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Constellations (complete)	By : momhuey8 Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 1362 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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NOTE: At this point, 'All In' and 'Constellations' are still identical. If you've read one, you've read the other. That will change...promise!
�Sasuke, I need you to wake up for just one minute.�
Like swimming up from the bottom of a murky lake, Sasuke struggled toward coherence. His whole body felt leaden, his head full of fuzz.
�Sasuke, please wake up for just a minute. I don�t want to take you to Konoha unless it�s okay with you.�
He felt as though he had to fetch his brain from far away. �Nar�?� he croaked.
�Oh, thank you gods.� As his torso was squeezed, he realized he was semi-upright, held by strong arms against a warm, hard chest.
�Listen, I�ve done what I can, but I�m no medic.� Sasuke�s eyes were still closed, but he felt thick fingers caressing his brow, carding through his hair. �I think the infections are gone, but I can�t do anything with the poison. It�s been about two hours and I don�t want to wait any longer.�
As he was squeezed again, he felt himself sink into the warmth surrounding him. Another human hadn�t held him protectively, gently in so many years. Since�since this very same blond had held him in Haku�s mirrors. His mind and body weak, his defenses gone, he wasn�t aware when he turned his head and nuzzled the broad pec with his cheek. His head was cradled closer and he sighed tiredly.
�Where are we?� His voice sounded like he was gargling gravel.
�A cave near the northern border of the Forest of Death. Konoha�s closest; I can have you there in two minutes. If I asked him, Gaara would probably heal you and then let you leave, but it�s pretty far to Suna and I don�t know if you�d make the trip. So unless you know of someplace with a doctor that I don�t�� he sighed shakily. �Look, if I promise to help you leave later, can I just take you to Konoha?�
Sasuke�s sluggishly beating heart almost stopped. He worked some spit into his mouth. �You don�t want me in Konoha?�
Naruto gasped. �Sas�. There�s nothing I�if you�I�d�� He buried his head in Sasuke�s neck and whispered, �Sasuke��
�Take me home, Dobe,� Sasuke said weakly. �To Konoha.�
The shudders increased and he felt the warm slide of Naruto�s tears down his neck.
Tsunade looked through the window into Sasuke�s room. This morning Naruto was sitting in the chair by his bed. She had watched for the last forty-eight hours as Sakura or Naruto and occasionally both, sat waiting anxiously for their ex-teammate�s recovery.
Looking at them was eerily familiar, reminding her of her own team so many years ago. She had thought much about them since Naruto had shown up in her office holding Sasuke�s nearly dead body two days ago. The more she had thought about it, the more anxious she felt.
The personalities, histories, the road they were on, were so much the same. It would be so easy for their ending to be the same. The thought sickened her. There was so terribly much potential for so much more. The very future of Konoha, perhaps humanity, could reside in these three sets of calloused hands.
Sakura had her issues with Naruto, but his heart was the size of Hokage Mountain and would always have a large portion set aside for the konoichi. When she finally came to her senses and accepted that Sasuke�s actions and choices had nothing to do with Naruto, when she finally realized the treasure and friend Naruto was, he would still be there for her.
She had been surprised these last days as she had watched Sasuke thrash in his poisoned sleep, calling out, �Naruto,� crying that he would save him, begging him not to die. But when these episodes coincided with Naruto�s presence in the room, she could almost taste the coppery fear in the blond. He would stare wide-eyed for only a few moments and then flee.
Yes, Naruto would be the bigger challenge in the rebuilding of their old kinship. Not that they all didn�t have the same capacity for love, but he was dealing with a complete unknown. He would know that if he opened to them completely, they would be the ones who could break him for good.
She had seen the same thing in Jiraiya. He was the most open of the three and when push had finally come to shove, he�d bolted, numbing his pain with distance and alcohol.
But as she considered the arrival of Sasuke back in Konoha, she was struck with the opportunities before her. Maybe things could be different for this group of young people.
Perhaps Sasuke�s life did not have to spiral deeper and deeper into a black pit of grief-induced madness and empty quests for meaning only to find death at the hands of a comrade.
Perhaps Naruto didn�t have to leave home more and more often, rootless, wandering, running, and choosing missions over the emptiness of his apartment, only to die alone a thousand miles from the very few who would care.
And perhaps Sakura didn�t have to end up alone, grieving for what might have been and living with regrets that she didn�t do more to see her comrades, her dearest friends with happier endings.
She wondered if perhaps, she could help build, or rebuild bonds between the three young people.
Sasuke woke gradually. When his mind was clear enough, he cast his senses about and immediately felt Naruto�s chakra. He opened his eyes, but when he looked around he realized he was alone in a hospital room.
�Dobe?� His voice was a weak rasp.
The door to his room slid open slowly and Naruto stood just outside the threshold. Sasuke could feel his old teammate�s anxiety, but he hadn�t come all this way for nothing. Although his arm felt like lead, he lifted it and held his hand out to the blond.
Naruto moved closer, but only by half. Sasuke waved his hand impatiently and Naruto took a couple more steps into the room. He looked around and then picked up a glass of water.
�Is this was you want?�
Sasuke shook his head in aggravation and waved his hand again, reaching the end of his first bout of consciousness. Naruto finally closed the distance to the bed. Sasuke grabbed his hand and pulled it to his chest.
�Stay.� Then his head lolled and he fell back into unconsciousness.
The next time Sasuke woke, it was to a soft snoring. Naruto was asleep, his forehead pressed to the mattress while his hand still rested on Sasuke�s chest. He must have sensed Sasuke rousing because he sat up.
He tried to pull his hand away, but Sasuke didn�t let go. The two just looked at each other several long moments and Sasuke could almost smell Naruto�s fear.
�You�re afraid of me.�
�I�� Naruto looked away. He was afraid, but he wouldn�t have been able to articulate why. There were actually a host of reasons and they all overlapped each other and made for a confusing mix. �Why did you come back?�
�For you.� Naruto�s expression closed off and he stood, pulling his hand free.
�Why are you running from me?� Sasuke asked, starting to feel tired again.
�Wait,� Sasuke said when Naruto shuffled a few inches away.
�Don�t leave. Don�t keep running from me. Please. Stay while I sleep. Be here when I wake up.�
When he fell asleep again, Naruto was still rooted to that same spot in the middle of his room.
The next day, after the poisons had been completely removed from his system and his wounds were healing nicely, Sasuke woke once again, feeling more human than he had in weeks.
Naruto was in his room again, but stood against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Sasuke watched him glance over, take a deep breath and then come over to his bed. He was surprised when Naruto sat on the edge and leaned close.
�Tsunade will probably release you from the hospital tomorrow or the next day,� he whispered, glancing toward the door a couple of times.
Naruto rubbed his finger over a fold in the blanket, not looking at Sasuke. �Do you remember the cave?�
Sasuke thought a moment. �Some, I guess.�
�Look, if you want me to get you out of Konoha, tell me now and I�ll figure something out.�
�What do you think will happen to me if I stay?�
Naruto�s shoulders sagged. �I don�t know.�
�Do you care?�
�Sasuke,� he gasped, his eyes wide. Then his face closed off again. �I won�t let anything happen to you.�
Sasuke pushed himself higher on his pillows. �I�m not leaving.�
Naruto�s face filled with anxiety.
�I�m not running away again.� Sasuke held his hand still so that Naruto wouldn�t realize that he was squeezing it between his larger ones. �Anyway, I have nowhere else to go. It�s home or nothing.�
�I won�t let anything happen to you,� Naruto repeated. Then he cleared his throat and stood, moving back to his position against the wall.
It occurred to Sasuke that Naruto was standing guard. He instinctively knew that someone would have to kill Naruto to get to him.
He suddenly felt safer than he could ever remember feeling and was lightheaded with relief. He drifted toward asleep again, feeling an unfamiliar bubble of something in his chest. As his mind shut down, it came to him that this strange feeling might just be happiness.
Two ninja stood at the end of Sasuke�s hospital bed. Sasuke himself was sitting in a chair near the window.
�Thank you for coming Hyuuga, Uzumaki. Haruno will be here momentarily.� Just as the Hokage flipped through the sheets on her clipboard, the door opened and Sakura stepped inside.
�Okay then.� Tsunade flipped several more sheets. �Hyuuga, Naruto will be assigned to protect the Uchiha for the foreseeable future, but since Wave Country won�t accept anyone but him for their mission, he won�t be able to start until he gets back in two weeks. Until then, if you can spare one Anbu a night to guard him, I�ll have Sakura stay with him during the day. She can watch out for him and see to the remainder of his recovery at the same time.�
�Hokage-sama.� The Anbu captain inclined his head. �Your phrasing indicates that you are more concerned with defending him than defending the village from him. Certainly my men will be prepared for any contingency, but, if you are at liberty, it would be beneficial if I understood the full parameters of the assignment.�
�Uchiha Sasuke is a citizen of Konoha, not a prisoner,� she said into the silence. �Since he was a Genin when he left and is still, technically, a Genin, he does not have a military obligation to Konoha and is not considered AWOL. Therefore, as with all of our citizens, his departure was always his decision to make and he is welcome to leave again, if he chooses. However, while I believe I understand his reasons for leaving, I will be very interested in the reason behind this sudden return.
�Uchiha, no one believes that you had any role in Sandaime�s death, or in any part of the attack on Konoha.� She was looking at Sasuke now. �You have committed no crime that I know of, although Ibiki will have many questions for you.�
She folded the clipboard over her ample chest. �But there are those who would see it as a punishable offense to consort with the attacker, even after the fact. Fortunately for you there is nothing in our scrolls classifying bad judgment as a crime.�
Sasuke couldn�t help it. It burst out of his mouth with absolutely no permission from his brain. �What about the Valley of the End?�
She eyed him for several moments. The room was completely still except for Naruto, who was stalking a fly with two paper cups.
�If it was a crime for our Genin to try to beat each other to pulps, every last one would spend the bulk of their childhoods in prison.
�Putting all of that aside, the Uchiha name is not what it once was.� She watched the brunette for a reaction; there was none. �There are those who judge him on the actions of his brother, and will never accept an Uchiha back in Konoha. Of course, they have no say in the matter, but that will probably not stop them from trying to take it into their own hands.�
Most of Team Seven were frozen like statues. Tears were sliding down Sakura�s face and Sasuke was gripping the armrests of his chair until his knuckles were bloodless. Naruto was engrossed in a full color, three-page fold out ad for fertilizer.
�So, you,� she said pointing at Sasuke, �will be released from here tomorrow, and will be escorted to my office, where we will talk. We will need to discuss the council�s decisions, the Uchiha assets, reparations, and you would do well to start remembering everything you can about the last three years plus any intelligence, or even rumors, about Itachi�s whereabouts. Also, we�ll need to make some decisions about the cursed seal. I anticipate three days. Unfortunately, none of this is official until the Council says it is, so for the next three days and nights, you�ll be staying in Konoha Prison.�
Sasuke didn�t even blink, but the outbreak from Sakura was instantaneous.
�Quiet!� Tsunade shouted.
�Huh?� Naruto looked up from �Quilting for Fun and Profit.� Since he was facing the door, the honey-eyed blond was the only one who had seen all the blood drain from his face at the mention of prison. �Naruto, if you need to leave now, you can go and we�ll��
�Naw, that�s okay, Grandma. I�m sorry. I�ll pay attention.� He grinned and Tsunade nodded, a gentle look on her face.
�As I was saying, after that time, you can move into permanent or semi-permanent accommodations. You are welcome to return to the Uchiha district, or if you choose, an apartment in town can be found. Neji, your men will be prepared to begin rotations on the fourth night from tonight, Sakura, you will begin on the fourth day.
�Brat.� She turned to Naruto, her face and voice softening. �You�re off to Wave tomorrow. You can escort Sasuke to my office before you leave. Stay safe and see you in two weeks.�
He nodded, and waltzed out the door, his grin unchanged.
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Constellations (complete)