sasuke would want me telling you what I do know.”

“Sasuke’s track record of making his own decisions is decidedly not in his favor,” Itachi said. “And I know how to keep things to myself. If any information you give me is relevant to right now, I know how to use it to get Sasuke to admit it to me himself.”

“Handy skill, that.” Kakashi looked at him, considering, and then nodded. “Like I said, I don’t know much. But about ten years ago, I happened to be with a cop buddy of mine when he got a call to go to the hospital. One of his criminal informants had been found severely injured and taken to the ER. Did you know all gunshot wounds are by law required to be reported to the police?” he asked offhandedly.

Itachi shook his head – he hadn’t known that. It made sense, though. Had Sasuke been shot? The thought made him tense, and he had an urge to go find his brother and demand answers. Instead he encouraged Kakashi to continue, a sense of dread coming over him as he thought he knew where this was going.

“Well, I won’t go into why I tagged along, but imagine my surprise when I found Sasuke lying in a hospital bed, beaten to within an inch of his life and shot at least once. So, when I saw him today, he looked quite better.” He shrugged, as if the information he’d just provided wasn’t upsetting.

Itachi waited for Kakashi to say more, but the man only looked at him, a faint smile on his face. “That’s it?” he asked.

Kakashi shrugged. “Well, I’m not a cop. I couldn’t exactly ask for information. And Sasuke certainly wasn’t forthcoming.”

Itachi opened his mouth to say something scathing about Kakashi’s useless tale, but Kakashi said first, “But I am great at taking shots in the dark, if you’ll pardon the pun.” He sat back and crossed his arms, leveling Itachi with a serious gaze. “I would hazard to guess that, shortly after returning from wherever he’d been, his past caught up with him. He was probably jumped by a gang and left for dead.”

“Why do you assume Sasuke’s past has anything to do with gangs?” Itachi asked with interest.

“Well, there were a few things I overheard, but I noticed the track marks, Itachi, as I’m sure you did. Drugs and gangs go together, you know.”

Itachi thought about that and couldn’t refute it. He also thought about how much such an explanation fit into the events that had happened. Sasuke had shown up out of the blue, and he’d left just as abruptly. If a gang had tracked him down, he would probably want to put as much distance between the gang and his family as possible. The picture was starting to become clear.

But then something Kakashi had said struck him, and he turned a sharp stare on Kakashi. “What did you mean by ‘criminal informant’?”

Kakashi nodded. “You clued into the same word I did. Yeah, so, my friend happened to let slip that Sasuke was a criminal informant, which are usually suspects that give up information in exchange for leniency. Which is why I believe Sasuke was involved with a gang.”

And unfortunately, to Itachi, with limited information, it all seemed to be a perfect explanation as to where Sasuke had been for five years after he ran away. But what happened between Kakashi seeing him in the hospital and Sasuke joining the army? Itachi felt it was all somehow connected.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Itachi asked after a moment.

“I couldn’t,” he said simply. At Itachi’s disbelieving stare, he sighed. “Look, Itachi – as far as I can tell, Sasuke never let the police know his real name. Do you think they would have allowed him to be a CI without his parents’ consent if they knew he had them? And the reason I didn’t tell them who he was… well, for the same reason Sasuke probably never let them know. To protect you and your parents. It’s the same reason I never told you that I saw Sasuke. If it was truly dangerous, the less you knew, the better.”

Itachi looked away, angry but unable to refute the somewhat sensible actions.

“Itachi,” Kakashi called his attention back to him. “I don’t think knowing anything that went on in Sasuke’s past is relevant to his present or his future. Yours, too, for that matter. If there are rifts to mend in your relationship, they won’t be mended by prying into things Sasuke doesn’t want to share. Just remember that.”

Itachi gave the man a hesitant nod, not thoroughly convinced that Sasuke’s past wasn’t relevant. But he did understand that pushing Sasuke too hard would be a bad idea and could lead to them losing him again.

“Well, we’d better go. I don’t want Mikoto blaming me for keeping everyone waiting.”

Itachi stood with Kakashi and, together, they made their way downstairs.

~*~

Naruto sighed as he exited Mrs. Angler’s room. Her children stood from the chairs in the hallway, and he smiled tiredly as they gathered around him.

“She’s sleeping.” He looked at the eldest son. “I’ll come visit often, if I may. And please call me if anything… happens.”

“Of course,” John said, holding his hand out. Naruto shook it. “Thank you for coming. I know your visit means a lot to her.”

“Well, she means a lot to me,” Naruto murmured. As he released John’s hand, he looked around them for Sakura.

“Oh, your friend went home. I think she sent you a message,” John said.

Naruto nodded. “Okay, thanks. I’ll head out for the evening. Have a good night.”

The three returned the sentiment, and he walked down the hall to the elevator. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, glancing at the time and noting he’d been sitting with Mrs. Angler for close to four hours before unlocking his phone to see the missed message from Sakura.

Went home to nap. Took your bag. Bring lunch.

Laughing slightly at her bossy-ness, Naruto stuffed his phone back into his pocket and pressed the call button for the elevator. When it came, the doors slid open to let a family with get-well balloons off on his floor, and once they’d passed, he slipped into the car and pressed the button for the lobby.

Naruto stepped off the elevator once the doors slid open, waving a greeting to everyone he knew as he exited the hospital. Pulling his coat a little tighter, Naruto made his way down to the sidewalk and made a left toward the apartment.

He didn’t think on anything too specific as he walked – maybe what he’d bring back home for lunch – when he came upon the bus stop where he’d met Itachi. A brief smile flitted over his lips before he remembered that he’d yet to call the man and apologize.

“Shit,” he muttered, reaching for his phone and quickly pulling up his contacts. He tapped on Itachi’s name and brought the phone to his ear.

“Good afternoon, Naruto,” Itachi said when the call connected.

“Hey, Itachi,” Naruto greeted as he grinned. “I just wanted to call and apologize for leaving so suddenly this morning.”

“Please don’t worry, Naruto. My mother explained that you have a friend in the hospital.”

Naruto let out a sigh. “Yeah. It’s the wife of my last patient. She’s like family to me, so I… I just had to get here as soon as possible.”

“I understand, Naruto.” Naruto opened his mouth to thank Itachi, but the man continued, “Naruto, there has been a development about which I’m hesitant to tell you but feel you should know.”

Naruto frowned as he came to a stop, moving to the side toward a building’s outer wall so as not to block the sidewalk. “What’s up, Itachi?”

There was a brief pause before Itachi said, “Sasuke came home last night.”

The words slammed into Naruto, causing his heart to race and his body to collapse against the wall behind him. His eyes stared sightlessly at the ground as he tried to calm himself. He heard Mrs. Angler’s words echoing in his mind: Fate will drive you and your soulmate together.

“Naruto?” Itachi’s voice held a note of concern.

“I’m… I’m here,” he murmured. He brought a hand up to rub at his forehead. He needed to get it together. This was a good thing for Itachi’s family; this wasn’t about Naruto. “That’s wonderful news, Itachi.” And a genuine smile pulled at his lips. “I’m sure you and your parents are beyond ecstatic.”

“I will admit it’s a little overwhelming. Mother has had to constantly wipe tears from her eyes all morning.”

“I’ll bet,” Naruto said as he laughed a little. He bit his lips as he tried to think of something to say that wasn’t completely none of his business, like where Sasuke had been all these years and, he was kind of ashamed to think, when he could meet him.

Itachi helped him out. “Sasuke isn’t very talkative yet. I think he’s still acclimating to being home. It’s only been a few hours, after all.” He heard Itachi sigh over the line. “But I wanted to warn you that he’s not currently… receptive of the idea of a soulmate.”

Naruto could practically feel his heart constrict at the statement. But he’d known this, right? He, more than most, knew that not all soulmates had a happily ever after.

“Please don’t worry about it, Naruto. Sasuke may have that thought now, but I know it stems from how he perceives himself through his past. He only needs time. And a guiding hand, perhaps.”

“Okay,” he said, but even he could hear the meek nature of the word.

“I’ll be having Sasuke move in with me as he’s searching for a job. I’ve already spoken about you and Sakura and mentioned that we might possibly get together. We can at least give you both an opportunity to… get to know each other first.”

The pressure in his chest eased somewhat with that information, though he couldn’t quite place the reason why. Maybe it was just the thought that he would at least get to set eyes on the man that he was quickly coming to be obsessed with.

“That… sounds good, Itachi.”

“I’m sorry that I delivered this news in such a way, Naruto, and sorrier for the tidings themselves.”

Naruto couldn’t help but laugh. There was that strange way of talking again. “No, don’t be sorry. This is fine. Gives me time to prepare myself or whatever.”

Itachi chuckled slightly. “We’ll be up here for a few more days, and then I’ll need to return to the office. I don’t know when Sasuke will move in, but after he’s had a chance to settle, I’ll set up something for all of us.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Itachi.”

“Of course. Goodbye, Naruto.”

“Bye.” Naruto brought his phone down and exhaled for a long moment as he stared at the black screen. Then he inhaled and exhaled again. That was a lot of news to take in for one day – first Mrs. Angler, then Sasuke. But as he replayed the conversation with Itachi over again, something fluttered in his stomach, like butterflies.

Because it certainly sounded like Fate was driving them together.

~*~

“It is quite a shame Naruto had to leave before he could meet Sasuke,” Madara said as he filled his cup with tea.

“I must admit, Madara, I am, too. To think we are but one simple touch away from confirming your theory.” Hashirama sighed as he stared into his own cup.

Madara looked up with a slight glare. “It’s also a shame that it’s taken decades for you to admit that I was right.”

Hashirama pouted. “I never said you were wrong.”

“You never said I was right, either.”

Hashirama turned his attention away from Madara and to Itachi. “And you say that Sasuke doesn’t want a soulmate.”

Itachi frowned. “No, not quite. He says he doesn’t deserve one.” Hashirama didn’t miss the quick look between Itachi and Kakashi before the younger man continued, “I’ve offered to have him live with me in the city while he gets everything together, so I’m going to gently try to change the direction of his thinking.”

Hashirama hummed as he sipped at his tea. Then he placed the cup on the nearby table and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs and settling his hands in his lap. “You know, one of my interviewees had a similar outlook on soulmates. He said it was just as well that he didn’t know who it was and that it wasn’t a strong bond because he didn’t deserve a soulmate. But I didn’t think he understood what having a soulmate truly meant, and I tried to explain as best I could. I’m not sure if it got through, though.”

“Well, I don’t think explaining anything to Sasuke would work anyway,” Itachi said. “He’s always been the type that had to realize things on his own.”

Hashirama thought about that. Sasuke would probably never realize anything if he didn’t come into some sort of contact with other views on the topic, in his opinion. And the best way for that to happen…

“Itachi, where could I find Sasuke?” Hashirama asked.

Itachi raised a brow in question, but he answered, “I would guess in my room. It was where he was heading just before lunch.” Hashirama frowned, not wanting to intrude on Itachi’s private space, but Itachi nodded his head. “Go ahead, if you think it will help. Take a right at the bottom of the stairs, and my door is the first on the right.”

Hashirama nodded his thanks and stood, making his way quickly to the library door and out into the hallway. He descended the stairs quickly, following Itachi’s directions, and knocked lightly on the door. He heard footsteps shift across the floor, and then the door opened to reveal Sasuke’s surprised face.

“Dr. Senju?”

“Hello, Sasuke. May I speak with you for a moment?”

Sasuke blinked at him before nodding, opening the door wider to let him in. Hashirama thanked him and stepped inside the room, quickly taking in the dark wood furniture and king-sized bed with a blue comforter. He spotted a free chair in the corner and moved to take it. He looked up and watched as Sasuke sat at the foot of the bed.

“So, this may seem out of the blue, but I would like to offer you a job,” he said with a wide smile.

Sasuke jumped slightly in shock. “What?”

“Yes, I could use someone with your linguistic skills right now.”

Sasuke’s face smoothed out from confused to slightly interested. “You need a linguist?”

Hashirama nodded. “You see, I’m currently researching some texts from other countries, and my research fellows have recently graduated. I’m in need of a German translator right now, and Itachi tells me you are fluent.”

Sasuke lowered his head, and Hashirama frowned slightly, wondering if he’d said something wrong. “There’s no need to answer me right now, Sasuke. And there’s no pressure. I’ll leave my contact information if you have questions or would like the job.”

He stood, and Sasuke did, too. “Thank you for the offer, Dr. Senju. I’ll… think it over.”

“All right, Sasuke. Thank you for your time.” He made his way to the door and let himself out. He hoped Sasuke would be interested in the job. It really would help him since he really did need a translator, but he primarily hoped reading more information about the soulmate bond would lead Sasuke to a revelation that a true soulmate wasn’t just something he deserved, but a rare gift that should be treasured.

He’d leave his card and hope Sasuke took him up on his offer. But even if he didn’t, he was sure meeting Naruto would be beneficial to the young man, as Naruto, much like the sun, had an undeniable gravitational pull that hooked a person sooner or later.

Hashirama smiled as he climbed the stairs to rejoin the impromptu tea party.

TBC

Chapter Text

He silently steps down the stairs, stopping every few steps to make sure no one is around. It’s harder now than before, since they’d moved Itachi’s room downstairs after he came home from the hospital. Not that he’d often snuck into Itachi’s room, hadn’t really since, well, since his conversation with Grandma.

The thought brings Grandma’s words from all those years ago to mind, and he shakes his head and places his hands over his ears, crouching down into a small ball on the stairs. He doesn’t want to think about what she’d said, and eventually it fades.

Carefully, he stands back up and finishes going down the stairs. He pushes up against the post of the banister at the bottom, peering into the darkened hallway and trying to regain his courage. He hadn’t really been able to talk to Itachi in so long, and he wants to make sure he does before tomorrow.

A light comes on, and he looks back up the stairs in shock, finding his mother there, a frown marring her face. She descends the stairs, her robe and nightgown flaring around her feet as she rushes down.

“Sasuke, what are you doing out of bed?” She reaches the bottom of the stairs and looks down the hallway that he faces. “Were you thinking of bothering Itachi? You should know better, Sasuke! He needs rest, not be bothered. Come, get back to bed.”

She takes his hand and pulls him back upstairs, escorting him to his room. She tucks him in after he climbs back into bed and leaves his room, the door clicking loud in the otherwise silent room. He stares at the door for several minutes, contemplating trying to sneak down again. But the hallway lights are still on, the light creeping in through the cracks of the doorframe, and he wonders if his mother went back down to check on Itachi. He frowns, wondering why it’s not ‘bothering Itachi’ when his mother visits him in the middle of the night.

I can’t be bothered with you, Sasuke!

He doesn’t want to think about that conversation either, as fresh as it is and as hurtful as it was. His eyes slide away from the door and fall on where he knows his backpack is sitting on the floor. Then he closes his eyes and tries to go to sleep. Maybe he’ll see Itachi briefly in the morning.

And he does, but Itachi’s not alone. He’d gotten up and ready for school, slipped into the kitchen for a quick and lonely breakfast (he honestly doesn’t remember the last time his parents had breakfast with him), and gone back upstairs for his bag – and now, as he’s descending the stairs, he hears Itachi’s door open.

He runs down the last few steps, stopping at the bottom to watch Itachi come into the hallway. But his wheelchair is being pushed by a hired nurse, and he’s not sure he should talk to Itachi with someone else nearby. And then Itachi smiles at him, and he smiles back, and he wants to tell him.

So, as Itachi gets closer, he opens his mouth to say, ‘Good morning,’ and hopefully slip seamlessly into the thing he wants to say to his older brother, but his mother is suddenly behind him and good naturedly chastising Itachi for delaying his breakfast more than he already has. She waves the nurse away and steps behind the wheelchair, pushing it down the hallway toward the kitchen.

He’s left alone in the hallway, his grip loose on his backpack straps, and he bites his lip to stop it from trembling. He’d only wanted to tell Itachi that he loves him and hopes he gets better and that he’s sorry he isn’t a good little brother.

All he wants is to say goodbye, but the old jiji is pushing him gently to the door to get in the car to go to school. And the drive to school is the same as always, and the building looms closer, small children milling about and wandering inside. The car stops, and the driver opens his door and lets him out, wishing him a good day before driving away.

He watches until he can’t see the car anymore and adjusts the straps on his shoulders. And instead of turning to walk into the school building, he turns and walks several blocks to the city bus stop. He pulls his backpack off and reaches inside, pulling out a ten from the wad of bills he’d stashed in there from his piggy bank. His homework is stuffed somewhere in the bottom, underneath clothes and another pair of shoes.

When the bus shows up, he gets on and doesn’t look back.

…

Sasuke stepped down from the bus, shaking off his thoughts from the past, and waited for it to pull away from the stop before looking both ways and crossing the street over to the farmer’s market. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he looked over the crowd of people for a specific person. He was surprised at the amount of people, really, since it was still winter, but apparently the market held other draws than fresh fruits, vegetables, and other edible commodities.

As he stood there, his eyes scanning each tall person that passed, he felt someone come up behind him, a sense he’d honed long before he’d left for the army, unfortunately. But he was also a pro at not seeming like he knew someone was there, at not reacting, remaining calm, for which he was grateful when he casually turned and took in the tall redhead behind him.

“Juugo,” he murmured with a small smile, and his friend returned it while leaning over to give him a quick but tight hug.

“Sasuke, you look really good,” Juugo said as he motioned Sasuke forward into the market. “I’m really glad to see you again.”

Sasuke didn’t respond, but he kept the small smile on his lips. Juugo led them deep into the market to a seafood stall specializing in Southern cuisine where they both ordered a lunch platter and then moved to a nearby table to eat. Sasuke’s mouth salivated at the scent of fried fish – a southern fish fry was not exactly something he’d get from his mom, and while her cooking was delicious, sometimes a man wanted something fatty and fried.

As the desperate edge of hunger faded, Sasuke was able to give some of his attention to Juugo. He hadn’t seen the man in ten years, but nothing seemed to have changed. He was still tall, still a redhead, and still had that gentleness and calmness that one could read in the lines of his face and how he held himself.

“You haven’t changed much, Sasuke,” Juugo said, laughing when Sasuke blinked at him. “I take it you disagree?”

“Oh, no, sorry. I was just caught off guard because I was literally just thinking the same about you.” Sasuke chuckled a little. “It’s really great to see you, Juugo. How have you been?”

Juugo shrugged. “I can’t complain. My life is fairly simple now. I work, volunteer at the animal shelter, and hang out with Suigetsu and Karin. Some might call it boring, but when I compare it to what it was before…” He shrugged again. “I much prefer it.”

Sasuke nodded in understanding. The Army was hard and demanding, and there were days he regretted ever joining, but then he would remind himself what his life used to be and would put more work into his training and his missions and duties. Because, yes, it was much preferable.

“So, you’ve moved in with your brother?” Juugo asked as he picked up a fry.

“Yes, a few days ago. He has a whole second floor that he doesn’t use, so it’s… convenient. I can work on finding a job for a while instead of worrying about not having a place to stay.”

“You know you’ll always have a place to stay with me,” Juugo said, and Sasuke smiled.

“I do know that, Juugo, thank you. But I wouldn’t want to take up any space or intrude upon you.” He was quiet for a moment, moving his fork back and forth over his plate before he continued, “Juugo, I wanted to thank you for everything you did for me while I was gone. You know, making sure my letters got to my family.”

Juugo shook his head. “You don’t have to thank me for that, Sasuke. Not after everything you did for all of us.” Juugo didn’t expand on what he meant, for which Sasuke was grateful. He knew exactly what Juugo was trying to say, and he would rather it not be spoken of out loud or ever, really.

“So, what kind of job are you wanting?” Juugo eventually continued, leaving the past behind.

Sasuke shrugged. “Well, I don’t really have any skills except what I learned in the Army. I mean, I did get my GED, but what’s that worth in a world where specialties are the new norm?”

“Didn’t you say you were Special Forces? Was that combat-related?”

Sasuke shook his head. “No, I was a linguist. I translated.”

“Well, I’m sure you could find a job somewhere in that line if you are so inclined.”

Sasuke frowned. “Well, I did receive an offer from my uncle’s acquaintance.”

Juugo smiled as he set his drink down. “That’s great. What kind of job?”

“He’s a professor over at the university. He says he needs a German translator for his research. I’ve… asked him for more specifics, and it seems like an easy gig. I’d also get the opportunity to take some college classes.”

“You don’t seem all that excited about it though,” Juugo said, his brow lifted in question.

Sasuke sighed. “Yeah, well, it’s just… his focus lies in soulmate bond theories.”

“And the problem with that is…?”

Sasuke scowled slightly and looked away. He knew exactly why he was hesitating, even when it was an easy, paying job. It was just… the topic of soulmates made him uneasy. He clenched his left hand, and when he realized it, he purposefully released the fist, calmly resting his hand on the table.

“Do you still think you don’t deserve a soulmate?” Sasuke whipped his head around to stare wide-eyed at Juugo. “I remember, Sasuke. Do you still think that?” Sasuke remained silent, but it must have been answer enough because Juugo sighed. “I guess you’re free to think what you like, but I will spend however long I need to convince you that you’re wrong.”

“That has nothing to do with it,” Sasuke said harshly.

“Okay. Then take the job.” Juugo stared at him calmly. “If your attitude about soulmates isn’t what’s keeping you from taking the job, then I don’t think you have a legitimate reason for not accepting. So, accept it.”

Sasuke was a grown man, a soldier, and he wouldn’t be pushed into doing anything he didn’t want to do. That being said, he didn’t like backing down from a challenge, which was what Juugo was handing him. And his friend was right. There was absolutely no reason that he shouldn’t take this great job opportunity that landed in his lap so soon after leaving active duty.

He glared at Juugo. “You annoy me.”

“I know,” was Juugo’s simple answer, and they finished their lunch talking about other things, like what Suigetsu and Karin were doing these days and when they would all get together.

They parted shortly after, as Juugo had other errands to run, and Sasuke returned to the bus stop and hopped on the next one going back toward Itachi’s place. As he watched the scenery pass, he thought about all the things he needed now that he was basically a civilian again. He’d need a laptop, maybe an upgrade on his cellphone, and maybe his own means of transportation. He had ten years of savings from his Army earnings and would soon be earning money again. And if necessary, he did have an old bank account his parents had started for him that legally became his when he’d turned eighteen, though he hadn’t really had the chance to claim that money. Not that he would, but it was still nice to know there was something in case of an emergency.

The bus pulled into a stop and let a few people off. Sasuke watched them go their separate directions, and the bus pulled away from the stop. A few blocks later, Sasuke’s eye was caught by the large campus of the hospital, and he frowned as he felt a weird tugging in his chest. It was the same feeling he’d had when he’d landed state-side, a feeling that had pulled him home when he thought he’d never return. But whereas he couldn’t ignore the call of home any longer, this time he turned his eyes from the hospital and to the bus route map, calculating how much longer until he reached his destination.

About thirty minutes later, his stop came up, and he exited the bus, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. Itachi’s apartment – his, now, he guessed – was just a few blocks up from the stop, and as he walked, his eyes landed on the Japanese restaurant he’d passed earlier – Ume. He assumed it was his mother’s new restaurant that Itachi had mentioned the other day, and he paused momentarily to take in the façade – a sleek black and white color scheme and a small ume blossom next to the restaurant’s name. It called to mind the ukiyo-e painting his mother owned of a blossoming ume tree in the snow, and he was sure it was a reference to that as much as the fruit it produced.

Fleetingly, he thought maybe his mother had been thinking of him when she named the place – the umeboshi of the onigiri she used to make him flashed through his mind. But he dismissed the thought, perhaps a strange childish wish that he held deep inside, and continued down the street.

He quickly made his way up to the apartment, slipping inside quietly so as not to bother Itachi, but his brother was already in the kitchen getting together a small snack. Sasuke slipped off his shoes and hung up his jacket before slowly entering the kitchen. It was going to take some time to be at ease around his family again, he guessed.

“Did you have a good outing, Sasuke?” Itachi asked as he put some items back in the refrigerator.

“Yes, I did,” he answered as he leaned back against a counter. “And while I was out, I thought about some of the things I need to get now that I’m back.” He paused, shifting nervously, and then continued, “Would you mind going with me to look at phones and laptops? When you’re free, of course.”

Itachi looked up at him in surprise. “I’d be glad to accompany you, Sasuke. When did you have in mind?”

Sasuke looked at the clock, noting it was moving into late afternoon. He shrugged. “Maybe tomorrow?”

Itachi’s eyes became unfocused, perhaps mentally recalling his calendar, and then he nodded. “Yes, tomorrow will be fine. Just let me know what time you want to go, and I’ll be ready.”

Sasuke nodded. “Thanks. I won’t keep you from your work,” he said and left the kitchen. He ascended the stairs to his floor and walked over to his desk, grabbing Dr. Senju’s card and pulling his phone from his back pocket. He swiftly dialed before he could second guess the decision and brought the phone to his ear.

“This is Hashirama Senju,” came the jovial voice over the line.

“Hello, Dr. Senju. This is Sasuke Uchiha.”

“Oh, Sasuke! What a surprise. How are you?”

“I’m fine, Dr. Senju. Thank you for asking. I was calling to ask if your job offer was still available?”

“Of course! This is excellent news, Sasuke. I’m grateful for your assistance.”

Sasuke could hear how sincerely happy the man was in his voice, and he relaxed the tension in his shoulders. Whatever misgivings he may have, he could at least be proud that he was truly helping someone in need.

“Why don’t you come down to the university on Monday around eleven? I’ll send you the office number and a link to the campus map. We’ll get the paperwork out of the way and talk a little more about expectations and timelines.”

“Sure, thank you. And thank you for the opportunity, Dr. Senju. I hope I can be of assistance.”

“No thanks necessary, Sasuke! You’re doing me a bigger favor than I am you. Well, this is certainly a great surprise. I’ll see you on Monday, Sasuke!”

“Yes, see you on Monday, Dr. Senju.”

He disconnected the call and let out a long breath. Everything seemed to be falling into place, much easier than he ever thought possible. The troubles of his past had been resolved, as far as could tell (though access to a computer with an encrypted network would help him confirm the information he’d been given discreetly); the active duty portion of his contract was done, and he only had two years of monthly training left; he had reunited with his family, something he hadn’t really thought he’d ever do after everything he’d put them through; he had a place to stay, however temporary it was; and now he had a job.

If he had to describe the state of his life at the moment, he would hesitantly call it promising.

He walked down the hall to the bathroom, intent on washing the grease from the fish fry from his face and hands. The vanity counter was covered with his hair gels and sprays, his facial creams and cleansers, and his small collection of make-up and accessories – mostly concealers – and he reached for a deep pore cleanser as he turned the water on to warm up.

He made quick work of wetting his face and scrubbing it until he felt the cold tingle of the cleanser working, and then he rinsed it off. He brought a towel to his face and wiped at the excess water before tossing it aside.

He glanced at his left hand and saw a small speck of light red. After a moment’s hesitation and with a deep sigh, Sasuke turned the water back on and washed the concealer from his finger, frowning at the thin, pale ring that was revealed.

He’d tried so hard to forget about it, ever since it had formed fifteen years ago – concealed it to avoid even thinking about it as much as to avoid people asking questions. But with this new job, it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to hide from it anymore.

~*~

Sakura thanked the delivery man as she took the pizzas from him and closed the door before heading back upstairs. She looked worriedly down the hall as she sat the food on the dining table, frowning as she headed into the kitchen to grab plates, napkins, and the hot sauce. She set those down on the table next to the pizzas and then walked down the hallway to Naruto’s room.

“Naruto?” she asked as she knocked on the door. She didn’t receive an answer, but that didn’t deter her from opening the door and slipping inside. Naruto was facedown on the bed, his hands underneath the pillow supporting his head. She sat down next to him and ran a comforting hand up and down his back. “Hey, Naruto. Dinner’s here. I’m not going to ask you to cheer up or tell you it’s going to be okay, but you will eat, do you hear me?”

Naruto didn’t move for a moment, but then he rolled over on his side and stared at her with his red-rimmed eyes. “I’m not hungry, Sakura.”

She shook her head. “Do I have to lecture you on adaptive thermogenesis?”

Naruto let out a short laugh. “No, doctor, please don’t.” He sat up after a moment, falling forward to rest his head on her shoulder. She brought her hand up to run through his unruly blond hair. “It hurts, Sakura. I miss her.”

Sakura moved to wrap him in her arms. “I know, honey.”

“My life is such a mess right now,” he whined, returning her embrace.

“Oh, of course, it’s not.”

“Yes, it is! Mr. and Mrs. Angler are both gone now, Tsunade hasn’t been able to find me a new patient yet, and Sasuke’s come back!”

Sakura stilled and pulled back from Naruto. “Who’s what now?” Naruto stared at her in shock for a moment before averting his eyes. “Naruto,” she said sternly. “Did you just say Sasuke came back? As in Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi’s brother?”

“Yes,” he said quietly.

“And why is that relevant?”

Naruto bit his bottom lip before finally looking at her again. “Because I think he might be my soulmate,” he whispered.

Sakura blinked. “You think he might be your soulmate? And he came back after all these years?” Naruto nodded. “When did you find this out?”

“Uh, New Year’s Day? Itachi told me when I called him.”

Sakura breathed through her nose before reaching for Naruto’s pillow and proceeding to beat the shit out of him with it. “Why – am – I – just – finding – out – about – this – now?” she asked, each word punctuated with a whap of the pillow.

“Sakura!” Naruto cried out, and he eventually wrenched the pillow from her grip.

She sighed. “All right, now’s not a good time to be mad about it. I get that. But we will talk about this. And why you suddenly think Sasuke’s your soulmate. Dinner first, though.”

Naruto also sighed. “Fine. What did you get?” he asked as he stood and followed her from the room.

“Pizza.”

Naruto seemed to perk up slightly. “With breadsticks?”

Sakura rolled her eyes as they sat at the table. “You don’t need that many carbs.” She smiled at Naruto’s pout, hoping he could keep from falling back into the sadness of losing Mrs. Angler. They lapsed into silence as they ate, but after a few slices, Sakura couldn’t keep from asking, “So, what’s all this about Sasuke?”

Naruto sat back in his chair and wiped at his face with a napkin. “Well, you know when Itachi told me about his uncle’s theory that someone related to him was my soulmate?” Sakura rolled her eyes again – like that wasn’t the whole reason they went to that unreal mansion estate for New Year’s. “Well, I… I saw that picture of Sasuke and… I just felt something. Itachi had only vaguely mentioned his younger brother, but when I saw that picture, I just had to know more. I wanted to know everything about him, and I wanted to meet him. And then, when Itachi told me about him, I just, God, Sakura, I just hurt. It was like I needed him there.”

Sakura could only stare wordlessly at Naruto. That… sounded super serious to her, like what someone would say when longing for a soulmate.

“Oh, my God, Naruto,” she finally said. “What are you going to do?”

He shrugged. “Itachi said he’d plan like a casual meeting or something.”

“You don’t sound very excited,” Sakura observed.

Naruto sighed as he fiddled with his napkin. “I’m just… concerned, I guess. Like, not so much about being Sasuke’s soulmate or he mine, but like, does he even want one? I mean, I didn’t really want one before I got my ring.”

“But you want one now. And you want it to be Sasuke.” Naruto didn’t confirm or deny the statement, but he didn’t need to for Sakura to know the answer. “Do you think it’s the bond? Like, you didn’t want one, but now there’s a bond, and the bond has changed your outlook and now you want one. If that’s the case, don’t you think it would be the same for Sasuke?”

Naruto groaned. “But that just makes it seem like we have no choice in the matter. I guess what I’m stuck on is that, by touching him and confirming the thought that we’re soulmates, am I taking away his free will?”

Sakura shook her head. “I can’t answer that.”

“And I can’t either. I mean, I really, really want to meet him. But I don’t want obligation as part of any relationship we may or may not have.”

“I get that,” she murmured and went back to her slightly cold pizza. After a few bites, she reached out for Naruto’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m here for you, whatever happens.”

Naruto smiled at her, and it was soft and genuine – her favorite on him. “Thanks, Sakura. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I don’t know what you’d do either,” she said, and they laughed together as they continued with their dinner.

TBC

Chapter Text

Sasuke slowly walked down the hallway, his shoes squeaking wetly against the floor as he carefully read the nameplates on the doors until he saw Dr. Hashirama Senju. He could see from the outside that it was a small office, could probably only hold the man and maybe two students. The wall with the door was glass, and the shades were drawn, cutting off the inside from the traffic in the hall. With a small exhale, Sasuke lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

“Come in!” carried jovially through the door, and Sasuke pushed down on the handle and entered the office.

He was right – it was a rather small office with an L-shaped desk with just enough room on the side to let someone get behind the desk and just enough room in front of it to fit two chairs. Hashirama was staring at his computer screen, his long hair up in a ponytail and glasses perched upon his nose. As Sasuke closed the door behind him, Hashirama looked over and smiled.

“Good day, Sasuke. Thanks again for accepting the job. I mean, I have other things I can work on until I found someone, but I’m going to need these things translated sooner rather than later, so you’re really doing me a great favor.” He looked out of his window that had a view of a walled-off courtyard obscured by a frigid rain. “And in this weather, too.”

Sasuke frowned at the rain – it had been raining as he’d driven over and walked in, but certainly not that hard. He hoped it slacked up before he had to go back out in it.

He sat in one of the chairs, setting his bag and wet umbrella on the floor and shrugging off his jacket. “I should be thanking you for the job, sir. I would think that the university would want you to use a student.”

Hashirama waved his hand in the air as he spun his chair to face Sasuke. “I actually have a sizeable grant that I haven’t really used because I had grad students doing the work. Their work was paid for by the university. You, however, will be a contractor that I pay with the grant. So, don’t worry about it.” He smiled as he slid some papers over toward Sasuke. “These are the employment forms I need you to review and fill out. Then I’ll send them over to HR, and we’ll be set.”

Sasuke nodded as he pulled the papers closer and looked them over. They were the standard application and legal documents, and he picked up a pen and began to fill them out. He hesitated over the education section, slightly embarrassed to record his GED, but it was better than putting down that his highest level of education was middle school, so he quickly moved on.

Under the employment and military history sections, he hesitated again, without any clear reason why. He wasn’t ashamed of his service – quite the opposite, really. His time in active duty was actually the proudest he’d ever been of himself. But thoughts of what had led him there and how his family would react had always plagued him, so the honor of serving had always been dampened a bit.

He began to fill it out, the pen strokes almost automatic as he recorded Specialist, Special Forces where indicated. Like many of his comrades, he’d worked his way up through the Private ranks, but his duties never called for promotions to Corporal or Sergeant, and he’d seen no reason to try for them.

Then he came to the criminal history section, and his hesitation lasted much longer. Of course, he had no need to lie about anything – the application specifically asked about convictions, of which he had none. But there was no doubt that he was a criminal, regardless of how the law saw it. But he was trying so hard to not let his past guide his future, so with determination and lips pressed thin, he answered “No” to the conviction question and moved on.

He read the statement at the bottom and signed where indicated, sliding the form to the side as he pulled over the I-9 and W-2 and began to fill them out. Hashirama picked up the application and glanced over it, pulling Sasuke’s attention from the forms in front of him when he whistled.

“You were in the military?” Hashirama asked, smiling as he looked up at Sasuke.

He nodded. “Yes, sir, and I still am. I’ll be in the reserves for two more years.”

“Oh? And how does that work?”

“I have to report to base once a month for basic training. If… if that’s an issue, sir-”

He was cut off by a wave of Hashirama’s hand. “That’s not an issue at all, Sasuke. This job won’t confine you to an office. In fact, you can do most of the work from home or wherever. You’ll be saving your work on the university’s network, and I’ll be able to access it at any time.” Hashirama chuckled. “In the service of others, huh? It amazes me every time I meet someone of the younger generation that has such an outlook. Like my nephew – he’s a nurse, and no one ever saw that coming. And not just any nurse – he’s an in-home nurse. Can you imagine – willingly giving years of his life to a patient. It’s amazing.”

Sasuke watched a soft smile play across Hashirama’s face, and he lowered his eyes to the papers in front of him. “Your nephew – Naruto?” he murmured, recalling some of the information Itachi had given him about his new friends.

“Hm?” Hashirama looked over at him, and Sasuke lifted his eyes. “Oh, yes, Naruto. Have you met him?”

“Oh, no, sir. Itachi mentioned him and I just thought he was who you were talking about.”

“Well, I hope you get a chance to meet him sometime. He’s a great young man, about your age.”

Sasuke nodded to be polite and focused back on the paperwork. He wasn’t particularly interested in meeting people and socializing, but it probably wouldn’t do to isolate himself. Besides, as Itachi’s roommate, he was bound to meet some of the people Itachi hung out with, like friends and colleagues.

He finished up the paperwork and slid them over to Hashirama, who hummed and asked, “All right, can I get a copy of your driver’s license?”

Sasuke nodded and reached for his wallet, pulling out both his license and his military ID and handing them over. He watched as Hashirama reached under his desk, and he heard the whirring of a copier. He pictured the two IDs in his mind; the license was the first thing he'd gotten besides his dog tags and military ID that had his full name on it, shortly before going home that one time. He often wondered if that was how they’d found him – his name showing up in the DMV records.

Hashirama handed his IDs back and then pulled two bundles of documents up from the floor and onto his desk. “These are the German documents.” He patted one of the bundles, and Sasuke briefly took in the aged look of the paper. “So, I think you know that my field of study lies in the unusual and more theoretical aspects of the soulmate bond. That being said, I don’t know what these documents hold within them. They may be memoirs of the normal bond, you know, the paired-rings-and-lovers kind. I still want them translated – you’ll just mark those accordingly.”

Sasuke nodded, and his eyes flitted to the other bundle. “And those are also German documents, sir?” he asked, pointing to it.

Hashirama sighed. “Yes, they are. And I would also like them translated, but I must warn you – these are documents from during the Third Reich. My grad student was at least able to catalogue them before graduating. They include memoirs from concentration camps and members of the German military, among others. What you may find in these documents could be disturbing, so please proceed with caution.”

“Yes, sir,” Sasuke said. He reached down for his bag and brought it to his lap to carefully place the bundles inside. Then he gave his attention to Hashirama as the man gave him one of the school’s laptops and showed him how to log into the network.

“Of course, you’ll need to wait until HR processes your paperwork and gets you your own credentials,” he said as he showed him all the files he had set up on the server for his research. “And if you have any questions, you can give me a call.”

“Thank you, sir,” Sasuke said.

“Any questions, Sasuke?”

“No, sir,” he answered, and then he completed the brief paperwork to check out the laptop. He carefully placed the laptop in his bag with the documents and stood to put his jacket back on.

Hashirama stood and walked with him out into the hallway. “Thanks again, Sasuke. I look forward to working with you.” He stuck his hand out for a shake, and Sasuke returned the sentiments as he shook the offered hand.

Then he made his way to the exit closest to where he’d parked Itachi’s car – a surprising discovery until Itachi explained that during the months where he felt safe enough to just use his cane, he used the car quite often – and frowned at the downpour still in full swing outside. It had rained all day yesterday and looked like it would rain all day today. He just hoped his bag was as waterproof as it claimed to be; though, first, he set his bag down so that he could remove his jacket and then put it on over the bag.

Stepping outside, he opened his umbrella and then jogged back to the car. The umbrella did little to shield him from the downpour, as the wind angled the rain sideways a bit, so he was drenched by the time he got to the car. He hopped in quickly and worked his jacket off so he could put the bag in the passenger seat, and then he made his way home.

As he drove, his eyes sometimes wandered over to the bag, thinking about the documents inside. He might have been hesitant to accept the job, but now that he had, he was somewhat anxious to begin. His time in other countries had developed in him a love of history and cultural studies, and these documents written by actual people, giving a first-hand account of history, stirred the excitement within him.

He pulled into the underground garage of the apartment complex and parked Itachi’s car in the designated space, letting out a sigh of relief that he didn’t have to walk through the rain again. He grabbed his bag, jacket, and umbrella and made his way to the elevator, turning his mind to what he would eat for lunch.

Those thoughts came to halt, though, when he entered the apartment and saw Itachi having a coughing fit. He carefully placed his things on the floor and rushed over to his brother, not quite sure what to do until the thought to get Itachi a glass of water came upon him. He rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet, hurriedly filling it from the tap.

“Here,” he said quietly, as he patted Itachi on the back. The coughing subsided, and Itachi gratefully accepted the water. When he’d had his fill, Sasuke took the glass back and asked, “Are you okay?”

Itachi inhaled deeply and let it out in a sigh. “I’m fine. I just feel a little… run down today. I’m a little low on energy and can’t focus. I was heading to the kitchen for tea when I started coughing.”

“Maybe you just need to rest,” Sasuke suggested. “Why don’t you go lay down, and I’ll bring you some tea.”

Itachi hesitated briefly before nodding. Sasuke returned the nod and went back to the kitchen. He set the glass down on the counter and grabbed the tea kettle from the stove, filling it with water from the tap and setting it to heat. He stared at the kettle for a moment, then moved his eyes listlessly over to the glass and decided to wash it to pass the time. He turned on the tap and put a drop of soap in the glass, quickly dipping the sponge in the soapy water and running it over the glass and especially around the rim. He set it in the dish rack after rinsing it and pulled the dish towel over to dry his hands.

He leaned over the counter to survey the many different teas Itachi had and decided on a honey and chamomile blend. He grabbed a mug from the cabinet, and after a few more minutes, he was able to pour the hot water over the teabag, and he made his way back out into the living room, where he found Itachi stretched out on the couch, his back against a pillow leaning on the armrest.

“I thought you’d go lay down in your room,” he said as he moved over to the table in front of the couch. He transferred the mug to his left hand and reached across the table for a coaster. As he carefully set the mug down, his wrist was grabbed by Itachi and pulled until Itachi had a clear view of his hand.

“What is this?” Itachi asked, and Sasuke froze as he realized the concealer had rubbed off from his finger, revealing the ring.

He snatched his hand back, avoiding the stare Itachi was drilling him with, and he moved away from the couch. “Nothing you need to be concerned about.”

There was silence between them for a moment, and then Itachi let out another deep sigh. “Sasuke – I don’t know what took you away from me. I suspect it has something to do with our grandmother, but I’m still your brother. I’m still here for whatever you need, and I want… I want to know about the you that I don’t know. I want to know what’s happened to you over the past fifteen years. I just want my brother back.”

Sasuke didn’t respond, but he had frowned at the mention of their grandmother. It wasn’t far from reality. After Itachi fell out of the tree, their grandmother had blamed Sasuke and explained to him that he was only a second son and everything that entailed. He knew, now, that all that had only been the rantings of an old woman that couldn’t let go of the old ways, but as a child, he only knew that he was being told to stop bothering Itachi. And he’d taken that to heart.

But he had no desire, really, to divulge anything of the last fifteen years; though, if he had to or felt like it, he had to admit that Itachi would probably be the one in whom he confided. A noise from the couch drew his attention.

“Please, Sasuke,” Itachi said quietly, his eyes a picture of pain and sadness. And Sasuke gave in, slowly making his way to the couch and sitting down next to Itachi’s feet. After a moment, Itachi said, “Let’s start from the beginning. Tell me why you ran away.”

Sasuke looked down at his hands in his lap, his eyes focused on the red ring on his finger. “I thought it was a good idea at the time.” Itachi didn’t say anything, but Sasuke knew he was waiting patiently for more. He swallowed. “There was a… confrontation with Mother. I… It… wasn’t a fight or anything. It’s just that… You and Father were at the hospital – you’d just been diagnosed. I got upset about something – I can’t remember what – and ended up breaking a window. Mother yelled at me. She was… stressed about you, and me acting out wasn’t helping. And then she… implied that… maybe I… maybe she should have just stopped at one child.”

He felt Itachi jolt at that, and he looked over to see anger marring his brother’s face. “She was under a lot of stress. I know that maybe that isn’t a good excuse – maybe there isn’t one. But I forgave her a long time ago. But, at the time, I thought she was right. It would be so much easier for her and Father and you if none of you had to worry about me. So, I left.”

“Sasuke,” Itachi murmured, his voice catching in his throat. “I’m so sorry.”

Sasuke shrugged. “I’m over it.”

Itachi cleared his throat. “So, what happened then?”

Sasuke sighed as he looked away toward the stairs. “It wasn’t long before I realized I had no idea what I was doing and how little power I had.” He laughed a little, thinking back to how upset he’d been when adults wouldn’t take him seriously and tried to take him to the police. “But I met a boy a little older than me who took me in and tried to convince me to go home.”

Itachi made a questioning noise in his throat, drawing Sasuke’s thoughts away from Juugo. “It obviously didn’t work,” Itachi said with a raised brow.

“Not for lack of trying,” Sasuke murmured. “He introduced me to his friends, and they all tried to send me home.” He thought about Suigetsu and Karin and all their snide but well-meaning remarks about how an upstate princess couldn’t make it on his own.

“But you didn’t want to come home,” Itachi commented.

“Not at first,” Sasuke admitted. “But after a few weeks, I began to think I had made a mistake. And my new friends were willing to help me get home. Except…” He trailed off, the memory not a good one and not one he wanted to share with anyone. But this was Itachi, so he took a deep breath and said, “Before I could leave, my friend’s boss found out about me and dragged me into… well, I was forced into Hebi.”

Itachi didn’t say anything at that, and Sasuke hesitantly met his eyes. But he didn’t see shock or surprise or disgust – just understanding. Perhaps Itachi had guessed or had been told. His mind immediately went to Kakashi, though Kakashi didn’t know all that much.

“Well,” Itachi eventually said, “Hebi was never known for allowing members to leave, and yet you returned to us five years later. But maybe that had something to do with how the gang was taken down in a raid.”

Sasuke found himself smiling – Itachi had always been smart. “When I was sixteen, we were knocking over a check-cashing place, and I was high as a kite – too high to realize when the gang high-tailed it out of there and left me to take the fall. And, long story short, I was given immunity in exchange for names, dates, and anything else I could provide.” He sighed. “I was put in witness protection until the raids and trials ended, and when it was all over… I came home.”

Itachi hummed in thought, and Sasuke turned to face him, watching as his brother brought his hands up to rub at his eyes. When he met Sasuke’s gaze, they were red-rimmed and glassy. “And what happened after that?”

Sasuke smiled grimly at the memory. “Turns out – cutting off the snake’s head isn’t enough.” He shrugged. “My friend’s boss had been taken down in the raids, but the boss’ boss was still alive and kicking. And he was mad and out for blood. My blood. And… I didn’t want to take you and Mom and Dad down with me, so I left. Again.”

“And then?”

Sasuke sighed again, but he figured he might as well. “I was rounded up and taken in, and I would have been killed if not for the undercover agent that had been shadowing the ringleader for years trying to get enough evidence to link him to Hebi. The Feds came in and hauled him off, and after I recovered from my injuries, I enlisted in the Army. And there’s really nothing left. I served in the Special Forces, and when my active duty was over, I came home again.”

Itachi motioned to his hand. “Okay. Now tell me about the ring.”

Sasuke looked at the ring again. “When my friend introduced me to his friends – that’s when it appeared. But it looked weird – still does. I thought… maybe it wasn’t a normal ring because I had done something bad, had run away. It was one of the things that convinced me to go home. Well, then, you know what happened. I started doing worse things than just being a runaway. I was a criminal, and I started to think that, even if I did have a soulmate out there, that person wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me. Someone like me doesn’t deserve a soulmate.”

Itachi grunted. “Sasuke – I tried to tell you this before, but I want you to actually listen to me this time. Soulmates are not rewards for good behavior. Soulmates are two parts of one whole – they fill in the holes of a soul.” He paused and sighed. “Do you know who you touched?”

“Just some girl,” he murmured.

“And does she also have a ring?” Sasuke shook his head. “Well, this is quite unexpected. To think I’d meet two people with the thin, pale rings.” Sasuke looked at Itachi in question, but Itachi shook his head, his eyes lowered and a frown on his face. “You should read more about Uncle Madara’s research, little brother. And I need to make a phone call.”

Sasuke watched as Itachi stood and walked shakily to his room, fingers massaging his head as the door closed. His eyes wandered over to the mug of tea that had gone untouched, and he wondered if Itachi regretted asking.

A loud thud from Itachi’s room had him out of seat and through Itachi’s door in a heartbeat, his own heartbeat stuttering as he saw Itachi laid out on the ground. Panicked, Sasuke kneeled over his brother, shaking him slightly and frantically making sure there was still a pulse and a breath. He reached for Itachi’s phone that had landed close to his hand, his eyes taking in the contact screen for ‘Naruto’ before hitting the keypad button and dialing 911.

He gave all the necessary information to the agent and stayed on the phone with her until the EMTs knocked at the door. He hung up the phone as he raced to the door, hurriedly opening it and leading them to Itachi’s room. They checked his vitals and asked Sasuke about what had been going on before he collapsed. He explained about Itachi’s illness and how he hadn’t felt well earlier. Then they carefully strapped him to the gurney and took him to the elevator, Sasuke quickly grabbing his jacket and following.

He rode in the ambulance with Itachi but was relegated to a hard, plastic chair in the ER waiting room while they looked him over. As he waited, he called his mother to let her know what had happened, relief flooding him when she said she and his father would be there as soon as they could. He didn’t know if he could handle anything to do with Itachi’s health on his own.

He didn’t know he’d fallen asleep until he felt a hand on his cheek, and he startled awake and found his mother smiling down at him, though her eyes were worried. “Hey, baby boy,” she said quietly and moved to take the seat next to him. “Your father is checking up on Itachi. How are you?” She pulled him into a hug.

“I’m okay,” he said. “I guess just the adrenaline of getting him here faded.” He brought his hands up and rubbed them over his face. He noticed that his left arm was tingling, and he stretched it out a few times to try to get the feeling to go away, with little success. When he looked up, his father was coming up to them with a slight frown. “How’s Itachi?”

“They say he’s okay, but he has a fever, and they’re running a few tests before we’ll be able to see him.”

Sasuke let out a breath and then stood up. “I’m going to the restroom, now that you’re here. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” his mom said as his dad sat down next to her and grabbed for her hand.

With a nod, he wandered off to find a restroom. He didn’t need to use the bathroom, but he could do with some water on his face or something. It wasn’t until he’d passed a second restroom that he realized he’d been lost in thought, and now he found himself gazing listlessly into the busy cafeteria. Maybe his body knew what he needed better than his mind did, because coffee suddenly sounded like the best idea in the world.

As he waded through the tables to the coffee in the back, he was stopped by a loud bout of laughter behind him. It was bright and whole-hearted, and it pulled at Sasuke’s attention, as if begging Sasuke to take notice. He turned his head, his eyes quickly checking out each table until they landed on a bright head of blond hair.

Without thought, he made his way over to the table, and while still a few steps away, he watched as the man’s broad back tensed, and the head turned over his shoulder to pierce Sasuke with the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. The man slowly stood from his chair and turned to face Sasuke as he stopped just a few steps away.

“Sasuke,” was breathed out in wonder, and he was graced with a breath-taking smile.

TBC

Chapter Text

Naruto stretched his arms above his head as he and Hinata entered the cafeteria, trying to wake his left arm up. It was quite busy for a Monday, but the rains lately had caused a few accidents, and the cold winter had seen an uptick in pneumonia cases, so perhaps that was why there were more visitors than usual. He put his arms down, frowning that it hadn’t done anything for his left arm tingles, and made his way over to the food selection.

“Why are we in the cafeteria again?” Hinata asked.

“I didn’t bring my lunch?” he asked as he reached for a ham and cheese sandwich. He furrowed his brow, though, because he knew what she was really asking, and the answer was that he didn’t know why he wanted to get food from the cafeteria. It had just been a thought that struck him a little bit before his break and wouldn’t leave him alone.

Hinata hummed and grabbed a salad, and they made their way over to the cashier. Naruto paid for both, smiling brightly at Hinata’s bashful gratitude, and they found a free table nearby.

“So, I haven’t really seen you since just before Christmas. How was your New Year?” Hinata asked him as she popped the top off her salad and grabbed at the dressing packet.

“Um,” Naruto hedged as he opened his own container, pulling out the mustard and mayo packets and tossing them to the side. “I guess it was all right.” You know, if you count crying over a boy you don’t know and losing a close acquaintance as all right, he thought. “What about yours?”

Hinata – sweet Hinata – grunted. “It was hell. Like, no one told me that my cousin was staying through New Year’s, so when I went home, I had to put up with him and his holier-than-thou attitude. Although,” she said, canting a sly glance his way, “He became somewhat bearable when his attention was caught by a picture of a certain blond nurse.”

“Ino?” Naruto asked around a mouthful of sandwich.

Hinata gave him a disgusted look before rolling her eyes. “You.”

Naruto nearly choked on his mouthful of sandwich in his shock. Hinata reached over to pat him on the back, and he reached for his water. He took a few gulps and then shot Hinata a glare as he wiped his mouth. “Why are you showing pictures of me to random guys?”

“Okay – one, he’s not a random guy, and two, I didn’t show him anything. He was snooping like a creeper and happened upon a group shot from a year or so ago.” She took a bite of her salad and after swallowing continued, “He asked me for your number.”

Naruto scoffed as he ripped off another bite of his sandwich. He swallowed and said, “I hope you told him to shove it.” He frowned as an odd feeling came over him, almost like something tugging at him telling him to turn around.

“Oh, no, I gave him your number.”

Distracted from the odd feeling, Naruto stared at her aghast. “You didn’t.”

Hinata shrugged. “I may have accidently transposed a few numbers.”

That had Naruto throwing his head back and laughing loudly. Hinata seemed like a sweet girl, but then she went and did little things like cock-blocking her cousin. It was hilarious!

As Hinata joined in on the laughter, that odd feeling came back again coupled with the feeling that someone was standing just behind him. He twisted slightly, peering over his shoulder, and his heart stopped in his chest.

His sandwich fell from his hand, and wide-eyed, Naruto stood and turned around, ignoring Hinata’s quiet call of his name. His heart began racing, a complete 180 from only a moment ago, and he couldn’t hold back a smile as he took in the man standing before him.

“Sasuke,” he breathed out in wonder, watching as so many emotions passed through the man’s gorgeous onyx eyes – wonder, awe, joy, sorrow, and confusion.

“Naruto,” the man returned, and Naruto thought he could die happy knowing the man knew his name. And, God, two or so years from 30, and the man was still gorgeous. He was wearing jeans and a sweater, but he looked to have been soaked by the rain at some point, and the fabric clung to various well-defined muscles. His eyes traveled back up to Sasuke’s eyes, and he tried very hard not to get lost in them, like some cliché romance novel.

Hinata stood up next to him and grabbed at his arm. He tilted his head slightly to give her his attention, but his eyes didn’t leave Sasuke’s face. “Naruto, do you know this man?” she asked.

“So, you are Naruto?” Sasuke asked.

Naruto smiled. “Yeah, I’m Naruto. Itachi must have mentioned me. He mentioned you, too.” He let out a huff of giddy laughter. “What are you doing here?”

He wanted to know how this had happened. It couldn’t possibly be the bond! His heart fluttered at the thought that Sasuke had been led to the hospital to find him.

Sasuke blinked as if coming out of a trance. “Oh. Ah, Itachi. He collapsed, and they brought him to the ER.”

“What?!” Naruto exclaimed, the sharp pain of disappointment obliterated by shock and worry. He turned from Sasuke, though it felt like trying to pull himself free from thick syrup, and sped out of the cafeteria toward the ER. He both felt and heard Sasuke behind him.

He quickly turned into the wide door that led to the ER and jogged over to the reception desk. Ino was on duty, and she looked up at him as he stopped and leaned against the counter, lightly panting out, “Where is Itachi Uchiha?”

Ino blinked at him and then looked down at the computer. “Ah,” she stuttered as she began to type. “Looks like his tests are wrapping up, and they’re moving him to a room on the fourth floor.”

“Room number?”

“408. Looks like… Senju attending.”

Naruto let out a small breath. If something was wrong with Itachi, Tsunade was the best he could get. He smiled at Ino. “Thanks, Ino. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem, Naruto. But do you know him or something?” she asked with an inquisitive tilt of her head.

“Yeah, I just recently met him and his family.”

“His family?” Her blue eyes lit up in interest. “Is he a new boyfriend?”

“No!” he said immediately, suddenly remembering Sasuke. He turned quickly and was relieved to find that instead of following him over, Sasuke had gone over to his parents, who were now standing and looking at him in anticipation. “Anyway, Ino,” he said as he turned back to her. “I’m going to let his parents know where to go. Visitor privileges?”

She looked at the computer again. “No restrictions have been posted yet, so it should be okay. Dr. Senju will say something about it if there’re too many in the room, I’m sure.”

“Thanks again, Ino,” he said as he tapped his fist against the counter and turned to make his way over to the Uchiha family. He paused and added over his shoulder, “Oh, and tell Dr. Senju not to bother coming down here.”

She nodded, and he walked away. As he neared, Mikoto reached out and grabbed his hands in hers. “Naruto, dear, what a surprise to see you here. How is Itachi?”

Naruto smiled at her and squeezed her hands. “I don’t know his condition, I’m afraid, but I know his tests are done, and they’ve moved him to a room on the fourth floor. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you right to him.”

“Oh, yes, thank you!” she said, pulling him into a quick hug.

He pulled away and quickly greeted Fugaku and then turned toward the elevators, holding his arm out for Mikoto. It was a quick trip up, and he noticed as Mikoto’s grip on his arm got a little tighter – perhaps anxious for what news she’d hear when they got to Itachi’s room. He placed his other hand over hers and smiled when she looked at him. “It’ll be okay,” he said quietly.

They exited the elevator, and as he led them to room 408, he took in the doctor and nurse standing before the door talking, and an excited smile broke out across his face. Wrong Senju, he thought as he said cheerfully, “Uncle Tobi!”

His uncle looked over, his arms crossed and a frown on his face until he recognized Naruto. “If it isn’t the brat,” he said with a slight smile. Then he looked over at Mikoto and Fugaku and uncrossed his arms to offer his hand. “Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha, I am Tobirama Senju; I’m over Itachi’s case right now.”

Mikoto released Naruto’s arm and took Tobirama’s hand. “Hello, Dr. Senju. Is Itachi all right?”

“Come on in,” Tobirama said, and Naruto stepped away to allow the Uchiha family to pass. His eye briefly caught Sasuke’s before the other man disappeared into the room. Naruto sighed and made to go back to the elevators when his uncle grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him toward Itachi’s room. “You, too, brat.”

“Why me?” Naruto asked, though he didn’t hesitate in entering Itachi’s room. Itachi’s family surrounded the bed, upon which Itachi lay unconscious, but he seemed to be breathing fine, only an IV of fluids connected to him and the normal monitors. Naruto made sure not to get too close to everything since he really didn’t think he should be there, but he noticed that Sasuke was looking at him again. He almost wanted to slowly inch his way over to him, but he stubbornly ignored the urge.

Tobirama moved around everyone over to the heart monitor with Itachi’s chart in hand. “Itachi’s fine,” he started, flipping through some pages of the chart. “He has a fever, which, in his condition, we take very seriously. We administered antipyretics to get it down, and it’s broken easily enough. We did some scans to see if his MS has progressed, and while there’s a bit more damage to the nerves than his last scan, it’s not enough to indicate a relapse. We’ll need him to tell us if he’s experienced new symptoms lately to know for sure, though.

“We’ll keep him overnight or for a couple days for observation and to ensure the fever is gone, but then he should be fine to go home. However,” he said, finally looking up at everyone in the room, “I want him constantly monitored for a few weeks to months in case a relapse is imminent. Which is why Naruto is here; if you’re agreeable, I’d like Naruto to be his nurse for that duration.”

All eyes were suddenly on Naruto, and he swallowed nervously. Mikoto smiled at him and turned back to Tobirama. “Of course, Dr. Senju. What all do we need to do?”

Tobirama nodded and moved back toward Naruto. “There’s just some paperwork for the contract and insurance. You can visit for now while I get all of that together. If he wakes up disoriented or in pain, please call the nurse and have them page me immediately.” He grabbed Naruto’s shoulder and guided him out of the room, shoving the chart into his chest as he did.

“What the heck, Uncle Tobi?” Naruto whispered urgently when they were in the hallway, his eyes automatically perusing the chart. “Why do you need me to be his nurse?”

“You don’t want to?” Tobirama asked as he guided them over to the nurses’ station.

Naruto glanced up at him. “I didn’t say that.”

Tobirama shrugged. “Haruno said that you’d made friends with him.”

Naruto furrowed his brow. “Sakura’s here?”

“She was the ER admitting. Not only are you available for an in-home assignment, but this pre-existing acquaintance can be beneficial in getting the patient to be honest about any symptoms he may experience.” Tobirama greeted the nurse at the station and asked for the appropriate paperwork.

“That may be, but that still doesn’t mean I need to be his nurse! I can do that in the role of a friend, too.”

“I also hear that you’ve been visiting the house less often. Mito’s sad about it, is what I hear. If you don’t want to spend time with family, I’m going to make sure you spend that time working.” Tobirama gave him a stern stare as he started on the paperwork.

“That’s an abuse of power!” Naruto hissed quietly, but Tobirama ignored him. With a huff, Naruto muttered, “Fine,” and watched Tobirama scribble over the paper for a moment. He didn’t really have a problem with being Itachi’s nurse, so he decided to give up the fight. He turned his attention back to the chart before looking at his uncle again quickly. “Oh, yeah. When did you get back?”

“A few days ago. Got home to find that degenerate porn writer staying in my room,” he grunted as he began filling out the forms.

Naruto laughed. “I didn’t know Jiraiya was staying at the house. Did you kick him out?”

“Hard. And told him to clean the mess he’s made around the house before Mito gets back and rips him a new one.” Naruto laughed with Tobirama at that, but when it died out, his uncle continued, “What’s with the red ring?”

Naruto froze, finally taking in his position leaning back against the counter, which put his left hand on the side next to Tobirama. He’d decided not to hide it, since that would probably prompt more questions, but since his hands were mostly in motion while he worked, it hadn’t yet been an issue.

“I’d rather not talk about it right now, Uncle Tobi.”

“That’s fair,” he responded. “Does Hashirama know?”

“Um, no,” he mumbled. “And, uh, I’d prefer it if he didn’t just yet.”

“My lips are sealed, kid. Now, sign these forms, and let’s get them to Mrs. Uchiha. Luckily, Itachi made her his medical proxy, and we can get this settled quickly and without argument from the patient.”

“Your bedside manner is atrocious,” Naruto said as he rolled his eyes and followed him back to the room, quickly signing the forms where needed.

Itachi was still out, and Mikoto quickly read over the contract and signed it. She handed them back to Tobirama and turned to Naruto to ask if he needed assistance in moving into Itachi’s apartment.

“Ah, no, ma’am. I don’t tend to need anything other than some clothes and personal items, and I can handle that on my own. What I would like to do while Itachi is here, though, is get a better layout of his apartment and determine the best accommodations.”

Mikoto nodded. “Of course. Sasuke can show you around. He’s living with Itachi for now.” She turned to ask Sasuke a question, but it was lost to Naruto as her statement caught up to him and he comprehended the situation fully – he’d be living with his potential soulmate for the next several weeks.

“Ah, I’ll just go get these forms filed,” he stuttered out, keeping his head bowed to hide the utter panic that must have been all over his face.

“Naruto,” Sasuke called before he could leave, and Naruto thought his heart stopped again. Swallowing nervously, he turned to regard the other man. “Ah, would… you like to come over tonight to survey the apartment? I can meet you there.”

Naruto nodded, though his brain was screaming at him to decline. “That would be great,” he managed to say. “I get off at seven.”

Sasuke nodded, but he didn’t say anything else, so Naruto exited the room and tried not to think about anything as he headed off to Billing to submit the paperwork. Then he had to return to his rounds, and working with patients and doing the little tedious parts of his job helped to keep thoughts and panic at bay until Hinata found him.

“So, who was the hunky guy from the cafeteria?” she asked as they checked over the vitals of one of her patients.

“Uh,” he stammered. “Just… the brother of a friend.”

“Uh huh, lie to me some more,” she said as she wrote something down on the chart.

“No, really, he’s totally the younger brother of my friend.” Naruto laughed nervously as he skillfully changed the sheets without much bother to the patient.

“Okay, I believe you. But I don’t believe that that’s all there is to it.” At his questioning glance, she gave him a dull stare. “You don’t smile like that at the younger brother of a friend.”

He blushed and averted his eyes. “Well… you said it yourself. He’s kind of hunky.”

Hinata snorted inelegantly. “Not ‘kind of’ – totally hunky. Hot, even. Might take a shot at that myself. Unless you have dibs or something.” Naruto shot her a look – he didn’t know what look, maybe scandalized, maybe desperate, because, come on, if Sasuke was straight, he’d be stupid to turn down a knockout like Hinata – but whatever it was had her stifling her laughter behind the clipboard. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she finally said.

Naruto let out a sigh, but he saved any further comment until they left the patient’s room and made their way down the hall to another. “Look – maybe I’m interested in him, but he just got back to the country, and he doesn’t know me from Adam.” He paused. “Well, he obviously knows me by sight, but he doesn’t know me, and I don’t even know if he swings that way, so I’d just as soon not talk about him until I know something definite, you know?”

“Breathe, Naruto,” she said softly. She stopped just outside the next patient’s room and placed her hand on his shoulder. “I get it, okay? I’ll stop asking about him, though you’re super cute when you’re flustered. Just know that I’m here if you ever feel like you need to talk about the hunky hot guy.”

Naruto laughed slightly. “Thanks, Hinata.”

After that brief sentiment from Hinata, Naruto was able to carry on through his shift with lighter thoughts, but around half past six, he found himself talking to the scheduling assistant about his new job and needing to have his scheduled shifts covered, and then he was walking to the locker room to retrieve his things, the thought of meeting Sasuke at – apparently – his and Itachi’s place weighing heavily on him again.

Before he could reach an exit, Sakura walked past him and grabbed at his arm, pulling him into a stairwell and giving him a worried look. “How’s Itachi?” she asked.

“Uh, Uncle Tobi says he’s fine, but he wants him to be monitored for any change in his condition.” Naruto gave her a flat stare. “Thanks for telling me he was back, by the way.”

She shrugged. “He’s your uncle. I figured you’d already know.” She leaned back against the wall and crossed her arms. “So… are you going to be Itachi’s nurse?”

He nodded. “It’ll be interesting. I’ve never been a friend’s nurse before.” He chewed on his bottom lip and then stepped closer to her, his eyes wide. “I’m so fucked, Sakura,” he whispered. “Sasuke’s living with Itachi right now.”

Her eyes widened to match his. “Shit, are you serious?” she whispered back. He nodded slowly. She brought one hand up to her mouth and chewed on her thumbnail. After a moment, she asked, “What are you going to do?”

“What can I do? The paperwork is signed and filed for my assignment at Itachi’s.”

Sakura shook her head. “No, I mean, what are you going to do about Sasuke? Are you going to talk to him about maybe being soulmates?”

He sighed. “I… don’t think so. Not yet anyway. I guess, maybe… maybe this is an opportunity to get to know him, you know? See what he’s like and if he’s even like, single and interested.” He shrugged.

Sakura reached out and patted him on the shoulder. “Well, that sounds okay to me. But you’ll have to be careful not to touch him in case he is your soulmate. At least, not until you know he’s okay with the idea.”

“Yeah,” he said while nodding. “I think… I think I can manage that. Maybe.”

“Well, just get Itachi to help. Big brother is supposed to be a natural barrier.” She smirked at him, and Naruto could only laugh. He was sure Itachi was very protective of Sasuke, but he didn’t know if that applied to Naruto if Itachi was actively helping him find his soulmate. When his laughing settled down, Sakura asked, “So, late dinner? I’m here for a couple more hours.”

Naruto nodded. “Sure, but, uh, I’m meeting Sasuke at Itachi’s apartment so I can figure out where I should sleep and stuff.”

“Oh, my God, you can’t catch a break,” Sakura murmured. “Well, text me later what you want to eat, and I’ll bring it home.”

“Thanks, Sakura.” He grabbed her into a tight hug, so thankful he had a friend like her by his side. Then they exited the stairwell, and Naruto made his way out to the sidewalk – glad to see the rain had stopped – and called an Uber, easily inputting Itachi’s address from the history.

His driver was a pleasant man from some post-Soviet state, and Naruto got a kick out of his thick accent and how the man called him ‘comrade’ when he pulled up to Itachi’s building and bid him goodbye. It had been enough to distract him from what was about to happen, but it all came back to him as he took the elevator to Itachi’s floor.

He took a moment to compose himself before knocking nervously on the door. After a moment, he heard shuffling on the other side, and then the door opened to reveal Sasuke. The man was still in jeans and a sweater, but he only had socks on his feet, and his hair looked like it had been combed back by his fingers one too many times.

Naruto almost had to physically restrain himself from running his fingers through it, too.

“Hi, Naruto,” Sasuke greeted, and he stood back to let Naruto in.

“Hey, Sasuke,” he returned, stepping inside and immediately moving from the narrow corridor to the living room. Sasuke shut the door and came up behind him, and Naruto turned to avoid them touching.

“Uh, Itachi’s room is down here, this door right here,” Sasuke said, leading him over that way. “There’s a free room upstairs on my floor that you can use-”

“Oh, no, sorry. As his nurse, I need to be close enough to get to him immediately in an emergency. Is there another room down here?” He looked down the hallway at the other doors.

“I don’t know, honestly,” Sasuke said with a frown, and he moved down the hallway and opened one of the doors. “This is Itachi’s office.” He closed the door and moved to the one opposite. “Oh, this room is empty.”

Naruto watched Sasuke go inside and then followed. He gaped at the empty room; it was larger than the one he had at Sakura’s place. “Jesus, why does Itachi have this much space for just him? How does he afford this?”

Sasuke snorted as he turned and slipped his hands in his pockets. He smirked and said, “Well, the Uchiha are-”

“Old money, I know,” Naruto said with his hand up to halt Sasuke. He chuckled lightly. “Still,” he said looking around. “This room will be great, but I guess I need to get an air mattress or something.”

“No, we’ll furnish it, no problem,” Sasuke said with a shrug.

“No! I couldn’t let you do that,” Naruto said, shaking his head slightly.

“Mother insisted that we provide you with everything you could need. So, a bed and a dresser, at least.” He smiled – nope, it was that smirkle from the photo, and Naruto practically melted.

These next few weeks were going to be hell.

“Then thank you, I guess,” he finally mumbled, hoping against hope that he wasn’t blushing a brilliant scarlet. “So, I guess I’ll be imposing on you for a few weeks,” he followed up lamely.

“We’re all just grateful that you’ll be looking after Itachi, so don’t mind it.” Sasuke looked down at the floor, a small frown tugging down his lips, and then he hesitantly continued, “Your, uh, uncle – Dr. Senju, uh, Hashirama – said that sometimes these jobs take years.” Sasuke’s head tilted in question, and Naruto felt his heart flutter that Sasuke seemed genuinely interested in him and his job.

“Uh, yeah. I do in-home and palliative care, for both acute and chronic illnesses. Sometimes it’s even just physio.” God, Naruto felt so awkward, and from the way Sasuke wouldn’t meet his eyes, he bet the other felt the same. “So, uh, this room should do. Thank you for showing me around. I’ll, uh, leave you to your… whatever you were doing.”

“All right,” Sasuke said, and he started to walk toward Naruto and the door, so Naruto quickly backed out into the hallway and let Sasuke pass by. He followed him to the front door, which Sasuke opened for him.

“Um, goodnight, Sasuke. I’ll, uh, see you in a couple days?”

Sasuke nodded. “Yes. Goodnight, Naruto.” He closed the door, and Naruto buried his face in his hands as he sagged against the wall.

“You’re such a fucking moron, Naruto,” he whispered harshly to himself. This was going to be a complete disaster, and then next time he saw Tobirama, he was going to deck the son of a bitch.

~*~

“You’re such a fucking idiot, Sasuke,” Sasuke murmured to himself, running his hands over his face and then through his hair. He made his fucking living as a linguist, and he could barely make small talk with Naruto.

Though, to be honest, small talk wasn’t his thing. Despite being a linguist, he very infrequently participated in non-work conversations, so the fact that he wanted to make small talk with the stunning blond was telling. And maybe a little disturbing.

And ‘stunning’ was the word for him. When Itachi had first shown him a picture of his friends, Sasuke had been captivated by the blond hair and blue eyes – he was just so bright. And that smile…! But the smile in the photo was nothing like the one Sasuke had been given in the cafeteria – Naruto’s smile had, well, stunned him. It had looked like a smile meant just for Sasuke – and that was the disturbing part.

Sasuke felt like a fucking school boy, unable to look away from Naruto and wanting to know more about him, thinking that after such a brief acquaintance he was somehow special to the blond. He felt so drawn to Naruto even when he avoided social interaction whenever he could, and he wasn’t sure how he should be handling it. It was all happening so fast, with Itachi’s collapse and Naruto’s moving in, that Sasuke felt a little adrift just when he thought he was getting it all together.

But… even as he bemoaned the situation, he felt something close to giddiness to know he had an opportunity to learn more about Naruto. He just hoped he could keep himself from seeming like a complete moron in the process.

TBC

Chapter Text

It’s been three months, and we’re still speaking of Friedrich. Not in mixed company, of course, for the higher-ups are quick to shut down those conversations, and their sycophants are even quicker to turn in those who bring it up.

But we still talk about it. I constantly think about, for I was there when the troubling event occurred. It haunts me when I close my eyes at night. I see the long line of prisoners queued for the gas chamber. I see Friedrich eagerly directing them inside. It was a normal day.

And then I see the woman – gaunt, broken, and trembling, mumbling prayers under her breath. She trips and falls just as she gets to the front of the queue, and Friedrich grabs her and tosses her into the chamber, slamming the door shut behind her.

It’s ingrained in my mind and plays in slow motion – how a red band appeared gradually on his left ring finger, standing out starkly against his fair skin; how the screams inside the chamber grew in number and intensity; how Friedrich’s expression morphed from giddy satisfaction to a grotesque mask of horror and disbelief.

Friedrich shot himself that night.

We still talk about it three months later because we can’t come to an agreement on why he did it. Was it because he threw his own soulmate into the gas chamber to die? Or was it because his soulmate was a Jew?

For his sake, I hope it was the latter.

…

Sasuke finished typing the last sentence and sat back with a sigh. He flexed his aching fingers and then rubbed his hands over his face. Then he flipped the document over carefully into the pile of translated pieces and stared unseeingly at the next document.

Dr. Senju had been right – these were a little hard to stomach. But he’d decided to start with these so that when he finished, he could breeze through the other bundle and end this assignment quickly and hopefully with a lighter heart.

With another sigh, he sat up to continue.

…

It was something like a miracle.

For the many years that we were imprisoned, we were told of the many triumphs of the Nazi army – how no country could withstand its righteous might. And so, it could only be a miracle when the British troops came to camp one day and we were free.

It took many months for me to be able to get by on my own, my wasted body slowly regaining its strength and stability. It took many more months to return to my home, the blasted wreck of my hometown another reminder of how unlikely my survival had been, the skeletal remains of homes and businesses bleak against the backdrop of a bright and cloudless day.

And it took many, many more months to find out for sure that my husband had not survived his imprisonment. But the news only confirmed what I had already known, for he was my soulmate, and his passing had brought back the holes in my soul that his smile, his touch, his very presence had filled.

His remains, of course, have not been found, and I doubt they ever will be. So, I faithfully visit the local memorial for the victims every year on our anniversary, to help me remember him and keep me strong until we can be together again. And I write these memoirs to help others never forget of what humanity is capable – what evils it can work, and what adversities it can overcome.

…

Sasuke finished typing and sat back again, his eyes trained on that one line: his passing had brought back the holes in my soul that his smile, his touch, his very presence had filled.

It sounded so much like what Itachi had told him about the bond: Soulmates are not rewards for good behavior. Soulmates are two parts of one whole – they fill in the holes of a soul.

It must be a widely held belief, then, he thought, that those who had soulmates out there in the world were broken to some extent. At least, that was the connotation he gave the term “holes of a soul.”

He looked at his ring finger, imaging the pale red ring that sat beneath the concealer.

Or maybe a person didn’t realize he or she had holes or broken places until meeting his or her soulmate. Sasuke didn’t think he had felt broken before, even when he’d been upset and alone and run away from home. But he certainly did after, though maybe not because he’d always been broken; he certainly felt like he’d become broken after being forcibly inducted into Hebi. The crimes and the drugs, the constant fear that somehow his family would feel the consequences of his actions – that broke him.

His time in the Army, though, had gone a long way to helping him think he wasn’t the absolute scum of the universe. But his past was still there; the things he’d done hadn’t been invalidated by his service. Was he still broken? Maybe not, but he felt them – those holes in his soul.

Would finding his soulmate… fill those holes for him, like it seemed to do for others?

Sasuke’s eyes slid over to the clock on his laptop – 5:43PM. Itachi would be home from work soon, and Naruto, too. He should probably start thinking about what they’d have for dinner.

He turned back to the stack of documents and flipped the one he’d just finished over into the completed pile. One more, and then he was ordering dinner.

…

I am a war criminal.

I say it to myself every morning. I write it every day in this journal. To make sure I never forget.

I was never tried for a crime. The world was far too occupied with what was going on in Nuremberg to bother with the lowly grunts who peacefully yielded to the Allied forces. And then the Fatherland was shamefully divided into East and West blocs – though this move may have saved far more lives than if it hadn’t. Even if those lives didn’t deserve to be saved.

The judicial system of the west bloc held itself to a higher standard than Nuremberg could have ever hoped; men were no longer found guilty by association to what occurred under the Third Reich. There had to be evidence of an actual crime to convict. How could millions of murders over the course of years be pinned to a particular person or persons?

My duties in the camp never included interactions with the Jews. But when I shared meals day in and day out with those who did interact with them, who cheerfully and ruthlessly led them to their deaths, it’s hard not to paint me with the same brush. Am I less guilty than they?

She seems to think so – my Mariah. I don’t deserve her.

A humanitarian – she came to the Fatherland in the aftermath of the war to help rebuild. Our paths crossed, and I was so drawn to her. But I was equally afraid to be near her. I couldn’t allow her to be painted in my colors. And then we touched, an innocent accident, and she cried in joy as our rings appeared.

I cried in anguish.

I didn’t deserve her mere kindness – how could I believe myself deserving of her love? And she didn’t deserve to be tied to me.

But she would not let me be, asking why I denied what the universe has decreed. “Because I am a war criminal” – blunt, harsh, trying to drive her away. And she took my hands and asked, “Have these hands hurt others?”

No, they hadn’t, but could my word ever be enough to convince anyone? “These hands have done nothing worthwhile.”

She pointed at a nearby schoolhouse, rebuilt and ready to begin a new regime of education. “These hands have blistered and bled to rebuild what has been destroyed. They are good hands, helping hands, silently seeking absolution through good deeds. And I am here to support them, to support you, in that journey.”

She was and continues to be a balm for my soul.

“I am a war criminal,” I say to myself every morning, and she wraps me in her arms and says, “You are a good man.”

…

Sasuke sighed again as he saved his work and logged off for the day. That one had hit a little too close to home for him. It was like his whole argument for not trying to find his soulmate had been shredded to nothing as he’d typed the words. With a shake of his head, he put it out of his mind and rolled over to his personal laptop to bring up local restaurants.

Skewers sounded great and some liangpi, too. He ordered the beef, lamb, and egg entrees and pork belly and beef tendon skewers. Then he went downstairs to set the table, surprised to find Itachi and Naruto in the living room doing Itachi’s physio.

“I didn’t hear you come in,” Sasuke said as he stopped at the bottom of the stairs and watched Naruto carefully hold Itachi’s leg as his brother bent his knee to bring the leg back toward his chest. He sat on a foldable chair that could lay flat and was waist-high to Naruto, like a masseuse’s table. The dark green cushion of the table complemented Naruto’s lilac scrubs.

Itachi breathed out, his face slightly flushed and shiny with sweat. “We didn’t want to disturb your work,” he said as he let his leg down and lifted the other. Naruto turned slightly and gave Sasuke a brief smile and greeting.

Sasuke watched for a moment more, and then he continued into the kitchen and grabbed three plates and napkins. He took them back to the table and set it the way he had for the past week that Naruto had been living with them. He was really big on eating together – not that Sasuke minded.

“Oh, what are we having?” Naruto asked. Sasuke looked up to see him helping Itachi down and into his wheelchair. When Itachi was seated, Naruto backed up and turned around, his eyes settling on Sasuke as he followed Itachi’s chair.

“Um, I ordered noodles and skewers from a Chinese barbeque place. I hope that’s okay?”

“Sounds great,” Itachi said. “I’m going to get a shower.”

Naruto nodded. “Please leave both of your doors cracked so that I can hear you if you call.”

Itachi’s nose scrunched in displeasure, and Sasuke ducked his head to hide a smirk. Itachi certainly hated having a nurse, regardless of it being his friend, but Sasuke noticed that the door to his room was left ajar when he lifted his head.

Naruto sat down in the chair across from Sasuke’s spot. Sasuke folded the napkins and placed them under the plates. “So, noodles and skewers are okay with you?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah!” Naruto said cheerily as he leaned his arms on the table and smiled at Sasuke. “That sounds great. Noodles are my favorite food.”

Sasuke raised a brow in query as he returned to the kitchen for glasses. “Any noodle in specific?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Nope! Noodles of any nationality – I’m sold. Though, sometimes Sakura tries to trick me with like, noodles made from vegetables, and I guess if they’re covered in enough sauce, I’m good.”

Sasuke chuckled as he sat the glasses on the table. He’d met Sakura when she’d helped Naruto bring his luggage over, and he could imagine that her mother-henning went as far as tricking Naruto into eating his vegetables, which Sasuke had come to learn quickly that Naruto and vegetables were not on speaking terms if he could help it.

He went back into the kitchen one last time to get the pitcher of water from the refrigerator, and when he returned to the table, he filled all three glasses and took his seat. Naruto was already drinking from his glass, and he pulled it away, half gone, with a satisfied, “Ah!”

Naruto sat it down and looked at Sasuke. “So, we’re usually home later and you’re already down here, so it never occurred to me to ask what you do. You work from home?”

Sasuke spun his own glass from side to side. “Yeah. I’m… a linguist, and I’m doing some translation work right now. For your uncle, actually.” He glanced up from his glass and caught Naruto’s wide-eyed stare.

“No shit? That’s crazy!” He smiled widely. “I guess you must have met him at your parents’ place. But that’s so cool – a linguist? How’d you end up in that career?”

Sasuke shrugged as he crossed his arms and leaned back. “I kind of fell into it. Good timing, I guess. I finished basic training right when the Army was looking for a Japanese translator.”

“You…” Naruto started, his mouth hanging open slightly. “You were in the Army?”

“I still am – in the reserves. Did… Itachi not tell you?” he asked with a confused frown.

He thought he saw a slight blush along Naruto’s tan cheeks as he shook his head. “I didn’t ask. I mean, I guess I kind of want to learn about you… from you.”

Sasuke felt his heart beat a little faster at that admission. “You want to learn about me?” he asked quietly.

“Well… yeah,” Naruto said simply, but he refused to make eye contact. “I… want to know about you. I’d like… to be friends.”

Sasuke swallowed and looked down at the table. “I’d like the same.”

The awkward moment was interrupted by the doorbell, and Sasuke was quick to get up and answer it. He took the little clipboard and signed the receipt then exchanged it for the food. When he turned around, Itachi was at the table making small talk with Naruto. Sasuke placed the bag on the table and began to unpack the boxes.

“I have beef, lamb, and egg entrees,” he said, opening each box and setting them out family-style. “The skewers are pork belly and beef tendon.”

“Whoa, cool,” Naruto said as he grabbed a package of chopsticks from the bag. “I’ve never had lamb or beef tendon.”

“You’ve never eaten the gristle off a steak?” Itachi asked as he took his own pair of chopsticks.

“Uh, maybe?” Naruto said as he served himself some of the beef entrée.

“It’s somewhat similar. Gristle is tough and chewy no matter how much you cook it, but tendon gets tender and smooth. But they’re both connective tissues.” Itachi served himself some of the egg dish while Sasuke grabbed a couple of skewers.

Naruto laughed. “I learn something new every day.” He reached for a tendon skewer, eyeing the greasy, translucent meat before taking a bite. Sasuke hid a smirk behind a mouthful of noodles at the look of confusion that passed over the man’s expressive face. “It’s, uh, interesting,” he said after swallowing. He set the skewer down on his plate and dug into the noodles. “Oh, my God, these are amazing,” he said around a full mouth.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever eaten with someone who has this much enthusiasm while eating,” Itachi said as he poured a bit of chili oil over his noodles.

“This is nothing,” Naruto said as he picked up a pork belly skewer. “You should see how into food my college roommate was – Choji. Man, he’d like, dissect the food by sight, smell, ingredient, and then clean the plate. Then do it all over again. It was amazing. And scary. Like, savantism or something.”

“I’m… sure that’s not a word,” Sasuke said quietly.

“It is if I said it,” Naruto replied easily enough, grinning at Sasuke before stuffing his mouth with more noodles. “Ugh, you have to tell me where this place is, Sasuke. I think it’s my new obsession.”

“I’ll double check the place,” he said with a nod.

“So, Sasuke, how is work going?” Itachi asked.

He shrugged. “Fine.” He wouldn’t go into too much detail at the dinner table. It wasn’t exactly pleasant material for dinner conversation. “I haven’t used my German in a while, so I am having to remind myself of a couple of things here and there.”

“You speak German?” Naruto asked. “That’s so cool! Do you speak any other languages?”

Sasuke took a moment to chew his mouthful of food thoroughly. Having Naruto’s full attention on him was… unnerving wasn’t the right word, but it was close. “I speak Japanese, German, and Farsi.”

Naruto pointed his chopsticks at Sasuke. “You are probably the coolest person I have ever met.”

Sasuke could feel the heat rush to his cheeks, so he reached for his water and hoped taking a drink hid his reaction.

“Yes, we’re all quite proud of Sasuke,” Itachi said, and Sasuke looked at him from the corner of his eye. “He’s probably the only self-made man to come out of the Uchiha clan since its earliest days.”

Sasuke didn’t know how to feel about that statement, so he tried to change the subject. “I finally found your game systems, Itachi. I thought maybe we could play after dinner.”

Itachi opened his mouth to respond, but Naruto beat him to it. “Afraid not, Sasuke. Itachi is going to bed early tonight.”

Itachi’s face became that emotionless mask that all Uchiha men got when they were angry. “I didn’t think being my nurse meant you made my decisions for me, Naruto.”

Naruto set his chopsticks down and reached for his napkin to wipe at his mouth with a sigh. “It doesn’t, Itachi, but we made a deal, didn’t we? I let you skimp on your physio for two days and work late into the night to finish a project for your client. And what was your end of the bargain?”

Itachi was quiet a moment before muttering, “That as soon as I met with the client and finalized the plan, I would do a long physio session and go to bed early.” Naruto gave Itachi a hard stare, and his brother let out a sigh. “You know, I don’t need a nurse, a babysitter, or another mother, Naruto.”

“I don’t disagree, Itachi. You could always fire me.”

Sasuke had sat passively listening up to this point, but he let his head snap up at that. Naruto had only been here a week, and with accompanying Itachi to work and keeping him on a strict schedule, Sasuke hadn’t really been able to spend time with him. And that was something he really wanted to do.

“Or, you could follow your nurse’s orders, go to your three-week check up in better condition than even before you got sick, and tell Dr. Senju to shove it.” He smiled wickedly at Itachi. And after a moment, Itachi chuckled and smiled back.

“All right, you win, Naruto. But it’s not even eight.” The statement, however, was punctuated by a small yawn, and Sasuke swore he saw Itachi’s lip stick out in a slight pout. “Fine. I’ll do some light reading and go to bed.”

Naruto beamed at him. “Excellent.”

And they returned to their noodles. Sasuke marveled that someone was able to get Itachi to do anything he didn’t particularly want to do, but he supposed, as a nurse, it was a useful skill to have. And he wondered what made Naruto want to be a nurse in the first place.

They finished dinner shortly after that, and Sasuke put away the leftovers and put the dishes in the dishwasher while Naruto did his nightly vitals check before Itachi got into bed. He supposed he could put on a movie in his room and was just deciding what he’d watch when Naruto came into the kitchen.

“Hey, Sasuke,” he greeted, and a hand came up to rub at the back of his head. “This is my first night that I can ‘cut out early,’ and I was wondering if… you wanted to just hang out or something?”

Sasuke’s heart picked up a little speed. The extremely hot nurse was asking to spend time with him. “Uh, yeah, sure,” he stuttered, trying to be casual as he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.

Even in the darkened kitchen, Naruto’s smile was blinding. “Okay! Just let me change out of my scrubs. I’ll meet you in the living room?”

Sasuke nodded and watched Naruto walk quickly toward his room. He turned back to face the sink and leaned over it to try to calm himself down. This didn’t mean anything. Naruto wasn’t flirting or anything. He seemed to be a social person, so it was probably just that Sasuke was available.

But he’d take it. There was just something about the blond that always caught Sasuke’s attention, and he found himself looking for any opportunity to talk to him, to learn about him, and maybe get closer to him.

Oh, he thought as he brought his head up suddenly. He’d forgotten about that strangely intimate moment before the doorbell rang – I… want to know about you. I’d like… to be friends.

Maybe… Naruto felt the same?

After only a brief pause to think that over, Sasuke went to the fridge to grab two beers and then walked to the living room and sat down on the couch. He placed both the bottles on the coffee table before opening one for himself and taking a quick gulp. As he lowered the bottle, Naruto came back from his room. He sat down on the opposite end of the couch and motioned to the other beer.

“Is that for me?” he asked.

“Yes,” Sasuke said. “I didn’t know if you actually drink or anything, but I thought I’d offer.”

Naruto smiled at him, but he didn’t reach for the bottle. “Thanks, but I don’t drink when I have patients. In case they need me.” Sasuke nodded and kept his eyes on the bottle in his hand. “Anyway, thanks for agreeing to hang out with me. I just… We haven’t really been able to talk, but the bits I’m learning are so cool. So, like, why did you want to go into the Army?”

Sasuke pressed his lips together. Want was such a strong word. He shrugged. “I didn’t really have any other option.”

“That can’t be possible,” Naruto said with a small laugh, but when Sasuke remained silent, Naruto continued quietly, “I’m not like, judging you or anything. It would be a little hypocritical if I did.” At that, Sasuke did look over at the blond. “No, like, me getting into college was a miracle. If I hadn’t straightened out, my options would probably have been limited, too.”

“Straightened out?” Sasuke asked.

Naruto let out a bark of laughter and brought a hand up to rub at the back of his head. “Yeah, well, let’s just say, after my parents passed, I was not the best kid.” He sighed. “No, yeah, I was a little shit if there ever was one.” He shot a glance over to Sasuke. “Between you and me? I’ve been arrested so many times. If my aunt’s boyfriend wasn’t with the police, I’d probably have wound up in juvie.”

Sasuke couldn’t help the wide-eyed staring. He couldn’t imagine Naruto – the blond, cheerful nurse – being a delinquent. “So, what happened?”

“Oh, man, the guilt trip!” Naruto said laughing. “Like, I’d been lectured to death already by Uncle Hashi, Uncle Tobi, and Aunt Tsunade, but the last time I got busted, my Aunt Mito like, came down to the station to get me – and you have to know, Aunt Mito is the matriarch of the family, so it was unusual for her to do something like that – and she didn’t say a word. She just stared at me in the little cell while they processed the paperwork and the bail. And then she led me out to the car, and we got in, and… she just burst out in tears. She cried for like, twenty minutes, and I had no idea what to do, but it made me feel like shit. And I swore I’d never make this woman who took me in cry like that again.”

Naruto’s quiet laughter faded, and Sasuke cleared his throat. “I guess I can relate. I… went into the Army to keep myself out of trouble.” He expected a look of surprise or something from Naruto, but all he saw was understanding. “Itachi must have told you about me,” he murmured as his eyes trailed back to his beer bottle.

“Not a lot,” Naruto answered quietly. “I was at your parents’ house for New Year’s and, well, he told me some things – that you’d run away at thirteen, came back at eighteen, and then left again. So, I guess you were in the Army. Being a linguist. That’s still really cool, by the way.”

Sasuke looked up at Naruto again. “I… I was a little shit, too, I guess. And I straightened out, like you. But… I didn’t want my past to bother my family, so I tried to take care of myself. The Army provided structure and discipline. Not to mention food and shelter. My staff sergeant found out I speak Japanese, so he recommended me for Special Forces. And it just went from there.”

“Well, do you like being a linguist?” Naruto asked, a gentle smile on his face.

Sasuke nodded. “It gave me purpose.” He bit his bottom lip thinking back to his first assignment. “I thought of it like, the story of the Tower of Babel – God, in his anger, confounded the language of man, and my purpose in life is to help them understand each other.” He blinked, not sure why he said that. It was something he’d never shared with anyone before.

“That’s so…” Naruto didn’t finish his sentence, but his gaze on Sasuke was so intense. Sasuke didn’t understand it, but he wasn’t uncomfortable with it. He rather liked Naruto’s attention on him, and with that thought, he felt a blush burn his cheeks.

“What made you want to be a nurse?” he blurted, trying to change the subject.

Naruto’s intense gaze softened with wry humor. “Ugh, I lost a bet with my Uncle Tobi. I had to be a candy striper at the hospital, and after the embarrassment wore off, it just really called to me. I switched my major in college, and I took a lot of electives in sports medicine. Like, the physio stuff. And, since people always ask, I chose to do in-home care because then I feel like I’m really giving my all to a patient, instead of flitting about from one to the next in an in-patient setting.”

“That’s… that’s a lot more impressive than what I do,” Sasuke said quietly.

“It’s not a competition,” Naruto said with a smile. “What we do is equally important, you know.”

Sasuke didn’t have anything to say to that, and Naruto seemed to be out of topics, as well, if his slight frown was any indication. After a moment, Sasuke cleared his throat and asked, “Would you like to watch a movie? Or play a game?”

Naruto’s gaze jumped up, and his grin was slightly feral-looking. “Better go for the movie. I’m a little too competitive to play video games while Itachi is sleeping.”

Sasuke slowly returned the smile with a smirk. “Then we’ll have to make time to play.”

“You’re on! Now, pick a movie. I’m going to get some snacks and drinks.” And then he was off to the kitchen, leaving Sasuke a strange mix of flustered and amused, and he couldn’t help the small smile as he reached for the remote to turn on the TV.

TBC

Chapter Text

The small frown didn’t leave Sasuke’s lips as he made his way into the bar Suigetsu had picked for their get-together. The cold, dark night was replaced by dim lights and low jazz from a live band, and he made his way over to the bar. He knew that Suigetsu, Karin, and Juugo were already somewhere in the bar, but he needed a drink first.

He leaned against the bar, taking in the place as he waited for the bartender to finish up with his current customer. It looked to be some sort of retro bar, harkening back to an earlier era, with group booths and tables arranged to face a small dance floor and stage. There was a second floor, and Sasuke caught Karin’s bright red hair flashing over the railing.

“What can I get you?” he heard behind him, and he turned to the bartender.

“Crown and Coke,” he said, reaching for his wallet.

“Put it on my tab,” a voice came from his left, and as the bartender nodded and turned to make the drink, Sasuke looked over at the man who was now rather close to him. The man smiled at him. “You here by yourself?”

Sasuke flicked his eyes quickly up and down the man – black skinny jeans and a dark blue button up, tall, shaggy brown hair, and warm brown eyes. “No,” he answered.

“Ah,” the man said, his smile faltering just a bit. “Well, if it’s not a significant other that you’re here with, would you like to join me for a drink?”

Sasuke flicked his eyes over the man again and then to the drink the bartender set down next to him, his frown deepening slightly when the image of blond hair and blue eyes and a devastating smile passed through his mind. He picked up his drink and looked at the man beside him. “Maybe later. Thanks for the drink.” He tipped the drink the man’s way before walking away toward the stairs, slowly ascending as he sipped at it. When he reached the landing, his eyes immediately went to where he’d seen Karin, and he found the table his friends occupied.

“Sasuke!” Karin greeted excitedly when she spotted him, and she quickly jumped up and brought him into a hug. Sasuke was momentarily surprised by the gesture, though he really shouldn’t have been, he guessed, and he hesitantly brought his left arm around her and loosely hugged her back.

“Hi, Karin,” he murmured, and she pulled back from him with a large smile on her face. He looked her up and down – he hadn’t seen her in ten years, like Juugo, and she hadn’t changed all that much. Except for her wardrobe – she’d matured from cut-off shorts and crop tops to skinny jeans and a shiny sleeveless top that draped attractively down the front.

She was shoved out of the way by Suigetsu, who threw an arm around Sasuke’s neck with a cheerful, “Bro!” Sasuke grunted, forgoing returning the hug, and Suigetsu quickly let him go. Sasuke noted his outfit was little different than Karin’s, though his shirt was less… drape-y. Juugo refrained from getting up and hugging him, so he, Karin, and Suigetsu sat down at the table, and he nodded to Juugo in greeting.

“God, Sasuke, I just can’t believe you’re here!” Karin said with a wide smile. “I’m mean, Juugo kept us up to date with those brief letters you sent him, but ten years is just so long!”

“And who’d have thought the little runaway would end up being a macho soldier,” Suigetsu added with a laugh.

“It’s not like I saw combat,” Sasuke muttered as he brought his drink up for another sip.

Suigetsu shrugged. “So, we hear you’re living with your brother right now. You reunited with your family?” He gave Sasuke a small, genuine smile. “That’s nice. I’m glad you could finally do that.”

Sasuke nodded and cleared his throat. “Yes. It’s… really great to be home.” And he had been surprised to find that the statement was true. He’d been nervous and doubtful when he’d first started on the trip home, and even after he’d seen his family again, but a month after being home, and he could honestly say that he was glad to be here.

He was less honest when thinking about why he was glad, because when he thought about why, he inevitably thought about a smile and a laugh and intense blue eyes, and he was too terrified to admit that feelings for Itachi’s friend might be involved.

“So, what are you doing with yourself?” Karin asked excitedly as she leaned on her arms on the table.

Sasuke shrugged. “I’ve got a job translating some documents for a professor at the university. It should keep me occupied for a few weeks or so.” He sipped at his drink again.

“Is something bothering you, Sasuke?” Juugo asked, and when Sasuke looked over at him, he was frowning, his eyes showing concern.

“I’m fine,” he said quickly, maybe too quickly, too harshly, because Karin and Suigetsu were also frowning at him. He stubbornly pressed his lips together, his eyes darting down to the remaining liquid in his glass, but after a moment, he gave up – because despite the ten years between them, he still knew these people and knew they wouldn’t let it go. “It’s just… the documents are about… soulmates.”

His statement was met with brief silence, and then Karin reached out and grabbed his left hand, her thumb running gently over the base of his ring finger. “Is it too hard?” she asked gently as she looked him in the eye.

He shook his head slowly, remembering the way she’d cried when his ring had appeared after they’d first met, after she’d pulled him into a random hug, but one hadn’t appeared on her. But she hadn’t cried for herself – she’d genuinely cried for him.

“I had long ago decided my soulmate was better off without me,” he said as he looked down at their joined hands. “But as I’m reading these documents, I recognize that they’re generally depicting the romantic bond that everyone knows, and that’s not what the professor’s researching. From what I can find of his published works, he is studying a theory of non-romantic bonds and weak romantic bonds that don’t last. But a lot of these documents are from during and just after the war and speak about soulmates that have been separated in some way or have not been able to be together. And I guess I just keep thinking about… the other side of my bond.”

He looked up at Karin and noticed the surprise on her face. At his raised brow, she said, “Oh, well, sorry. I was just surprised. I’m just really familiar with those theories now. Hashirama Senju, right?” When he nodded, she returned the nod and continued, “So, what about the other side of the bond?” She let his hand go and reached for her drink.

Sasuke was quiet a moment, trying to get his thoughts together. “I just wonder… is my soulmate suffering because I’m not there? Or, if it’s not a romantic bond, if it’s someone who’s supposed to have an impact on my life, am I missing out on something by not seeking out my soulmate?”

“How would you even go about looking for that person, though?” Suigetsu asked. “I just think it’s impossible, so why worry about it?”

“I’ve thought the same,” Sasuke conceded, and he leaned back in his chair with a sigh. Of course, the other thing that had plagued his mind over the past few days was that every time he tried to imagine some elusive image of a soulmate… an image of Naruto would eventually form, and it was frustrating and painful, to an extent, but also somehow thrilling and warm.

“Is that all, Sasuke?” Juugo asked, and Sasuke mentally groaned at how the man was still so goddamn perceptive. He looked up and saw all three of them watching, waiting for him to spill whatever else was bothering him.

He really didn’t know if he wanted to talk about it. But these were the people who were there for him when his world completely darkened. Juugo had taken him in and tried to keep him hidden from his gang life while urging him to go home. Suigetsu had helped shelter him from the worst of Hebi when he could while also helping him through his panic when he realized he liked guys. And Karin, while not a part of Hebi, had protected them all as she could, somehow being able to tell them when cops were onto the gang and when to step back from a planned heist or deal. They had been something like a family when he couldn’t go back to his own.

With a deep breath, Sasuke leaned forward, and he downed the rest of his drink before meeting their eyes again. “Well, there’s this… guy…” he said awkwardly, and he watched as the three blinked and then began to laugh.

“So, you’re having man trouble, huh?” Suigetsu asked with a sly smile.

Karin snorted, but at Sasuke’s glare, she sat up and composed herself. “Sorry, sorry. Okay, tell us. What about him?”

Sasuke shrugged and looked away. “I don’t know, really. He’s Itachi’s friend and nurse. I’ve known of him for a month, known him personally for a couple of weeks, but… I don’t know. I just… feel drawn to him.”

“Aw, Sasuke’s in love at first sight,” Suigetsu said with a laugh, but he yelped in pain when Karin smacked him in the arm.

She looked at Sasuke with an encouraging smile. “So, what? You’re not sure how to approach him? Don’t know if he swings that way?”

“Well, there’s that,” he said, wishing he had another drink. “But even if I knew he’d be open to something, even if I had a sure-fire way to ask him out – even had the confidence to do so – I find myself wondering… Why would I go after this guy and not my soulmate? Why would I inflict my baggage on him? If I don’t think I deserve a soulmate, why do I think I deserve anyone?”

“Sasuke,” Juugo said sternly before Karin or Suigetsu could pipe up. “You can’t honestly think you deserve to be alone for the rest of your life because you were forced to do some unsavory things in your childhood.” When he didn’t respond, Juugo added, “Do you think the same of me or Suigetsu?”

“No!” he practically yelled. Then he sighed and looked away, his gaze landing on the woman on stage crooning out a soft jazz standard. At a table nearby, he saw the man that had tried to pick him up at the bar, his arm around a young man and his mouth pressed close to the other’s ear. He’d moved on easily enough, it seemed, and Sasuke scoffed quietly in amusement.

“So, what are you going to do? If you don’t think me and Juugo should spend our lives alone, then you shouldn’t either,” Suigetsu said, pulling Sasuke’s attention back to the group. “So, are you going to be alone the rest of your life, or are you going to see if this guy’s interested in some fun times?”

“You’re such a pig,” Karin groused. She turned to Sasuke. “I think you should definitely see if this guy is interested.” She waggled her eyebrows before she frowned. “Oh, but… earlier… Are you sure you don’t want to look for your soulmate? I thought maybe you were thinking about it.”

Sasuke brought his hands up to rub over his face. That, in a nutshell, was the root of his dilemma, really. He was starting to wonder if he should put some effort into finding his soulmate. But Naruto… Naruto had just grabbed something deep inside of Sasuke and wasn’t letting go. If this was a decision that Sasuke had to make – if he had to choose between his soulmate and Naruto – he’d effectively be cutting one of them out of his life forever.

And he honestly didn’t know which one would hurt more to lose.

“How is that even a question, though?” Suigetsu asked with a frown. “I know it seems kind of impossible to find your soulmate, but you know you have one. Why settle with some random guy when you know a person made just for you is out there?”

“Shut up, Suigetsu!” Karin said heatedly. “You just said earlier that he shouldn’t worry about finding his soulmate because it’s so hard to find that person!”

Suigetsu shrugged. “Just playing devil’s advocate.”

“That doesn’t help,” Juugo said calmly. “Plus, what if Sasuke’s soulmate is a non-romantic bond mate, like this research says is possible?”

“But what if it is a romantic bond? Why give up on a sure thing for a random guy?” Suigetsu argued.

“He’s not a random guy,” Sasuke interjected, not really paying attention to their argument but getting fed up at how Suigetsu kept referring to Naruto that way. He may have ended up in Sasuke’s life randomly, but Sasuke felt he was anything but random.

“Random enough,” Suigetsu shot back. “It’s not like you’re in love with the guy.” He laughed, but he quickly stopped when Sasuke didn’t react in any way – not a scoff nor an eyeroll. “You’re not, right?”

Was he in love with Naruto?

“You did say you were drawn to him,” Juugo added.

“I don’t know,” he said, but he kept to himself how the past two weeks with Naruto were some of the best days of his life. He’d never really been so comfortable with someone, or so easily open about himself. And the man wasn’t bad to look at – God, one of the hottest guys he’d ever seen, and Sasuke had been a lot of places and seen a lot of men in the past ten years.

His friends were silent a moment, and then Karin stood up. “Well, you can not know a little longer. Tonight, we drink!” She grabbed Sasuke’s arm and led him to the bar on this floor, and he decided to let his troubles go for the night. They’d be waiting for him tomorrow anyway.

~*~

Naruto frowned as he helped Itachi do his last rep of physio, lost in thought as his body automatically went through the training motions. When Itachi was done, he automatically helped him down from the table and handed Itachi his cane.

That got a small smile out of him, though. Two weeks of rest and muscle training had allowed Itachi to go back to the cane to get around rather than the wheelchair, and Naruto was happy for it. As Itachi walked over to his desk, Naruto folded up the table and set it aside to grab on their way out.

“Naruto,” Itachi said quietly, and he looked up to see Itachi looking at him in slight concern. “Is there something wrong? You’ve been frowning a lot lately.”

Naruto blushed at having been called out, and he brought a hand up to rub at his neck. “Sorry, Itachi. I’m just in my head.” Itachi motioned to the chair in front of his desk, and his eyes invited Naruto to share. With a sigh, Naruto plopped down in the chair and settled his arms on the armrests. “I was just wondering what’s going on with Sasuke. For the last few days, he’s been holed up in his room, and I just feel like he’s… struggling with something?”

Naruto watched Itachi’s face twist at his words, but while he’d anticipated confusion or curiosity or understanding, he’d not anticipated guilt. His own face scrunched up in question, and Itachi let out a sigh. “I guess I have been putting this off too long.”

Naruto’s confusion changed into worry. “What?”

Itachi gazed at him, his eyes a little bit sad, and he said, “So, you know that Sasuke is doing some translation work for your uncle, right?” When Naruto nodded, Itachi continued, “Well, you know he studies soulmates, and he thought it would be a good idea to have Sasuke do those translations so that he could… rethink his position that he doesn’t deserve a soulmate.”

“So, you think he’s been distracted because he’s… okay with the idea now?” Naruto asked cautiously. Knowing that Sasuke was against the idea of soulmate kind of hurt, but if there was a chance he’d change his mind…

“I don’t know, Naruto, but there’s something else. I was going to tell you two weeks ago, but I wound up in the hospital, and then it never seemed to be a good time.” A small bit of pity seemed to creep into Itachi’s gaze, and Naruto felt something start to constrict in his chest. “I’m not sure how to say this, but… Two weeks ago, right before I was taken to the hospital, I found out that Sasuke has a red ring on his finger,” Itachi said quietly.

It felt like the breath was stolen from his lungs, and he could only stare at Itachi incredulously.

“Apparently, he touched some girl when he was a kid, and it formed,” Itachi carried on, his look and hand gestures nervous as he stared at Naruto.

The silence stretched between them until Naruto shattered it with a quiet and broken, “So, Sasuke has a soulmate? And it’s not me.”

“I’m so sorry, Naruto,” Itachi said, and he made to stand up, but Naruto halted him with a hand.

“No, it’s okay. We knew this was a possibility, that Sasuke wasn’t my soulmate. I should have known better than to get my hopes up.”

“Get your hopes up? Naruto,” Itachi queried gently, “Are you in love with Sasuke?”

He didn’t answer for a moment, afraid of saying it out loud. He’d felt something indescribable when he’d set eyes on an eighteen-year-old Sasuke in that picture, but meeting him and spending the past two weeks getting to know him during dinners together and late-night talks… “I think so,” he whispered.

Itachi paled slightly and said, “I’m so sorry,” again.

Naruto waved him off and was so glad when one of Itachi’s employees came in with something to discuss. He got up from the chair and moved to the couch on the other side of the expansive office, pulling his bag over and reaching for his book. They had a few more hours before Itachi would be done for the day, and Naruto had a sinking suspicion he’d spend those few hours thinking about Sasuke and what he’d just learned.

And he did, as that was still rolling through his mind as he and Itachi made their way down to the street to Itachi’s car. Naruto packed the table into the trunk along with his bag and made his way to the driver’s side.

“Is there anything you’d like for dinner?” he asked Itachi to distract himself from other thoughts.

Itachi pulled out his phone and hummed in thought. “I think there’s leftover pizza in the fridge, unless you want something else.”

“No, pizza’s good,” Naruto said as he carefully drove them back to the apartment. Traffic was a little crazy, and he didn’t want anything to happen to Itachi’s car. But they were home soon enough, and Naruto parked in Itachi’s assigned space and popped the trunk to get his things.

“Naruto,” Itachi called as he slammed the trunk lid closed. He looked up and saw a frown on Itachi’s face. “I’m sorry if my news upset you.”

Naruto hefted the table strap up onto his shoulder and walked over to Itachi. “Please stop apologizing, Itachi. It’s something I needed to know, and I’ll get over it eventually.” He gave Itachi a small smile and nodded his head toward the elevator. The trip up was quiet, and when they made it into the apartment, they found Sasuke wasn’t home.

That saddened Naruto – Sasuke wasn’t around again – but in light of Itachi’s news, it was probably best. Naruto needed to stop thinking about Sasuke as someone he could be with in a romantic way, and distance was a good way to achieve that.

He and Itachi ate a quiet dinner, and then they played a couple of hours on Itachi’s PlayStation before Itachi decided to go to bed. Naruto went to his room and slipped out of his scrubs and into a pair of sweats and a tank. He washed his face and brushed his teeth and then tried to read a bit more in his book. But every few minutes he looked over at the clock and wondered where Sasuke might be, until he threw his book to the side, realizing he wasn’t going to get very far into it, and stretched out on his bed.

He must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew, he was jerking up in bed, his head a little fuzzy. He looked over at the clock to see 2:47AM, and he furrowed his brows wondering what woke him up. As he reached to turn off his lamp, he heard a noise from the living room, and he cautiously made his way to the door and into the hallway.

He heard more faint sounds, and he quietly stepped down the hall and moved his hand along the wall searching for the light switch. His fingers danced over it, and when he didn’t hear anymore sounds for a minute or two, he took a deep breath and flipped it on. As light flooded the living room, he took in Sasuke’s startled form on the couch.

“Oh, Sasuke!” he said as he exhaled. “You scared me a little there.” He chuckled a little and moved further into the room, frowning when he took in Sasuke’s disheveled state and how he seemed to be having trouble staying up on his hand. “Are you all right?”

Sasuke fell back onto the couch, his tall body taking up most of the space, and waved his hand in a dismissive way. “Fine. Just a little too much to drink.” He brought his hand up to cover his eyes.

Naruto’s frown deepened, but instead of asking anything, he moved into the kitchen and filled a glass with water. He brought it back into the living room and placed it gently on the coffee table. “Um, try to drink some water, okay?”

“Thanks,” Sasuke said. When he didn’t say anything else, Naruto figured that was it for the night, so he turned to make his way back to his room. But then he heard a quiet, “Naruto,” and he paused and looked over his shoulder. Sasuke had lifted his hand from his eyes, and he was gazing at Naruto with a sad and vulnerable stare. “Do you think a person can only love his soulmate?” he asked quietly.

Naruto was startled by the question, and for a moment, he had no idea what to say. But the look on Sasuke’s face told Naruto that this was what had been bothering him lately, and Naruto wanted to do whatever he could to help ease him.

He turned back toward the couch, and as he made his way over, Sasuke’s eyes widened slightly, and he hurried to sit up and give Naruto some room at the end of the couch. When he sat down – sideways so he could look at Sasuke – he found himself looking at Sasuke’s left hand to see if he could see the ring. But his hand was curled up in his lap, and Naruto couldn’t see the ring finger. But then he felt bad at trying to see it, because that was Sasuke’s business, and Naruto wasn’t entitled to know Sasuke’s business.

He raised his eyes to see Sasuke’s gaze on him, intense and somewhat pleading. “I… I don’t know,” he said quietly. “The stories and movies would make it seem that way. Or maybe not that you can only love your soulmate, but that your soulmate would be the truest love.” He looked down at his lap as he pulled some fuzz from his sweats.

“It’s funny that you ask me that, actually,” he finally continued. “Um, my parents weren’t soulmates or anything, but they were so in love and happy that a lot of people sometimes thought they were. And then one day, my dad met his actual soulmate.” He heard Sasuke’s sharp intake of breath, and he looked up and smiled slightly. “I don’t know the details, but I guess when she thought they’d be together, he refused. He wanted to stay with my mom and me. She didn’t like that decision, and she ended up killing them both.”

Sasuke choked off a sound, and Naruto barely resisted reaching out to offer comfort. “I’m sorry, Naruto,” Sasuke said softly, his voice a little thick.

Naruto shook his head. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago.” He took a deep breath. “So, I guess my dad is a good example – he didn’t stop loving my mom just because he found his soulmate, and he chose my mom over her. So, you don’t only have to love your soulmate, I don’t think.”

Sasuke blinked at him, and Naruto swore a little bit of the sadness he saw there previously had cleared. He looked deep in thought, his bottom lip snagged between his teeth, and Naruto watched as he seemed to debate something in his mind. Finally, he licked his lips and asked, “So, if you had to choose between a soulmate you’ve yet to meet and someone you like right now, what would you do?”

Unbidden, Naruto felt tears sting his eyes, and he quickly averted them to the side. That was such a hard question – because Naruto was in that exact scenario, wasn’t he? He’d been hoping more and more that Sasuke was the one – both the person he was coming to love and the person who was his soulmate. And now that didn’t seem to be the case. And he hadn’t been given the time to even consider that question himself before finding out that the one he might choose over his soulmate had one of his own.

He knew Sasuke was waiting for some sort of answer, so he pulled himself together and cleared his throat. “That’s a hard question to answer, I guess.” He looked over at Sasuke. “But if I really have to think about it, I guess I’d also have to ask myself what would have happened if my dad had met his soulmate before my parents were married. Would he have been even happier than he was with my mom? Would being with him have helped that woman with her mental health? Maybe they’d both still be alive. There’s a lot of stuff to think about.”

He paused, his fingers clenching in his sweats as he tried to keep himself from crying. “And when I think about what soulmates are supposed to be to each other, I can’t help but think maybe they don’t have to be together… but maybe they should.”

Sasuke’s eyes looked a little glassy, and he finally lowered his gaze from Naruto’s face. He inhaled shakily and asked, his voice hollow, “And what are they supposed to be to each other?”

Naruto felt his chest constrict in what he could only name devastation as he whispered, “Everything.”

TBC

Chapter Text

“Fuck my life, Sakura,” Naruto murmured as he sprawled his upper body over the table.

“Oh, it’s not that bad,” Sakura said as she smacked his arm to get him to sit up. He did so with a groan and watched as she pulled Styrofoam containers from the plastic bag and sat one before him.

“Says you,” he mumbled as he popped the top open and took in the baked potato inside. It was an oversized “Texas-style” spud, topped with butter, cheese, chives, chopped brisket, and barbeque sauce – he momentarily forgot his woe as he breathed in the deliciousness and tried not to drool.

“Yes, says me,” she said as she threw a plastic fork at him. “Nothing you’ve just described is the end of the world.”

Naruto snapped his eyes up from his lunch and glared at her. “Sakura, I literally told the man of my dreams to go find someone else to be his boyfriend or whatever.”

She frowned as she opened her own container, and then she sighed. “I know. But you said he already has a soulmate, right?”

Naruto shrugged as he took a bite of his potato. He swallowed and said, “I didn’t get a chance to see the ring, but Itachi said he saw it and that Sasuke said it appeared a long time ago – before I even moved here, I think.”

“Well, then, I think you did the right thing. And I know you’re sad right now, but I’m here for you. And maybe after a while you can start thinking about your own soulmate.”

Naruto watched as one of Itachi’s employees got up from her desk and walked past them to the coffee bar installed in the office. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well,” Sakura said with a small frown, “Maybe we’ve been too fixated on Dr. Uchiha’s theory. I mean, it looks like it’s not true. So, maybe we should go back to your uncle’s theories.”

Naruto glanced down at his food. “Uh, which one?” He looked up at her as she reached for her bottle of water.

She paused, the rim of the bottle opening pressed against her bottom lip as she hummed. She took a quick sip and said, “Well, let’s stick with the belief that Itachi was the one who caused your ring to appear. He doesn’t have one of his own, so I don’t think it’s the weak romantic bond theory. In that case, Dr. Senju implies that he would also have a thin, pale ring. But what about the other one – the non-romantic bond theory? I think it said that the person would have some sort of influence on your life.”

Naruto bit his lip in thought. He supposed it was possible. “I guess,” he mumbled.

“It’s entirely possible that Itachi is an influencer that will guide you to something big in life. Speaking of – how is Itachi?” Sakura asked.

At that, Naruto smiled and laughed as he quickly glanced at the door leading to Itachi’s office. “He’s great! His follow-up with Uncle Tobi is next week, and I’m sure everything will be fine. Itachi says he’s feeling the best he’s felt in some time. He’s even more confident walking without his cane!”

“That’s great,” Sakura said. “What’s changed?”

“Well, when we first met, he told me he was doing his physio, but the regimen I put him on he said is more intense than anything he’s done. It’s not only muscle training, but gait and balance, too, and so he feels more stable when he ambulates.” He smiled to himself. “It’s always so great to help someone.”

Sakura reached across the table and squeezed his hand briefly. “You always help people, Naruto.”

Naruto flipped his hand under hers and squeezed back. “I know. But this feels different, somehow. Like, most of my patients – I stay with them until their illnesses or old age finally take them. And that work is still fulfilling, but it’s always bittersweet. But with Itachi – I’ve helped him, and in that time, he hasn’t declined but gotten stronger. I’ll leave his service with him fine and independent, and it’s… knowing that, it’s the best I’ve ever felt at the end of a contract.”

He stared at their clasped hands. “And you know what? I’ve even been thinking lately, after all Itachi’s sessions and how good it makes me feel, that maybe I should go back to school and get a more specialized education in sports medicine or something. Maybe get into physical therapy or be a trainer.”

Sakura pulled her hand away and clapped excitedly. “Oh, Naruto, that’s great! I know you’ve been wondering where you should go from here, and it sounds like you finally have something in mind. Oh!” She slammed her hands down on the table. “Maybe that’s it! Maybe that’s the big influence Itachi has had on your life. You were meant to meet Itachi so he could help you figure out what you want to do next in your career!”

Naruto blinked at her, his mouth slightly open in shock. That… would make some sort of sense if his uncle’s theory was right, but there was no way to know. And if that was the case… why had he been so drawn to Sasuke? It couldn’t have been mere attraction; the way he felt about Sasuke – even before he’d met him – went far past any attraction he’d felt to others before.

Before he or Sakura could say anything else, Itachi’s door opened, and he walked over to them, smiling as he sat down at the table.

“My head designer asked if I could come out here and quiet down the bubblegum girl,” Itachi said as he accepted the last container from the bag that Sakura had brought. Sakura whipped her head around, and Naruto chuckled as the blond man on the other side of the room jumped in shock and ducked down behind his computer monitor.

“How did your call go?” Naruto asked as his laughter died out.

“It was fine, Naruto, thank you,” Itachi said as he picked up his sandwich. “Actually, it ended a bit ago. I was held up because Sasuke called me.” He took a bite of his sandwich, his eyes trained on Naruto. When neither he nor Sakura said anything, he swallowed and continued, “He was asking questions about soulmates. It seems he’s… going to try to locate his.”

Naruto saw the concern in Itachi’s eyes, heard the hesitant way he’d brought up the subject, and he swallowed the lump in his throat then cleared it quietly. “Yes, I know. I… might have had a hand in that.” He blinked quickly, trying to prevent any tears from forming. Encouraging Sasuke to find his soulmate and knowing he was trying to do so were two very different things, and Naruto swore he could feel a hole opening in his heart. He shook his head. “I’d rather not talk about it anymore, though.”

Itachi nodded and moved his attention over to Sakura. “It’s good to see you, Sakura. I’m glad you had time to grab lunch with us.”

Sakura nodded. “I know – my schedule’s been crazy this past week. A few colleagues called out. I haven’t really talked to anyone other than my patients in forever. This will be my first weekend off in a long time.” She looked around her before continuing, “This is a really great office. It’s beautifully designed. Oh, but I guess that would make sense since it’s literally your job to design.”

“Thank you, Sakura. I’ve always believed that an additional motivator in one’s career is a functional yet stylish environment. And it’s always evolving, as any new designers I take on tend to leave their mark in some way.” He also looked around his office with a small smile. “So, you said you’re off this weekend?” he asked after a moment.

“Yep,” Sakura nodded as she reached for her water again.

“Well, maybe we can all do something,” Itachi said as he picked up a chip. “Sasuke will be out of town, so I’ll have some time to do some things that he has no interest in doing. Like taking a trip on the ferry.”

“Oh, what’s Sasuke up to?” Sakura asked, and Naruto wondered if they were really sitting there talking about the guy he was kind of being heartbroken over at the moment.

“Basic training. He’s flying back to the base Friday evening and returning Monday.”

“Wow – a man in uniform. I kind of want to see that,” she said with a laugh.

“Um, excuse me,” Naruto interjected. “Could we maybe not talk about Sasuke? That’s a little cold.”

“Oh, sorry, Naruto,” Sakura said, a light blush dusting her cheeks.

He waved her apology off. “No, sorry. I can’t put an embargo on talking about Sasuke just because of… things.”

“No, you’re right, Naruto,” Itachi said. “In light of the situation, we should let a little time go by before talking so casually. I guess it’s a good thing that your contract is almost up.”

“Yeah,” Naruto said, thinking about how he wouldn’t be able to see Sasuke everyday anymore. Not that he had been. Sasuke had been pretty scarce for several days of the past two weeks.

“Well, then let’s make plans for this weekend!” Sakura said excitedly – and if it was meant as a distraction, Naruto was willing to go along with it.

~*~

Sasuke stared at the bright screen of his computer, the words Theories on an Incomplete Bond between Soulmates by Madara Uchiha, PhD, SUNY staring back at him. He had finally remembered that Itachi had advised him to check out their uncle’s research, and after a brief conversation with him and several days of searching for the elusive research, here he was ready to read it.

Sort of ready.

He’d spent so much time getting ready to fly out to base that he only had a couple of hours before Karin swung by to pick him up, and he didn’t know if he should read it now or wait until he got back. The longer he stared at the screen, the more he thought he should wait, but that felt like he was hesitating, so he moved his hand to his mouse and scrolled down.

A lot of the science jargon was lost on him, but he was getting the gist:

As we know from the scientific standard written by Saunders and Cole, the phenomenon of the “red ring” is a product of hyper-melanogenesis in which the body overproduces pheomelanin and turns the skin red. Though, it remains in debate so many years later why only the portion of skin around the left digitus annularis (ring finger) is subject to this process. But it is the more recent work of Eller et al., in which they discuss how DNA can induce pigmentation of the skin, that helps focus the theory of an incomplete bond between soulmates.

The “red ring” phenomenon has been observed in soulmates as a vibrant red pigmentation encircling the base the of the left ring finger and is the width of a thin ribbon. The “red ring” manifests when two compatible parties experience skin-to-skin contact, and the events that occur before and after this contact have been thoroughly documented, including tingling and a warming sensation around the base of the ring finger. What has also been thoroughly documented are instances of a less vibrant and thinner “red ring,” and these individuals reported not having experienced either tingling or warming events.

Sasuke let out a breath and leaned back in his chair. The article was twenty-three pages, and he didn’t know if he could work his way through theories that dealt with DNA, amino acids, proteins, and whatever else this involved. With a quiet groan, he scrolled down to the conclusion section to see if Madara summed it all up nicely for him.

The incomplete bond theory hypothesizes that half of the bond is formed when one party experiences skin-to-skin contact with a person like the bond mate – specifically one who is genetically similar. The chemical reactions that trigger the hyper-melanogenesis are started by this initial contact, creating the lesser ring, and are completed upon contact with the intended bond mate, creating the complete ring.

The incomplete bond theory – like any of the other theories surrounding the less vibrant and thinner rings – is unverified and likely to remain so for some time. However, based on the recent scientific work that gives some credit to DNA in the “red ring” phenomenon, it is held throughout this discussion that the incomplete bond theory is the most likely of all theories to be true and verifiable.

Well, that was a little clearer, at least. If Sasuke was reading it correctly, then his intended bond mate was someone genetically similar to Karin, meaning a relative.

Sasuke’s palms began to sweat. That seemed too easy. He’d had several conversations in which they all discussed how difficult it would be to find his soulmate. If Madara’s theory was correct, then all he had to do was find and touch Karin’s relatives until he found his soulmate.

Sasuke frowned as he closed his laptop and pushed back from his desk. He actually didn’t know if Karin had any relatives other than her mother. That was the only family she’d spoken about back when they were kids, and he’d never asked after more information – always believing it’d be a bit rude when he refused to share much about his own family. He supposed it was for the same reason – neither wanted family mixed up with Hebi.

But he could rectify that. They were going to lunch before Karin dropped him at the airport, so he had an opportunity to talk to her about it and see if she had any relatives nearby. Not that distance mattered – nothing he’d read so far indicated that geographical proximity was a factor in the bond. Karin’s surname was Japanese, so it was possible she had family over there. Sasuke was sure he still had one or two distant relatives over there, as well. He could always take a trip there. It might be nice to return without being on active duty.

He looked at his bedside clock – he now only had an hour and a half to get ready. He stood from his chair and headed to the bathroom to shower. He quickly washed up and spent thirty minutes drying and styling his hair – a luxury he wouldn’t have for the next couple days. Then he quickly applied the concealer to his ring finger and returned to his room to pull on his fatigues. He added some last-minute items to his duffle bag, and he was ready.

He slung his duffle over his shoulder and headed downstairs where he was surprised to find Naruto and Itachi. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

Itachi and Naruto turned from their lunch at his voice, and while Itachi greeted him with a smile, he noticed Naruto’s eyes widen in shock. His attention returned to Itachi when his brother pushed back from the table and stood.

“I called it a day early. It pays to be the boss,” he said as he walked over to Sasuke. He noticed that Itachi wasn’t using the cane, and he blinked in surprise. When had that happened? “And I wanted to see you off. I can give you a ride to the airport.”

“Oh,” he said. “I already have a ride. I’m catching lunch with some friends, and they’ll drop me off.”

“Oh, well, that’s good.” Itachi chuckled a bit. “I’ll just be content that you’re coming back this time.” Sasuke suppressed the flinch at that statement, but he apparently couldn’t keep the guilt from his face, since Itachi frowned and slowly enveloped him in a hug. “I’m sorry, otouto. I didn’t mean anything by it.” His voice was soft in Sasuke’s ear. “I understand what happened and why you did what you did. It’s in the past. Let’s put it behind us and focus on the present.” Itachi pulled back from the hug, but his hands stayed on Sasuke’s shoulders. “Your training is only for the weekend, and you’ll be back on Monday. How about I pick you up from the airport?”

Sasuke was able to hold back the tears that wanted to gather in his eyes, but he wasn’t sure he was keeping the blush from his cheeks. “I’d like that,” he said quietly. “I’ll text you my flight information.”

Itachi patted him on the shoulder and then stepped back, revealing that Naruto had since stood from the table, too, and had come a bit closer.

“Wow, Sasuke,” Naruto said with a smile. “It’s one thing to know you’re in the Army and a whole other to see you in that.” He looked Sasuke up and down. “Makes me wonder what you’d look like in your dress blues.”

Sasuke opened his mouth to say that he’d probably only wear those to Itachi’s wedding or his own, but the thought that his wedding might involve someone other than the blond with whom he was very likely in love stopped those words from forming. Instead, he cleared his throat and said, “I’m sure there will be an opportunity at some point.”

There was a moment of silence between the three of them, and then Naruto continued, “So, where are you headed?”

“Fort Bragg,” he answered, adjusting the duffle bag on his shoulder.

“That sounds familiar.” Naruto’s face scrunched up in thought, and Sasuke couldn’t help but think it was cute. Then his face lit in recognition, and Naruto turned wide eyes on him. “Holy shit, Sasuke! Are you a Green Beret?”

Sasuke blinked in surprise before a snort of laughter slipped out. He brought his amusement under control and nodded. “Yes, I am. That is the nickname of the Special Forces.”

“Like, a John Wayne Green Beret?”

At Sasuke’s confused frown, Itachi helpfully added, “A movie about a Green Beret mission during the Vietnam War.”

“Oh, well, not exactly then,” Sasuke said to Naruto. “I’m trained for combat, but my role is focused on foreign collaboration.” Which he thought was rather obvious since he was a linguist, but not everyone was well-versed on the nuances of the armed forces, he knew.

“And here I thought you couldn’t get any cooler,” Naruto murmured.

Before Sasuke could respond – as if he had a response – his phone chimed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a text from Karin that she was waiting outside when he was ready. He slipped his phone back in his pocket and said, “My ride’s here. I’ll see you on Monday.”

Itachi nodded and stepped up to hug him again. When he let go, Sasuke raised a hand to casually wave to Naruto, but the blond grinned and flung his hand against his forehead in a sloppy salute. Sasuke rolled his eyes but smiled, and then he snapped his heels together, straightened his back, and returned the salute.

With one last “Goodbye,” Sasuke headed to the elevator and out to the sidewalk where he saw Karin’s beat-up sedan parked at the curb. Juugo was in the passenger seat, and Suigetsu waved at him from the backseat. With an amused sigh, Sasuke walked over to the backseat door and pulled it open with a “Shove over,” for Suigetsu.

“You’re so lazy!” Suigetsu said as he slid across the bench seat and buckled up.

“I prefer to think of it as being safe,” he said as he threw his duffle bag in and climbed in and buckled up. “Karin, Juugo,” he greeted with a nod.

“Man, Sasuke! Seeing you in that outfit is a trip,” Karin said as she carefully pulled into traffic and took off.

Sasuke raised a brow. “Not the first time I’ve heard that today.” After a moment, he asked, “So, where are we going for lunch?”

“Oh! This little street taco place by the airport. They have the best fish tacos I’ve ever had!” Karin said. “And they have this homemade hot sauce that I could drink straight from the bottle!” She wiggled excitedly in her seat.

“Sounds good,” Sasuke said, and he turned his attention to the passing scenery.

“So, you’re only going back to base for a weekend?” Suigetsu asked. “Seems like a waste of time to me.”

Sasuke turned his head to look at Suigetsu. “I’m in the reserves. Monthly training is a requirement for the next two years. The intent is to keep me battle-ready should reserve forces be needed in a theater of war.”

Suigetsu blinked. “Shit, that’s kind of scary. So, you could be deployed at any time in the next two years?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Yes, but it’s not often that reserve forces are needed in active combat lately. And if I were sent in, it’s possible I would help coordinate communications rather than serve on the front lines. That’s my specialty.”

“Well, let’s not think about that,” Karin said. “Two years will go by in no time, and you’ll be discharged, right? Then we won’t have to worry about Sasuke being deployed at all.”

No one said anything to that, and for a couple of minutes there was only the soft sound of the radio in the car. It seemed tense somehow, and though Sasuke was usually the one content with silence, he thought he should try to lighten the mood a little. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask Karin about her family anyway.

“So, Karin, do you have any other relatives besides your mother?” he asked. Juugo and Suigetsu both looked at him, and he saw Karin’s eyes reflected towards him in the rearview mirror for a second.

“Why do you want to know?” she asked, her tone surprised. “Not that you can’t ask!” she added quickly.

He shrugged again. “I was… doing a little research on soulmates,” he said quietly. “There’s an obscure theory that if a person touches someone genetically similar to his or her bond mate, the ring will partially form.”

“Is that why yours looks funny?” Suigetsu asked.

“Maybe,” Sasuke answered. “This theory hasn’t been proven, and it’s not popular, but I just wondered. I’ve only ever heard Karin talk about her mom.”

“I have a lot of relatives, actually, both here and in Japan,” Karin said. “You think one of them might be your soulmate?” she asked excitedly.

“Maybe,” he said again.

“Okay, so my relatives, huh? You said, uh, genetically similar? Meaning, uh,” she trailed off, and Juugo picked up for her.

“Blood relatives – those who share your genes and DNA. Like, those who have red hair, for instance.”

“Oh,” Karin said. “Surprisingly, red hair runs rampant in my family. There’s my mom, and Auntie Mito, though she’s more gray than anything now. Um, there’s Nagato – he’s over in Japan, head of the family over there. He took over for Old Man Ashina. Oh, I guess technically Auntie Tsunade is a blood relative, though she doesn’t have red hair.” She hummed a little in thought, and Sasuke was about to say that they didn’t have to be redheads when she continued, “Ah! Auntie Kushina had beautiful red hair, but she died a long time ago. But I guess that means Naruto would count, like Auntie Tsunade.”

Sasuke choked on an unexpected inhale, and he thought his heart stopped as that name rolled off Karin’s tongue. He coughed, and Suigetsu reached out to slap him on the back a couple times to help him out.

“Are you okay?” Karin asked concerned.

Sasuke nodded, able to breathe properly again, but his heart had gone from a dead stop to a concerning speed as he tried to wrap his mind around what Karin had just revealed. He opened his mouth a few times to ask a question – to ask the question that could possibly change his life – and when he finally had the right words, all that came out was a breathy, “Naruto?”

“Uh, yeah, Naruto. He’s my cousin,” she said, but it sounded like a question.

“Naruto Senju?” he asked again, just to check.

“Um, not really? His name’s Uzumaki, like mine. He’s Auntie Kushina’s son – Naruto Uzumaki.”

Sasuke could feel his heart trying to beat itself out of his chest, and he thought a mild-to-moderate panic attack was upon him.

“You know this Naruto?” Juugo asked, his body almost fully turned in his seat to see Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded slowly. “I met him… at the hospital. He’s… Itachi’s nurse. But I thought…” He looked up and caught Karin’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “He’s Dr. Senju’s nephew and… the other Dr. Senju’s nephew. I thought he was a Senju.”

“Do you think Naruto is your soulmate?” Suigetsu asked, and at that, Sasuke went into full-blown panic mode.

“Turn around,” he said.

“What?” Karin asked, surprised.

“Turn around!” he said, leaning forward and grabbing at her seat. “Turn around! Go back to the apartment!”

“All right, all right,” Karin said, looking at her mirrors so she could change lanes. Sasuke tried to keep himself still as she made a left turn and then another to go back toward the apartment. He leaned back and crossed his arms, and he tried to keep his legs still as they traversed the miles they’d already traveled.

“What are we doing?” Suigetsu asked, but Sasuke refused to answer. He had no idea, really. But when Naruto’s name had rolled out of Karin’s mouth, a small, unreasonable amount of hope had wedged itself between the despair that had been sitting there for a week and the mounting disbelief that it could even be possible.

They rode back in tense silence, but Sasuke couldn’t find it in himself to care as they got closer to the apartment. He had no idea what he was going to say or do, but he found himself fidgeting and biting his lip, and that small bit of hope started growing – to his dismay.

What if he was wrong?

But it didn’t stop him from forcefully shoving Suigetsu out of the way when Karin pulled up to the curb in front of the building and running inside. He impatiently waited for the elevator to take him up, and when the doors slid open, he bolted toward his door. He didn’t even waste the time to dig for his keycard, only started banging on the door.

It opened a few seconds later, Itachi’s startled face greeting him briefly before he carefully sped past his brother and into the living room. He came to a stop, his eyes pinned on a confused Naruto standing in the middle of the room.

“Naruto Uzumaki,” he said, his voice rough with nerves and hope.

“Sasuke?” Naruto’s brows pinched in concern. “Are you-”

Sasuke strode over with purpose and cut Naruto off the only way his agitated mind would allow.

He grabbed two handfuls of brilliant blond hair and kissed him.

TBC

Chapter Text

Naruto had been kissed a few times in his life. Not a lot, maybe, but some. Enough to know what a good kiss was meant to be and how it felt and made him feel. But absolutely no kiss before had prepared him for this. As Sasuke's hands threaded through his hair and his lips landed on his, Naruto was struck by how much it was like lightning and feathers – startling and electrifying, but soft and gentle.

His heart began a rapid tattoo in his chest, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do. Rip himself away from Sasuke and ask him what he was doing? Pull the man flush against his body and never let go? His mind, in that split second after Sasuke's lips met his, was a roiling sea of indecision.

But his body had a mind of its own.

Naruto moaned softly, quietly, as his hands came up and settled hesitantly on Sasuke's hips. He leaned his head slightly, slotting their mouths together a bit more naturally, and Sasuke let off a small gasp through his nose as Naruto began to move his lips.

He felt a warmth spread through him, concentrating for several seconds in his left hand, and suddenly it felt like his whole universe shifted and settled into place.

Complete.

Sasuke pulled away, and for a moment, Naruto kept his eyes closed, savoring the feeling left behind on his lips. Then he slowly opened them, letting them focus on Sasuke’s face – still so close to his – and the tears trailing down the man’s pale cheeks.

Naruto was not surprised to find that he was crying, too.

Sasuke’s left hand moved from Naruto’s hair and lightly skimmed over his cheeks, the pads of his fingers trailing through the tears. Naruto was mesmerized by the awe shining in Sasuke’s dark eyes, and his chest swelled with an emotion he’d never felt before.

Itachi cleared his throat behind Sasuke, but Naruto kept his eyes on Sasuke. “What’s going on, Sasuke?” Itachi asked quietly. “I thought you were going to find your soulmate.”

“I think I did,” Sasuke answered in a whisper, his voice filled with as much awe as his eyes, which were riveted to his left hand where it rested on Naruto’s cheek. Sasuke’s eyes flicked back up to Naruto’s, and his hand trailed from Naruto’s cheek and down his chest to Naruto’s left hand on Sasuke’s hip. He slipped his fingers under Naruto’s and turned his hand, and they both looked down at it together.

Naruto stared at his hand wide-eyed. Where before there had been a thin, pale red strip at the base of his ring finger, there now was a more solid band of red, vibrant and stark even against his tanned skin. Sasuke moved his hand to entwine their fingers, and Naruto saw a ring on Sasuke’s hand, though it was higher up than the base of his finger. Sasuke quickly brought his right thumb to his finger and began to rub, and Naruto watched as the rest of the ring was revealed.

A third hand clasped around theirs, and Naruto looked up with Sasuke at Itachi.

“This is amazing,” Itachi said, glancing at their matching rings. “How is it possible? I had thought…” He trailed off and looked up at Sasuke.

Sasuke slowly pulled his eyes away from their hands and looked at his brother. “I read Madara’s research. You said I should, but I didn’t remember until a couple of days ago. The girl, the one I touched…” He returned his eyes to Naruto’s face. “She’s Karin Uzumaki.”

Naruto choked on a gasp, and after a few coughs, he breathed out a strained, “What?”

Sasuke squeezed his hand. “When I was thirteen, I met Karin. And when we touched, a very pale ring appeared on my finger.” Sasuke paused and swallowed, and Naruto watched as the glimmer of tears made his eyes shine. “Madara’s research indicated that it might be because she was related to my soulmate. And then… she said she had a cousin named Naruto. So, I took a shot.”

Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat and reached up to brush a tear from Sasuke’s cheek that had escaped from his eye. “I touched Itachi.” Sasuke’s eyes widened. “When we met, I touched him, and a very pale ring appeared on my finger.” He let out a laughing sob. “And then I spent weeks hoping you were my soulmate.” He brought their joined hands up to his lips and pressed a kiss against Sasuke’s hand. “And you are,” he whispered.

There was silence between them as they took in the magnitude of what had happened, and then it was shattered by the shrill ringing of Sasuke’s phone. The man pulled away from Naruto and retrieved his phone from his pocket, staring down at the screen with a frown.

“It’s Karin,” he said. He answered the phone and said, “I’m a little busy. I’ll catch another ride.”

Naruto could hear his cousin respond, but he couldn’t make out the words. He was still dumbfounded that Sasuke knew her. From what he could piece together, Sasuke had been a runaway at the age of thirteen. How in the world had he met Karin? Then again – did it really matter? Their meeting had led Sasuke to Naruto, so no matter how it had happened, Naruto could only be grateful that they had.

Then Naruto remembered that Sasuke had a plane to catch. He felt slight panic well up at the thought of losing sight of his soulmate so soon after finding him, but then he calmed himself down. Sasuke wasn’t going away forever – just for the weekend – and it would even give them both time to process this new thing between them.

“Hey, Sasuke,” he said quietly, getting the other’s attention. He smiled widely when those dark eyes landed on him. “It’s okay. Go on back and get to the airport. This thing between us – it’ll still be here when you get back, soldier.” He felt the blush infuse his cheeks even as he said that, but it was worth it to see a similar blush on Sasuke’s.

Sasuke was quiet a moment, and Naruto could hear Karin yelling on the other end of the call, and then Sasuke nodded with a low, “Okay.” Then he said to Karin, “Calm down. I’ll be down in a minute.” He hung up and slipped his phone back in his pocket. “I’ll be leaving now,” he announced awkwardly.

“Okay,” Naruto said.

“Can I… see you Monday when I get back?”

“I’d hope so.”

Sasuke blinked at him then chuckled. “Of course.” He shifted on his feet, turning slightly toward the door before hesitantly reaching up and sliding his hand over Naruto’s cheek and into his hair. “See you later, Naruto,” he said and planted a chaste kiss on Naruto’s lips.

“Yeah, later,” Naruto breathed out, dazed, and watched as Sasuke nodded and left the apartment again. He let a few seconds pass after the door closed before collapsing on the floor and putting his head between his knees. “Oh, my God,” he said and repeated as he ran over everything that had just happened.

He felt Itachi kneel beside him and rub his back lightly. “Are you okay, Naruto?”

Naruto laughed a little. “I don’t know, Itachi. I just don’t know.” He inhaled deeply and then lifted his head. “But holy shit – Sasuke’s my soulmate!” He brought his left hand up and looked down at the full ring on his finger.

And the giddiness bubbled up finally, fighting for dominance over the shock and disbelief and winning, and he clutched his hand to his chest and smiled so widely that his cheeks hurt. He felt the tears welling up in his eyes and begin to run down his cheeks again, but he didn’t care because he was happy, so incredibly happy.

“Oh, my God, I have to tell Sakura!” He stood, careful not to bump Itachi, but he paused. “She’s at work,” he mumbled.

Itachi stood next to him and brushed his hands down his pants. “You can tell her tomorrow when she comes over.”

“Yeah,” Naruto said, distracted. He really didn’t know what to do with himself. He’d sent Sasuke off like it was nothing, but now he was facing the next few days with the knowledge that he and Sasuke were soulmates and that Sasuke wasn’t here. He felt kind of adrift.

Itachi came over to him and placed his arm around Naruto’s shoulder. “Well, since I don’t have to take Sasuke to the airport, how about you and I drive upstate to look at some furniture pieces for my client? We can even have dinner with my parents while we’re up there.”

Naruto gave Itachi a grateful smile. “All right,” he said. It might not entirely take his mind off Sasuke, but it would give him something to do and focus on.

“Then let’s go,” Itachi said as he patted Naruto’s arm and strode toward the door. With an amused sigh, Naruto followed behind.

~*~

When they got home later that night, Itachi went straight to bed, and Naruto settled into bed to try to read that book Sakura had given him. He’d actually made it through a couple of chapters before the pull of social media got to him, and he set the book aside in favor of his phone. But before he could pull up any of his apps, he saw that he had an email, and when he opened his mail app, his breath stalled in his lungs when he saw it was from Sasuke.

With a shaky breath and an even shakier finger, Naruto opened the email.

From: [email protected]
Subject: Hey

Hello, Naruto. I hope you don’t mind that I asked for your email address from Itachi. I just felt it was easier to say this in an email rather than a text.

But it’s not easier in an email, really. I just find myself unable to stop thinking about you and our bond. But that’s nothing new. I’ve been thinking about you since Itachi first showed me your picture. When I first heard your voice, it drew me to you. Maybe that was all because we are supposed to be together, but I think I would have been drawn to you even without the bond.

I didn’t think I deserved a soulmate for the longest time, which I easily admitted to those who knew about my ring. But what was harder to admit was that I didn’t think I deserved anyone. And then I met you, who drew me in and made me want for probably the first time in my life. But surely, I thought to myself, I especially didn’t deserve someone like you.

But then we talked. You don’t know everything about my past, but you know some – you know about my selfishness in running away, and you know I entered the Army to stay out of trouble. And all you did was smile at me. And you told me about you – about your parents, about being angry and sad, about your run-ins with the law; and I know what a wonderful person you’ve become.

And I thought – maybe I didn’t have to live the rest of my life like I was a bad person. Believe it or not, you taught me that. I started to think I could find someone and be happy, and as the days passed, I started to hope it could be you. Even when you suggested that I should find my soulmate – though, you probably didn’t know that’s what you were doing – I was torn between doing that and seeing what I could have with you.

But I don’t have to choose anymore, and I am so grateful.

Anyway, I don’t know how you feel about all of this, Naruto. I know I kind of just threw us into this together without proper thought, but I hope we can work out. And to that end –

May I take you out Monday night?

– Sasuke Uchiha

Naruto was crying again, but he didn’t give a damn. Sasuke was just so stupid! How could he think he didn’t deserve a happily ever after? How could he even think Naruto wouldn’t want to be with him?

Well, hopefully he had a lifetime to prove to Sasuke how wrong he was about all of that.

Wiping his face roughly with his hands, Naruto picked his phone back up and pressed the “Reply” button on Sasuke’s email. He smiled as he typed:

Take me somewhere with noodles.

~*~

Itachi sighed as he laid back in bed. His mother had good intentions, but her endless questions about how both her boys were doing – and Itachi had to answer them all, as Sasuke was obviously not there to do so for himself – had drained him a bit. Thankfully, Naruto had been there to assure her about Itachi’s health – that he was eating, exercising, and sleeping regularly. And Itachi was sure Monday’s appointment with Dr. Senju would show he was in the best shape of his life, also thanks for Naruto; the man was made for his job and bringing the best out in people.

And he was Sasuke’s soulmate.

Itachi couldn’t keep the smile off his face at the thought. He’d always wanted the best for his little brother, even when he had no idea where said little brother was, and he thought Naruto was it. Naruto had a bit of a rough past like Sasuke – maybe not to the same extent – but he still managed to laugh and love and help others. Itachi thought someone like Naruto would be able to show Sasuke the good in himself.

Ah, but now that he thought about it, there was someone he should inform of the current situation. Reaching for his phone, he sat up and leaned against the headboard as the phone rang on the other end.

“Is there a reason you only call late at night?” Madara asked in lieu of a greeting.

“I find the low timbre of your voice can lull me to sleep,” Itachi responded. “Read me some of your dry academic scholarship, and I can be out within five minutes.”

“However much I love your wit, Itachi, I find myself inclined to hang up.”

Itachi laughed. “Fine. I thought you’d like to know that Sasuke touched Naruto this afternoon, and they both now have full soulmate rings.” Silence greeted his statement, and he laughed again. “See? I don’t just call for no reason, Uncle.”

“Yes, though the information apparently could have been communicated a bit earlier in the day.” Madara sighed. “So, I finally have some evidence to prove my theory.”

“Even more, I should think. As it turns out, Sasuke had his own pale ring that appeared when he touched Naruto’s relation. A cousin, perhaps.”

“Amazing,” Madara murmured.

“It would probably be best to not immediately start asking them questions, however. Let them settle into the bond.”

“I’m not an idiot,” Madara groused. “Though I will pass your suggestion on to Hashirama.” And with that, Madara hung up.

Itachi blinked at his phone for a moment before shrugging and placing it on his nightstand. Then he turned off the light and laid back down to sleep.

~*~

Sakura glanced down at her phone and scrolled through her email as she knocked on Itachi’s door. She heard the locks disengaging, and then she was greeted by a smiling Naruto. And not just any smiling Naruto – this was sunshine-smile Naruto, like the world’s very own giver of joy.

Sakura raised a brow as Naruto ushered her into the apartment. She hadn’t seen this Naruto since he’d gotten his license. Itachi greeted her and offered to take her coat and bag, which she handed over with a quiet, “Thanks.” The she turned to a practically vibrating Naruto, hands on hips, and asked, “What’s gotten into you?”

“Sakura!” Naruto nearly screamed at her as he picked her up and hugged her tightly. “Sakura! Sakura! I have a soulmate! Sasuke’s my soulmate! Sasuke’s my soulmate!” he chanted at her, and it took her a moment to figure out what he was saying and what it meant.

She pounded her fists on his back for him to let her go, and when he dropped her and pulled back, his blinding smile lighting his face, she squished that face between her hands and asked, “Are you serious?!”

“Yesh,” Naruto answered.

Sakura dropped her hands from his face and reached for his left hand, bringing it up to see the bright red band around his finger. “Oh, my God!” she cried, rubbing her thumb over it vigorously. “Oh, my God, Naruto!” She looked up at him. “How did this happen?!”

Naruto pulled her over to the couch and sat them down. He grabbed both her hands in his and laughed. “I don’t really know! One minute he was leaving for the airport and the next he was back in the apartment and kissing me!”

“He just kissed you?!” she asked incredulously. She’d only met Sasuke once, but he hadn’t seemed like the type of person to do something so impetuous.

“Yeah! And it was like, the best kiss of my life. And then we looked at our hands, and we both had these really bright, really big rings.” Naruto looked down at his hands and laughed.

“But what made him kiss you in the first place? I thought he was trying to find his soulmate?” Sakura turned her head when Itachi set a couple bottles of water on the coffee table. She thanked him and reached for one, pulling out of Naruto’s hold to do so.

“Our uncle is also a scholar in soulmate theory, if you’ll remember,” Itachi said as he sat in a chair adjacent to the couch. “And he hypothesized that a lesser ring forms when you touch someone biologically related to your soulmate.”

“Right,” Sakura said after sipping from her water. “That’s why we joined you for New Year’s.”

Itachi nodded and continued, “As it would happen, Sasuke also had a lesser ring that he acquired as a teenager when he touched a young woman named Karin.”

“Karin?” she asked as she turned wide eyes to Naruto. “Your cousin Karin, the harridan?”

“Ha! Don’t let her hear you say that,” Naruto said, and then he nodded his head. “Yeah, that Karin.”

“From what I could piece together,” Itachi picked up, “At some point between leaving the apartment and coming back, Sasuke learned that Naruto was related to the woman that caused his ring to appear, and having read our uncle’s research, he came back to see if Naruto was his soulmate.”

“And he is!” Naruto shouted, elated. Sakura watched Naruto wiggle in excitement, and she smiled to see it. She was so happy to see him get a happily ever after of some kind.

“That is so amazing, Naruto,” she said. “I’m so happy for you.” She looked over at Itachi. “I’m guessing Sasuke left again?”

“Mandatory training. I don’t know if the Army has special dispensations for finding your soulmate or something, but I don’t think less than 24 hours from rollcall is the best time to ask.”

“No, I suppose not.” She turned back to Naruto. “But you’ll see him Monday?”

She watched as a blush suffused Naruto’s face. “Yeah,” he said. “He, uh, well, we said we’d meet on Monday, but then he emailed me last night and officially asked me on a date.”

“Oh?” Itachi asked. “Is that why he needed your email address?” Naruto ducked his head, and Itachi and Sakura laughed at him.

“Whatever, you guys. It was sweet!” Naruto defended. He stood from the couch. “All right, so I’ve told Sakura. Let’s get moving. The sooner we get going, the sooner Monday will be here.”

He marched over to the door, and Sakura stood and followed. “I don’t think that’s how it works, Naruto.”

“Let him dream,” Itachi said behind her, and she laughed as Naruto practically ripped the door off its hinges.

“You guys suck,” he mumbled, to which Sakura responded by hiking up her leg and kicking him lightly in the ass.

“Shut it, lover boy. To the boardwalk!”

~*~

Naruto’s eyes lit up as the screen at baggage claim changed to show that Sasuke’s flight had landed. He felt his mouth stretch into a smile, despite the anxiety that started to build. Sasuke was expecting Itachi to pick him up – which he was; it was Itachi who had the car, anyway – and Naruto had hemmed and hawed his way through asking Itachi if he could join until Itachi had taken pity on him and invited him along.

But he hadn’t heard anything from Sasuke since that one email Friday night, so he was a little nervous how Sasuke would take Naruto showing up unannounced like this. He rubbed his palms against his jeans.

“Don’t be nervous, Naruto,” Itachi said next to him, scrolling through something on his phone. “I’m sure Sasuke will be more than happy to see you.”

Naruto hummed in response, and he glanced at Itachi from the corner of his eye then down at his jeans. It was almost odd to be near Itachi and not be wearing scrubs. But Tobirama had cleared Itachi from needing medical assistance anymore, and Naruto had spent the afternoon packing and moving back into Sakura’s.

“So, any idea why Mother has traveled to the city to personally cook at Ume tonight?”

Naruto looked up at Itachi in confusion. “Um, no?”

Itachi hummed. “It’s just odd, I guess. She’s even going to personally hand-roll the noodles.”

Naruto opened his mouth to ask why it was so unusual – being her restaurant and all – when the word ‘noodles’ caught on something in his mind. He felt his face heat slightly and then burn when Itachi lifted his eyes from his phone and smirked at him.

“I’m almost a little jealous,” Itachi continued. “You’re being treated to the best ramen this side of Japan tonight.”

“Oh, my God,” Naruto moaned as he covered his face with his hands. But he was smiling. Sasuke was taking him somewhere with noodles.

The sound of the doors opening got Naruto’s attention, and he watched as people began to wander into the baggage claim area. He stood up and rubbed his hands on his jeans again, scanning each person that came through the door until he spotted a head of black hair and camo fatigues.

“Sasuke!” he yelled without thinking, his anxiety flying out the window at the first sight of the man. Sasuke looked up, surprise written over his face as his eyes landed on Naruto. He changed course and headed toward them.

Naruto was stopped from uttering any further greetings when Sasuke’s hand came up behind his neck and pulled him into a kiss. That seemed to be Sasuke’s MO, kissing him out of nowhere. Naruto could get used to that.

He returned the kiss with a smile, and when Sasuke pulled back, he grinned at him and said, “Hey, soldier.”

Sasuke smiled softly. “Hey, yourself.”

“Welcome home, Sasuke,” Itachi said, coming up beside them and placing his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. “Let’s get out of here. Are you waiting for luggage?”

Sasuke shook his head, motioning to the duffle on his back. Itachi nodded and turned toward the exit, Naruto and Sasuke falling into step behind him.

“I’m really happy to see you, Naruto,” Sasuke said quietly as they walked toward Itachi’s car.

Naruto smiled, tilting his head to the side without looking at Sasuke. “I’m glad to hear that, ‘cause I’m happy to see you, too.” Sasuke hummed, and they walked a few feet in silence.

Then Naruto felt Sasuke’s hand cover his. He ducked his head to hide his blush, smiling so hard his cheeks hurt, and entwined their fingers.

The end

Chapter Text

Naruto slowly buttoned his sky-blue shirt and then tucked it into the waistband of his black slacks before fastening those and walking over to the dresser. He took at look at himself in the mirror, running his fingers through the short blond strands at his temples to tame them a little.

He looked at the small jewelry box atop the dresser and smiled, reaching out to open it. Sasuke wore far more jewelry than Naruto would have ever guessed for a soldier, but that part of Sasuke’s life was over. He supposed this was a facet of the real Sasuke. He pushed aside a few rings and earrings looking for a pair of cufflinks, finally finding a pair of gray pearl ones that contrasted nicely with the blue of his shirt.

It had taken him a while to learn how to put on cufflinks by himself, but he’d finally gotten the hang of it, and as he set to securing his cuffs, he looked around the bedroom and noted the few things lying here and there that he would need to pick up before Sasuke got on his case about them.

He smiled at that thought as he looked back down at his cuff. He sometimes found it hard to believe that they’d been living together for the past three years. Well, forget that – he still couldn’t believe they were soulmates. No matter that it had been five years since Sasuke had barged into his own apartment and kissed the life out of him, five years since their rings had fully formed – he still found himself sometimes wondering if it had all been a dream.

He finished his cuffs and looked at his ring. It was still as vibrant as that day five years ago, and Naruto was grateful for it every day. It hadn’t been an easy five years, he thought as he left the bedroom and made his way downstairs to get his jacket. There had been a lot of surprises as they learned how much they differed in personality and interests. And they’d had some spectacular arguments every now and again, but that just made life an adventure!

Shortly after discovering the bond between them, they had both enrolled in school, and a year into their relationship, they realized that they didn’t see each other often enough and that they’d have to put so much more effort into it. It took another year for them to realize that it would be much easier to see each other with such busy schedules if they lived together. (Best decision ever.)

In the five years they’d been together, they’d had so many things to celebrate, like both of them obtaining their degrees and some new births in the Uchiha family. They’d also had some rough spots, like Sasuke’s past rearing its ugly head and people trying to break up their relationship. (Like, who does that? They’re soulmates, for fuck’s sake!)

But here he and Sasuke were, about to celebrate their fifth anniversary at his mother’s restaurant, where they’d had their first date. (And Itachi had not lied – that was best god damned ramen he had ever had in his life. It had nothing to do with the fact that Sasuke had been sitting next to him and holding his hand through the whole date.)

Naruto patted down his pockets to make sure he had his keys, wallet, and phone, and then he stepped into the hallway and walked the few steps to the door across the hall. With a deep inhale, Naruto banged on the door and yelled, “I’m leaving now, Itachi! Have a good date with whoever you snuck in there when you thought I didn’t see you!”

The door swung open, and Itachi stood there, slightly disheveled, and glared at him. “Have I ever told you how much I enjoy you and Sasuke living across the hall from me?” he asked, sarcasm dripping from his icy tone. But his eyes were warm and amused, and Naruto laughed.

“You don’t have to tell me. I know how much you love having your little brother this close to you. To torment, of course.” He tried to look over Itachi’s shoulder. “Who’s in there?”

“Nunya,” Itachi said. “Sasuke’s probably waiting for you.”

Naruto smiled. “Yeah, but he can wait a little bit. He also wants to know who you’ve been sneaking around with.” Itachi smirked, but he didn’t say anything. “Or, I could tell your mom that you’re dating someone, and then she can tell me who it is when she drags it out of you.”

Itachi scowled. “I could also tell her who swiped her favorite picture of Sasuke from the front sitting room.”

Naruto blanched. “You promised you wouldn’t say anything!”

Itachi shrugged. “Are you done bothering me?”

“Yes,” Naruto said with a scowl and followed it up by sticking his tongue out.

“Really? Sticking your tongue out at me? What are you, five?”

“Hey, your brother loves my tongue-”

Itachi slammed the door in his face, and Naruto laughed as he made his way to the elevator and down to the sidewalk. The cold breeze assaulted him as he exited the building, and he wrapped his long coat closer about his body as he walked the few blocks to Ume.

He lifted a brow in surprise when he saw that the only person outside was the hostess. Usually, there was a line around the block waiting for free tables. He stopped in front of the hostess stand and smiled. “Hey, Mika. Slow night?”

“Something like that, Uzumaki-san,” she said with a smile. “Uchiha-san is already here. Go on in.”

“Thanks,” he said and made his way inside, only to be stunned still at the door when he saw the empty restaurant floor. Most of the tables had been removed, leaving a lone table in the center covered with a red tablecloth and adorned with crystal glasses and lit candles.

“Happy anniversary, Naruto.”

Naruto swung his head to the side and saw Sasuke walking up to him with his little smirkle. His boyfriend was wearing a black blazer and dark blue jeans, his usual attire when he had a class to teach. Sasuke’s hand came up and passed over his cheek and into his hair, pulling him close for a kiss that stole Naruto’s breath. They all stole Naruto’s breath, ever since that first one five years ago. They’d shared many different types of kisses, but this one would always be his favorite.

Sasuke pulled away, and Naruto smiled goofily at him. “Happy anniversary, Sasuke.” He leaned in and pecked Sasuke on the lips and then looked around them. “What did you do?”

Sasuke laughed as he pushed Naruto’s jacket off his shoulders and folded it over his arm. “I didn’t do anything.” He wrapped his arm around Naruto’s waist and led him to the table. “I asked Mother to save us a table for our anniversary, and she closed the restaurant.” He pulled Naruto’s chair out for him, but he let Naruto settle on his own as he placed Naruto’s coat on the back of the chair, and then he rounded the table and sat in his own.

“She shouldn’t have,” he said as he reached for his glass of wine. “She’s losing money.”

“She owns quite a number of restaurants around the world. She does fine,” Sasuke said with a small roll of his eyes and a smile before sipping at his own wine. Then servers appeared like ninja and set their meals down in front of them before scampering off to the back.

“I don’t even get the pleasure of ordering my own meal,” he muttered with a laugh. But since he only ever got the ramen from Ume, ever since that first time, he could live with it.

“I would let you order your own meal if you didn’t order the same thing every time we come, in so much excess that you dream about it at night.”

Naruto blushed as he ducked his head closer to his ramen. “I can’t help it if your mom’s ramen is ambrosia,” he murmured.

“The food of the gods, Naruto? Don’t be so melodramatic.” Sasuke laughed, which made Naruto laugh, and they continued eating and making small talk about their days and work and Itachi’s secret lover.

Naruto had heard the soft music upon entering the restaurant – it was always playing – and as he finished his meal, he leaned back with his wine glass and hummed along with the violins. He looked around the empty place, taking in the art and dark décor, and he chuckled.

“I still can’t believe that Mikoto shut this place down just for us.” He looked at Sasuke and smiled. “But I can’t say I hate it. I ate here with Itachi after just meeting him, and it was good, and I thought it was a great experience. But you… With you, it has become something special to me.”

Sasuke smiled softly at him. “Our first date was the first time I’d eaten here. It became special to me, too.”

“How many of her restaurants have you been to?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Not many. The one she’d opened here, when I was a kid. And one of her ryokan in Japan. I happened to be stationed in Kyoto for a few months, and I… felt like checking it out.”

Naruto’s chest filled with warmth. Sasuke was very selective with the things he’d share about his feelings, especially what he’d felt during the years he was away from his family, but Naruto was always so glad to hear that the man had thought about his mother during the years he’d been gone.

“I bet it was amazing. I’d love to go to a ryokan one day.”

“Let’s tell Mom. She’ll close one down for us.” They both laughed at that, and then Sasuke said, “It was amazing. I’d never felt all that close to my heritage – being whatever generation Asian-American – but it was awe-inspiring being in Japan and being in a place that my mother put her heart and soul into.”

He looked up from the table. There was something soft but intense in his eyes as he gazed at Naruto. “We should go. To Japan, to a ryokan.”

Naruto nodded his head. “When do you want to go?” He smiled. Five years, and they actually hadn’t been anywhere together. A weekend here, a weekend there, but not a true vacation. That was mostly because of Naruto and his schedule as a physical therapist, but things were calming down now. They could work something out.

Sasuke was quiet a moment, that look still in his eyes, and then he reached into his blazer pocket. “Well, I was thinking we might go… on our honeymoon.” He sat a ring box on the table and then leaned back in his chair.

“Sasuke,” Naruto breathed out, his eyes riveted to the black velvet box. “Are you serious?” He looked up. “Is this for real?”

Sasuke sat forward again and reached for the box. “Do you remember that email I sent you that Friday? I spent I don’t know how many hours thinking of what to say and then rushed to get it all typed out and sent before the plane took off.” He opened the box and plucked the ring from its cushion. “I ended it with the thought that I hoped we could work out.” He clenched the ring in his fist and pushed back from the table.

Naruto tried to keep his breathing even as Sasuke came to stand next to his chair, forcing him to lean back to still see his face. Then Sasuke leaned over with one hand on the back of the chair and the other on the table.

“I was afraid,” Sasuke continued. “I didn’t know anything about soulmates. I didn’t know if some vague bond could overcome not knowing you as a complete person. More than that, I didn’t know if it could overcome you not knowing what kind of person I am.”

“Sasuke,” he said quietly, but Sasuke continued.

“But I know we can work. We have worked, and I want so much more with you. So,” he said, and he knelt on one knee, at which Naruto let out a sob that had been building since Sasuke had first stood. “Naruto Uzumaki, will you marry me?”

“Fuck, Sasuke,” he whispered out with another sob. “Yes!” He threw his arms around Sasuke’s neck and kissed him, licking his way into Sasuke’s mouth to lure the man’s tongue into his own, sucking on it as he weaved his fingers tightly into Sasuke’s hair. Sasuke’s arms came around him and maneuvered them until they were both standing.

Naruto pulled back to catch his breath, and Sasuke took the opportunity to run his hands from his hips, up his arms, and to his hands, which he pulled down between them, pausing to kiss his knuckles when they were close to his lips.

Then he grabbed Naruto’s left hand and brought the ring to his finger, slipping it on and down until the bright gold band covered his red ring. It was simple, with a channel of five small diamonds across the top, and Naruto laughed when Sasuke lifted his hand and kissed the ring.

“I love you, Naruto,” Sasuke said gently, a small smile on his lips.

Naruto brought Sasuke into a tight hug and said, “I love you, too, Sasuke. So fucking much.”

Owari