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I'll Wait Forever If I Have to
They met at the age of eight years old, when he was playing in the woods like he was wont to do at times.
That sounded like the start of a fairy tale and in many ways, he supposed their life together resembled one for a while.
He was the son of a doctor, but circumstances often saw him playing on his own if his parents were too busy. That day he was amusing himself by trying to create a flower crown; something he had seen some of the girls do in the village. He wasn't having much luck with it, but he was determined to keep trying and picked up the falling flowers again and again.
That was when a shadow fell over him and when he looked up and saw a dark haired boy looking at him, he had no idea yet that his life would change forever.
The dark haired boy was Uchiha Sasuke, the youngest son of Lord Uchiha and belonging to one of the most influential and affluent clans in the country. Naruto, however, did not know about that. All he knew was that a pretty boy was standing in front of him, regarding the slightly crushed flowers curiously.
"What are you doing?" the boy asked, tilting his head to the right.
"I'm trying to make a flower crown," Naruto replied and looked down at the wilted flowers in his lap. He blushed slightly. "It's not really going well."
"Clearly," the boy said dryly and before Naruto could open his mouth, becoming fired up, the boy sat down next to him and held out his hand. "Can I try? I often watch my cousin doing this."
"Huh? Oh, thank you!" Naruto said surprised and pushed the flowers he had been trying to string together into the boy's hands. "What's your name? Mine's Uzumaki Naruto."
Black eyes regarded him for a moment before they flicked down to the flowers in his hands. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke."
They had no idea yet, but that day marked the first day of their budding friendship.
oOo
As they grew older, they grew closer, seeing each other nearly every day when possible. Naruto's father being the important man he was, he knew who the Uchiha were and he approved of his son's friendship with the youngest Uchiha heir. Naruto's mother was pleased as well, because it was clear that Sasuke had a good influence on her son. Naruto took his studies more serious since knowing Sasuke, not wanting to lose to his best friend, whether that was during the games they played or during their studies.
When Sasuke reached fourteen years of age, he discovered he was an Alpha. It was not that surprising, seeing as his older brother and his father were Alpha as well, but it was a pleasant discovery nonetheless. Alpha were naturally stronger than the others, faster as well, and reached success quicker and more often than other Classes. It had Naruto slightly jealous, because who didn't want to be an Alpha? He was also a bit worried, afraid that Sasuke's new Class would mean that he was no longer interested in being friends with Naruto.
"Stupid, why would my new Class affect our friendship?" Sasuke huffed and slapped the back of Naruto's head gently. "Nothing will change between us."
Naruto grinned in spite of the slap and tackled Sasuke to the ground for a hug, paying no mind to the half-hearted protests of the newly awakened Alpha. He knew Sasuke didn't mind these hugs – why else would he hug him back otherwise?
oOo
Something did change between them, however. The change went slowly, so agonisingly slow that it was almost unnoticeable. It was easy to ignore at first, because Naruto had no idea yet what these odd feelings meant. He didn't understand why his stomach did a strange flip every time Sasuke smiled at him. He didn't comprehend why his cheeks would feel odd whenever the other boy would lean in close to him. Sasuke's gaze on him would leave him frazzled and he had a close call with several doors because of that. His lower belly would flutter funnily whenever Sasuke would whisper something in his ear and he had to dunk his face into cold water too many times for him to count.
He didn't understand what was wrong with him at first, thinking several times this was just some odd effect of his own Presentation settling in – but it never did, not even when he turned fourteen or fifteen or sixteen – until one day Sasuke pulled him behind the big tree in his garden and locked their lips together in a shy, soft kiss.
There, hidden behind the tree, Sasuke's body gently pressing against his, the Alpha's warm hands resting on his hips and their mouths meeting each other in a flurry of short, but sweet kisses time and time again, Naruto finally understood what exactly this change was.
This time when butterflies started fluttering around in his stomach, he accepted them and merely pressed his mouth harder against Sasuke, wondering giddily if he made the Alpha's stomach flutter too.
oOo
The war brutally descended over them without any warning. There had been rumours; the Land of Sound gathering their forces, but nobody had ever believed they would truly dare to attack their own country. Why would they when their country was so much more powerful than the Land of Sound? But they had and so every available man was called up to fight in the war and defend their country.
Including Sasuke.
Naruto wanted to go with him, wanted to show he could fight for their country, their safety as well, but the army rejected him. At nineteen years old Naruto had yet to Present and so he was classified as a liability, unable to join the army. A person who had yet to Present could only ever be a liability to them, because what if they happened to Present right during an important battle? They would be nothing but a danger to themselves and to others and so people like Naruto were barred from the army.
Rationally Naruto understood why he couldn't join the army like everyone else, but that did not make it any easier to accept it. Especially when it meant that he couldn't be together with Sasuke anymore, wouldn't be able to keep an eye on him and reassure himself that Sasuke would be all right even when battling the enemy.
"I will come back," Sasuke promised him the evening before he was set to leave for the gods knew how long.
"You can't promise me that," Naruto muttered, feeling guilty for ruining what could very well be their last night together.
They had yet to get dressed; their naked bodies still clammy with sweat after having made love for hours on end. If possible, Naruto would like to carve himself a place within Sasuke so that they would never be apart. Alas, that wasn't possible. The most he could do was hold Sasuke tightly in his embrace and keep him pressed deeply within him as long as possible.
"I can, because I will come back," Sasuke stated confidently and tilted Naruto's face back to him, kissing his bruised lips gently this time.
Naruto kissed him back, more desperate than ever before.
"And when I come back," Sasuke said when their lips briefly parted, "I will marry you."
Naruto's eyes widened and Sasuke's own crinkled slightly with his smile.
"So wait for me, all right? I will come back and when I do, I will make an honest man out of you," he swore and stroked Naruto's hair away from his forehead.
Naruto pressed his face into the juncture where Sasuke's neck met his shoulder and swallowed.
It was a promise he desperately hoped Sasuke would be able to keep – if only because it meant he would not lose him to the horrors of the war.
oOo
In the beginning of the war Naruto and Sasuke were still able to exchange letters, but as the weeks dragged on into months and the war turned more gruesome, the letters grew more and more sparse. Naruto tried to cling to the thought that as long as there was no casket brought back to the Uchiha clan, it meant both Sasuke and Itachi were still alive, but it was becoming harder and harder to remain optimistic when only the barest of news would trickle down from the battlefield to their little village.
Nevertheless even though barely any reply came back, Naruto still kept writing his letters. In them he told Sasuke about his studies, how Tsunade was considering taking him on as a student because father didn't want to make it seem like he was teaching his son purely because they were family. He told Sasuke about the meadow they had visited so often before, how the flowers there bloomed beautifully in the summer and how even the barren look in the winter had something peaceful to it. He wrote how much he missed him and how he could not wait for the day to come when they would be reunited.
He kept writing a letter every two weeks, keeping up the schedule they had set up at the start of the war, even when only one letter for every five or six he would send would arrive. He wrote to Sasuke and ignored the pitiful looks he received from the post office when he would go there to drop his letter off. They had no idea. Sasuke would come back to him. He had promised so and Sasuke had never broken a promise before.
If Naruto had to send a million more letters before their sweet reunion would happen, so be it.
oOo
On the eve of Naruto's twentieth birthday he finally Presented. The long wait was at last over.
He did not Present as an Alpha like Sasuke and his own father. Nor did he Present as a Beta like his mother and his cousin.
He Presented as an Omega. He, a man, Presented as an Omega on his twentieth birthday and through that, overnight, he became one of the rarest and most valuable people in the country. Omega were already revered for their beauty and their soft, gently nature, but a male Omega was almost unheard of. Scriptures told of a male Omega only happening once or twice every century.
Naruto thought those scriptures were a load of bollocks, because he refused to believe that a male Omega like him was that rare. Whether he refused to believe it or not, however, had no effect on how other people suddenly came to perceive him. Men and women who had not deigned to give him a second glance before, now suddenly showed up at his doorsteps and offered the most beautiful gifts they could think of that might sway him into accepting their courtship.
Naruto refused every single offer, no matter if it came from a man or a woman, rich or poor, old or young, from his own village or the other end of the country. He saw no reason why he should accept the courtship of people who had never shown a iota of interest in him before. Even without that reason, however, he simply could not accept their offers when he was already engaged to wed Sasuke when he would return.
"Perhaps you should give one of them a chance at least," Mother suggested softly one afternoon after Naruto had gently but firmly rejected yet another hopeful suitor.
"Why should I when they never showed any interest in me before?" he huffed, running his fingers through his hair. Just how far had the news of his Presentation spread? This was becoming ridiculous.
Her knowing stare had him flushing and ducking his head.
"Is it because of their former lack of interest or is it that you are not accepting them because you are waiting for someone in particular?" she asked and raised an eyebrow, resting her clasped hands in front of her, creasing her dress lightly.
"Does it matter?" he said, avoiding her gaze. "If I'm not interested in them, why should I be forced to accept their courtship? Did you not tell me before that you want me to marry out of love and not out of duty, mother?"
She sighed and came over to him, brushing his hair away from his forehead in a sweet gesture. "That, I did tell you," she said and kissed his forehead. "But Naruto, I don't want you to waste away your life waiting for something that might never happen."
"It is my life to waste away," he said determinedly and looked up at her, jutting out his chin. "It will happen, though. You will see."
She smiled sadly and squeezed his hands softly. "For the sake of your heart, I hope you're right, my love."
oOo
Wars were brutal and horrible and completely unnecessary. It tore families apart and left the ones left behind grieving, their happiness snatched away because of the decision of a few.
The war was a long one and sapped nearly all the resources the country had available. By some sliver of luck they managed to keep holding on without the people falling into absolute poverty or hunger, but it was a near thing. Only the resilience of their army and the occasional bout of good news of battles fought and won kept the country standing.
The war couldn't last too long anymore, though, that was something everybody agreed on. Mothers wanted to see their sons back, spouses longed to hold their husband back in their arms. Children prayed every evening for their father to stay safe and come back unharmed.
Months had turned into years and still Naruto waited, waited for the day to arrive when he would see Sasuke again and feel his smile against his lips once more. No matter how many days he would have to wait still, no matter how many suitors he would have to keep rejecting, he would not give up.
Sasuke had made him a promise and Naruto would wait patiently for him to fulfil that promise.
oOo
Five years, two months and three days after every available man had been sent to join the army, a scarred Sasuke showed up on Naruto's doorstep. The war had left its marks behind in the form of several thin scars, one even marring the Alpha's left cheek, but to Naruto the other man had never looked so breathtaking before.
Shadows haunted those black eyes but they lightened up when their gazes locked onto each other. Sasuke had clearly come straight from the victorious last battlefield to Naruto's house because he was still wearing his armour and his smudged katana gleamed weakly in the setting sun.
"I received every letter you wrote," Sasuke spoke, his voice slightly raspy, rough.
His voice was like music to Naruto's ears, even as his own heart tried to overwhelm it with its loud beating.
"Am I too late?" Sasuke asked; the hardened look in his eyes turning strangely vulnerable.
As if he believed he was truly too late. As if he expected Naruto to laugh at him and introduce him to someone who hadn't left him waiting for five years.
As if Naruto hadn't made a promise of himself five years ago.
"No," Naruto smiled and stepped outside, grabbing Sasuke's hands, unable to keep his giddy grin from spreading wide across his face. "You're right on time. Welcome home."
When their mouths met for the first time in all those years, the butterflies in Naruto's stomach were still just as crazy as during their first kiss. Their lips parted and they looked at each other before they simultaneously leant in for a second kiss, a longer one this time, filled with all the love they had for each other.
Naruto had to wait five years to have this again, but the wait had been more than worth it. For Sasuke he would wait however long it took. Now that he was here, though, he would never let him go again.
Their little fairytale was just beginning.
The End