The Mark of Love

•The Sins of Hatred

Sasuke woke up to Naruto snoring quietly on his chest, his legs intertwined with Sasuke's. Because of Naruto's tangled cuddling, Sasuke was unable to move without waking him.

"Tch~" Sasuke sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes, remembering last nights revelation that Naruto was his soulmate.

'I guess that explains why we went from being at eachothers throats to.. Literally laying together in bed... It's... weird, but.. It doesn't feel gross..' He thought to himself, gently tracing his thumb on Naruto's shoulder.

~~~~~

January, the new year.

"I'm telling you, let's just stay out here for a few more years. The Leaf needs time to see without force that I'm not doing any harm anymore. That way when we come back it'll be easier for them to comprehend that I'll have changed." Sasuke reasoned, though he felt like he was arguing with a brick wall.

Naruto stood with his arms crossed, looking at the floor stubbornly. "But the Leaf is my home-"

"I'm not asking you to change that, Naruto. The Leaf will always be your home-"

"Our home." Naruto corrected gently, smiling a little though he still wouldn't look away from the floor as if he was daydreaming their life there.

Sasuke's shoulders relaxed, smirking a bit. "Yeah, our home. Heh.." He shook his head, a bit distracted. "But- like I was saying--"

"I know Sasuke. I think you're right." Naruto said quietly, finally looking up and meeting Sasuke's gaze with a serious stare. "I just.. I told them I'd be gone for a while, but I didn't make it seem like years, yaknow?"

Sasuke nodded, "I understand..." He paused, thinking. "Write to them." He thought, a practical lightbulb appearing above his head as his eyes widened. "I can have my summoning hawk deliver it so we don't have to meet up or anything suspicious."

"That huge bird?? Seriously?" Naruto asked, greatful for the offer but still confused as to where that idea came from.

Sasuke sighed, placing his thumb and index finger on his temples. "No. You know how you can summon different sized frogs depending on the level of chakra you put out or have?--"

"Chakra level?"

".............."

Sasuke sighed softly. "Nevermind that. I can summon a smaller bird."

"Ohh! Should've just said that dummy!" Naruto laughed, trying to brush off that obviously embarrassing moment.

'He's so... Not stupid.... Just... Slow? No... Naive.. Yeah.' Sasuke mentally sighed.

Though despite his disappointment he smiled, "Sorry. I'll be more simple next time."

"Ahah~ thanks- h-hey wait! What's that supposed to-- mmff-?" He was muffled quickly by a kiss, struggling for a moment but smiling and returning the gesture.

Sasuke pulled away slowly, smirking. "Go write that letter, okay? I'll summon my bird and send it out as soon as you're done." He said kindly.

Kind wasn't usually a word to describe Sasuke, let alone a word to describe any of his previous actions. But since Naruto revealed his mark, Sasuke was acting different towards Naruto.. And despite Naruto's appreciation of that, he was curious as to why.

"I will, but.. What really made you change your mind so fast about.. Not being--"

"Gay?" Sasuke finished, raising an eyebrow. He'd put a lot of thought to that very same question, and believed he'd figured out why. "I think.. No, I-I know that I've always had this... Weird attraction to you. I used to think it was just your personality, how Kakashi said you made everyone want to befriend you- to reach out when you stumbled.. That's true but back then it didn't feel entirely true, and that frustrated me. I always knew exactly how I felt, except with you. So when you told me we were soul mates...."