One Year Later

I was in Sasuke's home, helping him pack his room so he could begin to move into my apartment. Graduation was quickly approaching for both of us, and the pressure from our situations was starting to get to us.

"Do you need this?" I asked while helping to take out his clothes from his closet.

He stared at it, unable to decide whether to keep it for the move or donate it.

"Does it spark joy?" I asked with a smirk while passing him the shirt.

He grabbed the shirt with a chuckle before tossing it in the donation box. "It doesn't really speak to me."

We had spent a few hours going through his room, figuring out what to keep and what to give away, but we still had so much left to do.

I sighed while sitting on the edge of his bed. He folded his last shirt into his suitcase and then made his way next to me. "Tired?" he asked while reaching for my hand.

I nodded, taking his hand in mine. "Overwhelmed...There's still so much and only a week or two to get everything done..."

He poked my forehead with his two fingers, causing me to yelp in pain. "Hey-!"

"It's going to be okay. It'll be finished in a few days, don't worry."

I took a deep breath, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Cheesy," I joked.

"You like it when I'm cheesy," he whispered while reaching over to caress my cheek.

"Do I?"

With a playful smile, he leaned in to kiss me. "Shut up and help me pack."

I rolled my eyes with a smirk before hopping off the bed to help him again. I headed towards the closet, ready to finish up.

"Are you excited to see my gramps?" I asked while taking the last of his clothes out of the closet.

He nodded his head. "Sorry we couldn't go sooner," he said while going through the pile of clothes on his bed. "I didn't realize my dad put the wrong date on the ticket..."

I giggled, walking to the overflowing donation box to close it up. "Suna during the summer is nicer anyway. Besides, I wouldn't have had your homemade ramen if we had gone, so it's still a win for me."

I could see the smile on his face as he continued to sort through his clothes. "You're going to be a great chef, Sasuke."

His ears began to glow with a light pink tint. "Hn," he grunted in embarrassment.

"I mean it." I pushed the donation box into the hallway and opened another box to take its place. "I'm manifesting it now," I began while taping the bottom of the box, "You're going to own the greatest restaurant, and I'm going to help you run it. Then...if we have a family...they'll help out and we'll have the cutest family own restaurant."

"Family?" he asked while turning in my direction with a pink face.

I nodded my head with a shy smile. "Yeah...family. I'm thinking 2 or 3 kiddos."

His shocked expression slowly melted into a warm smile. "I like that...I like that future a lot."

"We'll manifest it every day to make sure it comes true."

He chuckled to himself, turning around to continue packing.

As I stood by the doorway, I looked into the room, feeling bittersweet at how empty it had become. I was still scared about the move and the future to come. The thought of another Sasuke returning to the past to stop us still haunted me.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm the overwhelming thoughts in my head. Sasuke's not like his other self. He'd never leave me, and I know that.

"Hey loser," I heard him say, breaking me out of my thoughts, "You going to help me pack or what?"

I rolled my eyes, snapping back at my future husband: "Shut up, you're not even paying me, you Uchiha Snob."

He gave a mischievous smile, the same one he would show me when he was about to make me his. "I'll make sure you're rewarded."

My heart skipped in my chest, and a great heat overcame my body. I gave a shy nod before rushing to pack up again. I heard him snicker to himself, proud that he had me wrapped around his finger.

"St-stop laughing!" I stuttered. "I'm only rushing to get you packed up faster!"

"Heh, whatever you say, my deviant princess."

My heart pounded in my chest along with the heat between my legs. He only ever called me his deviant princess when we were intimate.

I can't take this anymore-!

I dropped what I was doing in an instant and walked towards the doorway. I looked down the hall in both directions before closing the room to his door.

"Sasuke Uchiha, you stupid jerk!" I blurted in embarrassment, "You're doing this on purpose!"

"Doing what?" His mischievous smile said it all. He knew exactly what he was doing.

I walked up to him, embarrassed that he had this control over my body. "How much longer do we need to pack?"

He turned away, smiling to himself. "Why?"

I whispered into his ear, slightly ashamed of what I was saying. I slowly pulled away, watching his ears turn red.

"We can take a break now..." he mumbled.

What we had was irreplaceable, and I had to trust in him to not make the same mistakes as before. And even if he did, I'm willing to go through everything again to be with him, because I love him.

***

It was the day before graduation, and I couldn't wait for the sound of the final school bell. In a few moments, I would never have to come back to this school again.

I glanced out the window, bored by whatever final goodbye speech Iruka-sensai was saying. While watching the sky, I caught a glimpse of Sakura's reflection in the window, and a feeling of guilt overcame my heart.

Sakura never reached out to me after she had caught me with my boyfriend. I lied to her, my best friend, and she had every right to be upset with me.

I slowly glanced over in her direction only to be met with her eyes. In a panic, I looked away, hiding my face in my textbook. She looked at me, right?! Maybe that means I can try and talk to her?

As soon as the bell rang, everyone ran out of the classroom without a second thought. I quickly looked back to try and see if I could talk to Sakura, but she rushed off as soon as I turned in her direction.

I sighed, feeling defeated as I walked towards the classroom exit. I really thought she would talk to me...

Right before I left the room, Iruka-sensei pulled me aside: "Naruko, can I talk to you?"

I could hear Kiba's snickers as he walked past me. "Can't even graduate without causing trouble, huh Naruko?"

"Shut up, dog boy!" I yelled while showing him a fist in annoyance.

"Once a loser, always a loser!" He laughed, exiting the classroom with everyone else.

The classroom was empty. It could have been because it was just Iruka-sensei and me, but a feeling of dread suddenly overcame me. I gulped heavily as I felt my hands begin to clamp up. "Don't tell me I'm failing--I'm literally so close Iruka-sensei-!"

"Calm down Naruko!" he yelled. He then dug into his desk, pulling out a paper. "I wanted to talk to you about this," he said while showing me my class assignment. "You never filled it out, your plans for the future."

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Yeah I did." I then pointed at the singular sentence I had written: "'Where ever the future takes me.' Pretty valid response in my opinion."

"Naruko..." he sighed while putting the paper back in his desk. "Do you have any plans for the future?"

"Yes and No."

"Okay...What are they?"

I crossed my arms and shook my head. "Look, there's no point in making plans. I have a goal, and that's to marry my current boyfriend and run a cute lil restaurant with him. If I make a plan, I'm just gonna be restricting myself and getting disappointed when things don't go my way.

There's no use in worrying about the future if I'm still trying to get things done in the present."

"...You can't tell me that's all you have planned for yourself."

"Look, In all honesty, I'm too dumb to go to college. I don't like school; I don't like work; I just like eating and doing whatever I want. I never really cared about anything before I met Sasuke. If I have to go to college, I will, but for now, I just want to let things happen. If I'm meant to do something, it'll happen. No point in forcing it."

Iruka-sensei sighed, slouching in his desk chair before picking himself back up to speak. "Naruko, I don't want to be the 'Negative Nancy,' but you can't plan your future around a boy."

"What?" I asked, slightly irritated by his comment.

"How long have you been with your boyfriend?"

"About a year and a half..."

He sighed again, fidgeting in his seat as if trying to find the right words to say. "I'm going to be honest with you Naruko, Highschool relationships don't always last. Your boyfriend might be the most important thing to you right now, but you also need to carry that same importance for yourself.

Let's say you guys don't work out, what are you going to do? You would have no education and probably nothing more than a convenience store job. That's not enough to make a living. You need to be more practical."

I clenched the hem of my skirt in anger. I knew he was right to a certain degree. He was saying things that I had already considered but never really touched upon because of how harsh the reality of those situations was.

In desperation to just say something, I spoke without thinking: "You think I'm stupid."

"What?"

"Everyone in this school thinks I'm stupid. You think I can only land a convenience store job. There are plenty of people out there that have jobs and no college degree!"

He rubbed his temples, regretting our conversation. "I apologize Naruko. I never meant for you to think that you weren't capable of finding a good job. I'm just worried about you."

"I've been doing just fine on my own for the last three years. I don't need you to worry about me now."

"Naruko..."

Anger, frustration, and even a hint of sorrow filled my heart. I had been living in my fantasy world with Sasuke for so long that I had neglected to look at my reality. I had no goals or ambitions. If it wasn't for Sasuke, I would really have nothing going for me right now. Kiba was right: 'Once a loser, always a loser.'

A tear slipped from my eye and I quickly wiped it away. "Can I go now?" I muttered.

He looked at me with the stare of a father concerned for their child. "I just want the best for you."

I rolled my eyes, looking away to try and hide my desire to cry. "Whatever..."

He sighed again while beginning to organize his desk. "Okay...well, graduation is tomorrow, so I wish you the best in all your endeavors. I just hope you can find something great for yourself...Remember, supporting a partner's dream doesn't mean it has to be yours."

I clicked my tongue before walking towards the door to leave. As I was opening the door, Iruka-sensei called out to me one last time. "Naruko."

"What?"

"Dream big."

***

The whole walk home I couldn't get what Iruka-sensei said out of my mind. It made me feel like a loser and a naive child. Screw that guy...

I clenched my fists as I stood in front of my apartment door. All those guys think I'm a nobody...I'll show them.

I opened the door to my home to see my boyfriend unpacking some of his things into the kitchen. The feeling of having someone home was new to me, but in a few days, it would be my new norm.

"I'm home," I sighed while removing my shoes.

He walked out of the kitchen, holding my stash of Ramen in his arms. "I knew you liked Ramen...but this is too much Naruko. No wonder you're a loser; all you eat is sodium."

Sasuke and I always bantered; it was our way to show we cared. But today, after the conversation I had with Iruka-sensei, his comment made me angry. So even at home, I'm a loser...

I bit my lip and walked passed him, shoving him in the process. Dumb jerk. Why would he say that instead of greeting me at the door and asking about my day? Stupid idiot...

I knew I shouldn't be mad at him, and maybe I was expecting too much from a boy my age, but I really wanted him to have noticed that I was not in a good mood. We've been together for almost two years. He should know by now that I would never sign unless I finished a ramen bowl or I'm in a bad mood!

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked while setting the Ramen down on the table.

"Oh, so now you ask," I replied sarcastically while making my way to sit on the couch. I quickly turned on the TV and crossed my arms in annoyance.

"What's going on?" he asked again, taking a seat next to me. "Did I do something wrong? I was just joking."

I remained quiet, feeling petty as I projected my anger onto my boyfriend.

"I've never seen you like this...The last time you were this upset was when we went to that fancy ramen shop in the city."

Yeah, that ramen sucked.

I turned off the TV and slowly turned to look at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked again with a stern voice.

"Nothing-"

"Don't lie to me," he stated with a glare.

Another sigh escaped my mouth before I turned away from his direction. "When do you have to go back home?"

He remained quiet, confused by the sudden change of topic. "Itachi is coming to pick me up in an hour or two. Why?"

Despite his concern for me, I still didn't want to talk about my issues. I wish he was a mind reader so I wouldn't have to always speak my truth. I took a deep breath before reaching over to untie my pigtails. "Sasuke..."

"Yeah?"

"Can you brush my hair...?" I looked at him with the eyes of a child. I wanted to forget everything and feel cared for.

I watched his confused expression melt into his usual calm composure. Without a question, he got up from the couch and returned with a brush. He sat down again and motioned me to sit in between his legs. I did as I was instructed and allowed him to care for me.

It was quiet but never awkward. It was peaceful being with him, even in silence.

"I'm sorry that I didn't greet you at the door," he said, breaking the silence, "I didn't think that would bother you."

"It's okay...I just had a rough end to my day at school."

"What happened?" he asked while putting down the brush.

I wanted to tell him, but I also didn't want to stress him out even more than he already was. "Um...I don't really want to talk about it right now..."

I could tell that bothered him because of the way it suddenly became tense, but like the sun shining after the rain, the tension slowly went away. I heard him sigh before pulling me back in an embrace and into his chest. "That's okay..."

I love how he holds me. I love how he loves me. And because I love him, I wanted to see him succeed in everything.

"Sasuke..."

"Hm?"

"I want you to have the world."

He chuckled before digging his head into the side of my neck. "And I want you to have the universe."

I smiled to myself, taking his hand in mine. "Sasuke...you don't actually think I'm a loser, right?"

He laughed, not realizing how genuine my question was.

"I'm being serious," I said while standing up from the couch. "What do you think of me?"

He looked at me in concern before folding his arms in seriousness. "Why does it matter what I think of you?"

"Because-! Because...!" I bit my lip, not knowing the answer myself.

"You've never cared what I or anyone ever thought of you," he spat with a scowl. "You've always been yourself and that's what I love most about you."

My heart sank from his words. I had always been confident, so why was I beginning to be so insecure?

"I know...but you're so good at everything and I'm...I'm literally just a dumb loser who eats ramen."

His face grew red from anger as he stood up from the couch to yell at me:

"You are a loser, and I already knew that. From the moment you appeared in front of me with your goofy smile, I had known you were an idiot. A persistent and determined idiot that never stopped until she got what she wanted.

But you're the greatest idiot I've ever met, and the only loser I'd ever want to be with. I've bet everything on you, and if that also makes me a loser, then we're both losers."

He took a deep breath before sitting back down. "Fuck whoever's made you feel this way."

He continued to mutter to himself, angered by my insecurities. He scratched his head, frustrated by what I had said. "Damn it!" he yelled while standing up to go to the kitchen.

"Sasuke?" I haven't seen him this mad in a while...it's kinda hot...

He raided my kitchen, taking out pots and ingredients to cook. "No one should ever make you feel like you're nothing!" he yelled while washing his hands.

My heart skipped in my chest, and a wave of embarrassment overcame me. Knowing he cared about me to this extent made not just my heart happy, but also my body. He knew I was capable of more than what I even thought of myself.

I wanted to show the world that I wasn't just some loser. Iruka-sensei was wrong about Sasuke, but he was right about me; I could still support Sasuke's dreams and have my own; I just had to dream big.

While Sasuke "angry cooked" in the kitchen, I made my way to my room to begin my research into a business degree. We're going to own the most famous restaurant in Konoha, and everyone's going to know our names.

I finally knew what I wanted to do, and nothing was going to stop me from my dream.

***

An hour passed, and I narrowed my search to two schools I could go to with my academics. If we stay here in Konoha, I could go to community college here...but what about Sasuke? Where does he even want to go for culinary school? Wait...does he even want to go to school?

It had just dawned on me that we had never spoken about our near future. We always spoke about our life goals but never about how we were going to get there.

"I'm coming in," I heard my boyfriend say as he walked into my room with a tray of fresh ramen.

My heart fluttered as he served me his homemade noodles. "Sasuke..."

I smiled at the bowl as his ingredients drew a smiley face. "You're so cute," I said, giving my boyfriend a smile before digging into the soup. 

He sat at the edge of my bed, watching me eat with a painful smile. "I'm sorry that you had a bad day... You're not a loser."

"It's okay...I think today had to happen so I could wake up and find something to do with my life."

"Is that what you've been researching?" He asked while looking at my computer screen.

I nodded my head while slurping the noodles. "I'm going to get a business degree to help support us. I want us to be successful with our lil restaurant."

He gave a weak smile before looking at the ground. "...Would you..."

"Huh?"

"...Would you hate me if I said I didn't want to go to school?"

My jaw dropped, and my chopsticks fell into my ramen. "You what?"

"I don't have money to go to culinary school in Kumogakure, so I was hoping to work in different restaurants and gain experience that way...Tch. I sound stupid..."

This whole time I thought I would be disappointing him if I didn't get an education, but he was feeling the same way. I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that we had been both feeling the same way yet we never spoke about it until now.

I put down the bowl and leaned in to hug him. "You dummy, of course, I wouldn't hate you."

A weight lifted from our shoulders as we finally spoke our truths. For the first time, I was more than sure that we were going to be okay.

***

The next day at the graduation ceremony, I waited for the sea of people to leave the gymnasium so I could speak with Iruka-sensei. He was putting away the chairs on stage by himself, working diligently. 

I took a deep breath before climbing the steps to the stage and grabbing the nearest chair to help him. "Hey," I said while passing him a chair to stack.

"Naruko? What're you doing here? You should be out celebrating. Leave this to me-"

"I wanted to thank you," I interrupted. "Thank you for yesterday. I needed to hear that."

He smiled, folding his arms in contentment. "Are you ready to dream big?"

I nodded my head, giving him a thumbs-up and a smile. "Guess what I've decided to do!"

"Hmm, it's not a convenience store job, right?" 

I folded my arms with a pout: " No...I'm gonna get a business degree."

His shocked expression turned into a genuine smile. "I'm proud of you."

After I helped him with the last of the chairs, we walked outside, deep in conversation. "If you ever need help, let me know," he mentioned while opening the gymnasium door. 

"Don't worry, I'll come bug you if I ever need help studying, ya know!"

He chuckled, glad that I had finally found something I wanted to do. "By the way," he said, "I think that boy wants your attention." He pointed to the person behind me as I stared at him in confusion. 

"Boy?" 

Sasuke couldn't be here because of his clan. Other than him, I didn't know any other boy besides Kakashi-senpai who now lived hours away from this town. I swear if it's Kiba, and Sakura-chan was right about his crush on me, I'm gonna--

Butterflies filled my heart as I turned around to see my boyfriend holding a bouquet of pink cosmos. "Sasuke?!"

I ran into his arms, not wasting a moment to lock my lips with his. I held his face in my hands, overjoyed and shocked that he had come. "What're you doing here? What if someone from your clan sees you here?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "You're more important...Besides, I'm leaving that stupid estate soon anyway."

"You're moving to my estate now," I joked while wrapping my arms around him. 

"Our estate."

We embraced each other, no longer hiding our relationship from the world. "Thank you for coming," I whispered into his chest.

Moments went by before he whispered in my ear to turn around. In confusion, I did what I was told and saw Sakura. She was holding her arm nervously, as she called to me: "Hey Naruko..."

I pulled away from Sasuke to direct my attention toward her. "Sakura-chan..."

"Go," I heard him say, "Go talk to her."

I nodded my head, finding the courage to finally fix the bridge that meant the most to me.

***

We headed into our old classroom. It was where our friendship began. I sat at my now old desk, waiting for her to say something, but my patience grew thin and I spoke in haste:

"Sakura-chan-/Naruko-" we said in unison. 

Caught off guard by our synchronization, we laughed at ourselves lightheartedly. 

"I missed you," she said with sincerity in both her voice and expression. 

I sniffled, ready to cry at any moment. "Sakura-chan~!" I ran into her arms and whaled into her shoulder. 

"You big baby..."

In the classroom where we first meet, we also reconnected. My best friend, who I had lost for a year, was finally back where she was meant to be: right next to me. 

We left the classroom, feeling free as the weight lifted from both of our hearts. 

"Don't go lying to me again, Naruko," she warned while playfully hitting me over the head. 

"I'm sorry! I told you I wouldn't do it again! It was just a complicated situation, ya know!"

she sighed punching me lightly on my arm. "Dummy, I know...and I'm sorry I made it hard for you to tell me. I just didn't know."

"And that's not your fault," I reassured, "That was mine for not being honest with you."

We made it outside of the school where Sasuke was waiting for me at the steps. I took a deep breath before introducing Sakura to my lover. "Sakura-chan, meet Sasuke."

She stood there, unsure of what to do. I could tell she was still uncomfortable with the fact that I was dating her crush. I didn't blame her.

"Hi," she replied meekly while standing at a distance. 

Sasuke bowed his head, not saying a word as he continued to sit.

It was tense, but what was I expecting after rekindling our friendship only a few moments ago? 

"Sakura!" yelled a pair of voices in the distance. 

We both looked over in the direction of the voices to see her parents. They were waving at us with their usual bright smiles. Sakura cringed, hiding her face in her hands. She had always been embarrassed by her parents, but I couldn't help but find their gestures endearing. "I gotta go, Naruko...Keep in touch." She gave me one last hug before running over to her parents. "Geez guys, could you not be so loud!"

Watching her argue with her parents always felt bittersweet. I was envious of her, always wishing that I had parents to care for me like hers. If only she knew how lucky she was...

I exhaled deeply, sitting next to Sasuke in exhaustion. "I've confronted too many people today. I'm tired!" I shouted while leaning against Sasuke. 

"Hn...I'm proud of you," he muttered while resting his head on top of mine.

"Was it just me, or was that a lil awkward?" I asked. 

"That was definitely awkward..." he agreed. 

I sighed heavily, drained by the emotional work I had put into today. "I want some ramen..." I mumbled. 

With a chuckle, he reached for my hand and intertwined our fingers. "You ready to go home?"

My whole life I had been lonely, even when I was with Gramps. I had to walk myself home, feed myself, and care for myself, especially when my gramps was away on his work trips. I always envied those who had someone to go home to, and now I finally had that. For the first time in years, I had someone to go home to. 

I stood up from the stairs, pulling him up in excitement. With a smile and a skip in my heart, I was ready to go: "Let's go home, Sasuke!"