Disclaimer: i give my humbest thanx to Masashi Kishimoto, the creator/ copyright holder of Naruto, for this wonderful series which is a little too easy to twist into yaoi. also i wished i could make money sitting on my ass, shamelessly ripping off others' genius, but i don't. stuck waiting tables instead.
Naru~Sasu Christmas Special!
It seemed like the perfect gift.
He just couldn't figure out to whom.
¬_¬
Naruto was determined that this year he wouldn't forget Christmas.
It wasn't easy, the holiday wasn't widely celebrated though the stores all had bright decorations & huge advertisements in their windows to incourage buyers. However for most shinbo Christmas was for the rich.
Naruto was neither rich nor Christian but he did like presents.
The problem was finding the perfect gift for everyone else so that they might do the same for him.
After several minutes, Naruto wandered away from the lingerie section, deciding that as cute as it would look on Sakura, she wouldn't appreciate him buying her knickers. She might force me to wear them. Visions of himself dressed in nothing but a thong running in a foot of snow away from a pissed off kunoichi had him momentarily petrified.
He shook his head out, his eye caught on something glinting in the sunlight, & that was when he saw them.
Two simple metallic bands set within an opened deep blue box. A sign below proclaimed that they were one-hundred percent stainless steel, like that was important. He felt suddenly very excited.
It's perfect!
They were displayed on a cart in the centre of the vast walkway through the shopping centre, the man running it looked like he was far away reading a thick worn paperback which he had obviously read several times before as he kept flipping though the pages before falling into rapture at certain points.
Naruto approached the cart, doing his best to look like he was bored & tired & was only going to look because it was there. The clerk didn't even glance at him.
He glance over everything speculatively. This stuff's kinda masculine……
Heavy looking bracelets which seemed more for weight training then aesthetics & tribal jewellery made of all sorts of unusual materials; this was definitely all for men & the very butch.
He couldn't keep his eyes off the rings for long, stealing quick glances down at them. They looked to be too big for a women's finger.
So I'm not giving those to Sakura…
He'd been so enamoured that he hadn't thought about who they were perfect for. He didn't see himself wearing something like that. Nor Sai, the only other person besides Sakura who he had yet to get a present for. Maybe Kakashi sensei?
He didn't realize that he had been staring until his senses flared, he was being watched.
It was only the clerk of the stand, probably concerned that he was going to steal something.
There goes my strategy. he lamented turning to walk away. Don't even know who I'd give them to.
'Hey.' the clerk called out to him, the blonde spun slowly looking as dejected as possible, hoping that his luck was good.
'Just a little advice: if you wanted to feign disinterest you approached wrong. Most people are morbidly curious about this stall whereas you faked boredom, too interested in those rings to even look at the other stuff 'til you got over here.' the man stated never bothering to sit up in his chair, feet still propped on the edge of the cart as he watched Naruto.
The blonde felt like smacking his forehead. Then his inquisitive nature peaked up.
'What's so 'morbidly curious' about this stall?' he asked. The clerk snorted & he glared back, hating to be made fun of. Brown dusty boots stomped on the clean tiles shaking off flecks of mud & dirt as the man leaned forward in his chair to pick a large bolt with two ball bearings on either end. It fit neatly in the man's palm. He held it up in front of him.
'Did you know what this is?'
It's a bolt. but Naruto didn't say anything. He knew that it, like lots of things in his world, was probably not what it appeared to be.
'It's a bolt.' the clerk said & for the second time in five minutes Naruto felt like smacking his head.
'It goes through your dick.'
If it could, Naruto was fairly sure that his penis would have inverted, hiding somewhere in his intestines. That cookie he'd had an hour ago was about to make a reappearance to the world.
'Not for the faint of heart.' the clerk chuckled lightly watching as Naruto, he could only guess, turned green.
He put the bolt back amongst it's, many quite a bit thicker- my penis is now official a vagina- sets & reached out to take the blue box which Naruto hadn't even noticed he had picked up out of his hands.
'This doesn't go anywhere near your dick, unless you don't take it off before you masturbate. Or if your dick's really really small.' he looked though one of the rings.
The Sai-esque comment snapped Naruto out of his stupor, biting his tongue before he yelled at the clerk
'One of them is broken?' Naruto looked carefully at the ring now rolling between the man's thick fingers.
'Nah. This one's for your ear, the other is just a ring.'
He looked closer at the earring, it seemed too thick to got through a normal piercing but considering the other pierces this cart catered to, it wasn't a stretch to see it.
That definitely put Sai out. His ears weren't even pierced. Who could I give those to? It still seemed to him that they were perfect for someone but who he couldn't quite put his finger on.
The clerk sighed leaning back heavily on the chair which creaked in protest but held. 'So you gonna buy these?'
Naruto immediately nodded though a large part of him wanted to run screaming from the stall straight to Iruka's where he could cuddle up with an old blankie & a cup of specially made cocoa.
'Well it's eighty.' the man held the rings out for the blonde & he instinctively, almost possessively, took them before the price hit him. Eighty's a bit too much……
'Eighty's ridiculous! I'd pay maybe half that much.'
The stare which the clerk fixed him with was undesirably terrible. There was something old, musty & truly depraved in those eyes as he looked at Naruto, causing him to shiver as though ice water was trickling over his spine.
'Sixety's…' his voice squeaked like an adolescent earning him a crooked smile with only magnified the intensity.
'I…c-can do eighty.'
¬_¬
Thoroughly ashamed of himself he marched through the rest of the mall angrily grabbing the knickers he had previously dissuaded himself from & a huge textbook which sounded too smart for him but it had something to do with behavioural traits & he figured that Sai needed work that, & stormed all the way home.
Three days & one failed return on the underwear later & Naruto still hadn't quite figured out who he had intended to give those rings to. Shikamaru had pierced ears but now Naruto had to contend with the idea of giving another man jewellery.
Maybe Sakura would…… No. Sakura was a bust. As was Kakashi who he had already spent too much time figuring out & then acquiring his present. Getting Ero-sennin to sit down & write a collection of shorts had been the most gruelling three weeks of his life, including those years in training.
The thought of giving them to Iruka crossed his mind only in a flash as when Naruto really thought about it, it seemed just wrong.
So who?
His eyes trailed across his room, the dirty cups & packets of empty ramen which he'd yet to clear away. Somewhere amidst all the kunei & scrolls & scattered books he caught a glimpse of something, dark & familiar. Something he immediately recognized but didn't want to think about. Not him……
He sat up with a start, thinking about those rings & how they complimented the deep blue of the box, a blue so similar to the colour of his hair in the sunlight.
¬_¬
Tanzanka town centre was awash with light from thousands of tiny brilliantly coloured bulbs, each stall illuminated & flecking it's colours across the streets. It was like walking on a kaleidoscope.
And he wasn't sure why he had come here. His apartment the last few days had gotten cold. A cold which pinched his heart while the rest of him sweated from turning the heating on full blast.
As he stared at the tacky lights & the couples sheltering themselves from the cold he thought that he might be looking at the most beautiful scene made more so because he could feel his heartbreaking.
Sasuke was gone.
Even if Naruto tracked him down now the man he'd find would only share a passing resemblance to his friend.
Why does that even matter so much now?
The packet of crisps he'd grabbed in the hurry of deciding that he couldn't sit in his tiny apartment a second longer would normally have his stomach roaring at him but not now. He'd been given a lollipop at the gate & he sucked away ignoring any queer looks he got as he made his way along.
After a few hours the cold began to feel warm, a sure sign that Naruto need to get indoors. He past dozens of hotels all with illuminated no's on the vacancy signs before coming to an inconspicuous looking bed & breakfast. The old woman who opened the door smiled at him kindly, letting him in.
'I only got one room, the attic, but it's haunted. You ok with ghosts?'
He felt a quiet terror creep up on him. The great Uzumaki Naruto, future hokage, number one unpredictable ninja, but these were not things which you could fight. They would come & stare over you as you slept, steal your breath, freeze the very room you inhabited. He was scare shitless.
'Don't look like that. I've been up there billions of times & it has a very calm feeling. I don't think there's any ill-intent in that room.' she threw wood into a tiny stove in the corner.
'I've already had it heated up, there are so many people out tonight & they all need a place to sleep. I guess ghosts do too.'
Her kind smile eased his fears a bit but he was still unsure whether he should just run out to the cold. There was a warm looking corner a couple of streets back, & that park bench was more & more appealing as he thought of staying the night with a ghost.
The woman was pulling him up to the room quickly.
'Just take a look if you don't like it then you can always sleep on the couch downstairs, just so long as you don't make a ruckus.'
Naruto wanted to tell her that it was fine. He would try somewhere else but when he hit the landing of the hall, a sliding ladder at the end he felt a tug & deep inside his mind there was a sense of companionship.
'Terrible what happened to him. He feel in love you see & when it was over it ate him up from the inside, he hung himself. I feel comforted when I come up here. Maybe he's discovered that it's not so bad?'
Barely hearing her, he nodded an agreement. She got that everything was suited & disappeared while Naruto climbed up the ladder in the tiny warm room.
He shivered but only because his body was adjusted to the temperature change & sat down on the bed in the corner. There was a small window opposite which looked down at the bright lights below but better than that, looked straight up into the dark night sky.
Sasuke……
He hated being mopey. It wasn't like him, it didn't help him or anybody else. Maybe that's why he'd run away. He was by no means intending to remain away, but a few days where he could drop the act.
His rucksack was light almost not making a dent in the mattress his he slid it off his shoulders, suddenly very tired. The old woman poked her head up through the floor.
'I brought you some clothes. You'll never warm up if your clothes are cold.' she placed them just inside the room, Naruto wearily thanking her as he slumped over.
¬_¬
Sasuke was jumping over the houses, using rooftops as stepping stones while he followed, desperate to catch up.
'Wait!'
Naruto couldn't get his voice loud enough. He was sure that Sasuke couldn't hear him. That he would surely turn around if he did. If he could just yell, just cry out.
Then he did.
He was so focused on his friend that he forgot to check his footing, slipping & falling when a roof tile collapsed inwards followed by more, the whole roof concaving in a spiral, a terrible fiery figure with many tails roaring as he reached up to devour his screaming self.
When I lost control…
But there was a hand, tight around his arm pulling him away. The beast shrieked, clawing desperately to get to him.
Even beasts desire freedom. he thought bitterly as he felt a warm body against his for a moment.
Then it was gone. The roof was fine, apart for where his foot had gone through. It must had been a genjutsu, he really hated those. The body disappeared as he was dropped hastily.
'Thanks.' Naruto murmured. Sasuke merely nodded his head in return. He seemed stunned, maybe the genjutsu had affected him too.
The raven haired man turned then about to run again, Naruto reached up with one hand, grabbing the tiny box in his fist with the other.
'Wait.'
He held the box out.
Sasuke considered for a moment before he blanched, then went immediately red afterwards.
Naruto thought that holding out a tiny box, while down on one knee might just be coming on too strong. & that was only the start of the wrong in this situation.
'Sasuke.' Naruto couldn't stop his voice from coming out as a plea. Please don't go.
Ever so gently Sasuke took the box from Naruto holding it closed to his chest.
¬_¬
Naruto was waking up, aware suddenly of another's presence in the room & of the wetness which covered his face. He waited, keeping his breath deep & calm, but he wasn't the best faker & he knew it. There was something wiggling in his arms, turning around before it settled back. Naruto opened his eyes.
The presence vanished. In it's place there was a small wiggling kitten with a tiny bow stuck on it's collar. The kitten was a deep black, it's eyes a similar colour & it liked Naruto immensely already.
At the foot of his bed, his rucksack was opened & he knew without looking that the box would be gone.
¬_¬
The months went by & the winter chill begrudging gave up the wind & the snow melted to become nourishment to the soil beneath. The green foliage returned & balmy breezes were already becoming the norm again.
As for Naruto's heart, he felt the frosty bite less though he never once believed that it would ever disappear.
A tiny wiggly kitten grew in the few short months, still accompanying Naruto to bed & he didn't have the heart to throw it out of his room even when it attacked his feet all night.
The few occasions he'd had to go to the mall, he'd never spied the cart though Kakashi knew where it had been & admitted to buying something from it, what he wouldn't say.
Sai still teased him relentlessly about the size of his penis & Sakura wouldn't date him, he'd stopped asking, even 'handing the torch' to Lee, who's dogged determination seemed to slowly be winning her over. Veeeeerrrrrry slowly.
He was excited, jogging up the stairs, groceries in his arms & a letter tight in his fist. Naruto almost never received mail. When he went to the report on his mission, Iruka had handed him the letter which had arrived that very morning & he'd had a rush put on the checks just because he knew that Naruto liked getting mail.
Naruto showed Suke the letter. The cat's head cocked to one side before it yawned & stretch.
'Bet your tired after that thrilling battle with a mouse last week.'
He swore that Suke cringe at the comment. A tiny mouse which Suke was happily playing with while contemplating what it would go nicely with, had finally had enough rising up on it hind legs & squeaked as loudly as it could. And for some unknown reason, this terrified Suke because he jumped away from the exponentially smaller creature giving it plenty of opportunity to run away. Naruto had witnessed this as he practised sage mode on his kitchen counter top & lost all concentration, laughing so hard he fell & hit his head.
He tore the letter open slowly pulling out the neatly folded paper.
Dear Uzumaki Naruto-chan,
You may have already forgotten me but you stayed at my bed & breakfast around Christmas time. It's strange but I think that you left this in the room. I found it on the bedside table & though I've cleaned that room numerous times, I only found it recently! Very unusual. But you were the last person to stay in the room & so it must be yours. I'm sure if he talked, the ghost would ask when you'll be coming back for a visit. I myself hope that you are well & that I will see you again.
-Mikiyo Susume
He reread the letter. I don't think I left anything. The envelope felt heavy in his hand. He tipped out the contents. A single metal ring fell into his hand, one of a set.
There was a knock on the door.
He slipped the ring on his finger absentmindedly, spinning it for a few moments.
Suke glared at the door, it had disturbed her nap then mewed at Naruto, who was too lost in thought to notice.
There was more banging this time it was repetitious to the point of annoyance & Naruto rushed to open it before the door's feeble hinges gave away. His deposit on this place was already shot without them wrecking the place.
Them being the other members of Team Kakashi, Kiba leading a bashful Hinata apologizing that Shino was on a mission with his dad, Gai-sensei & Lee, & surprisingly Gaara & his siblings.
'What the hell…' Naruto looked incredulously at the group.
'We would have thrown a surprise party but ninjas & surprise parties have a tragic history. Happy Birthday by the way.' Kiba walked past Naruto smiling at Suke who seemed to nod at him while his nose crinkled as though smelling something foul.
'Iruka said he already surprised you this morning.' Kakashi smiled at Naruto dumping a large & obviously expensive & obviously something that Naruto really wanted since the memory of his sensei's elation at his Christmas gift was still fresh in everyone's minds.
That & the blonde's not-so-brilliant idea to wrap a bottle of expensive perfume in a thong as a present to Sakura which had him running through the streets of Konoha, thankfully in his own underwear, fearful of his life.
He had seen that she'd worn it too though he'd gotten a smack which left him with whiplash.
Sai smiled.
'Left me guess. One year older & still the penis size of a twelve year old?' Naruto asked arching his brow.
'No that book you gave me said that speaking, even in jest, about someone's penis sounds like I'm obsessed.' the pale teen answered passing his present, neatly wrapped to the blonde. The blonde scratched his nose.
'Well, it's good to know that you're not obsessed…?' Naruto's tone at the end of the sentence was obviously inquisitive.
'Oh no Inever was, just commenting because it was so much smaller than mine.'
Hinata beside Sai turned beyond red at this while Gaara actually looked like his face had discovered another expression, shock.
Kakashi quickly suggested getting a soda & Sai followed him before the swirling vortex in Naruto's hand stabilized enough to be a weapon.
Blushing Hinata passed him a present which Naruto ripped open, eyes going huge.
'I-It's with Kiba's which Shino helped pay for.'
'I love Mario House Party!' He glomped Hinata who fainted; Kibe took her calming Naruto that no he hadn't actually squeezed her to death, she was anemic….
'-or something.' he mumbled as he took her to Naruto's bed & set her down returning as the blonde glomped him for buying the platform to play it.
'I didn't get you a present.' Gaara looked awkward casting his eyes around at the others & the sizable stack of presents.
His siblings both had small presents & they looked at each other as if to say: has Gaara ever had a birthday before?
Naruto shrugged. 'Showing up all the way from Suna &, i mean, fucking getting time off from being Kazekage that's plenty for me. We are soo playing this later.' he yelled the last part out to everyone holding Mario high. There was a collective groan.
The evening went by so fast. Hinata woke up, accidentally drank some vodka & beat Naruto's ass at Mario, laughing & forgetting that she should be embarrassed.
Kiba had an hour long staring match with Suke who got annoyed after a little while & took a page out of the mouse's book, leading to everyone laughing at the dog-nin on his ass.
Shikimaru, Chouiji, & Ino arrived later bring huge buckets of fried chicken & more alcohol.
Kakashi, under very heavy influence of brandy, slipped that he was staying at Iruka's for a few days & everyone was swore to secrecy, even offering to have seals placed on their tongues.
Lee slipped his arm around Sakura & everyone in the room held their breath, even Lee. But Sakura didn't hit Lee. Instead she peered closer at Naruto's controller.
'You've never worn a ring before.' she pointed out the band around his finger. He'd completely forgotten it. The weight of it comforting without being cumbersome.
'Yeah Iruka mentioned that you had gotten a ring in the mail. Who's present is it?' Kakashi drunkenly pushed himself up resting his elbows on his knees.
Naruto shrugged, twirling it around his finger.
'Let me see it.' his sensei suddenly sounded very solemn, an urgency in his voice.
'Iruka said it had already been through the checks.' Naruto protested not wanting to take it off.
'He told me he had it rushed thru checks which means that they could have cut corners, missed something.'
He heard the sense in Kakashi's words but he did know who it was from. Just wasn't something to say in present company. He pulled it off, figuring that there would be less questions if he just handed the thing over now & let Kakashi satisfy his curiosity.
The jounin examine the ring for a moment before his eyes widen slightly.
Sakura noticed immediately & sat up. 'What? Should we run a toxicology? Is there foreign chakra?' she quickly crawled over to Kakashi looking over the band.
Naruto felt very exposed suddenly.
Kakashi balled the ring in his fist before Sakura had the chance to get a good look. He handed it back to Naruto.
'Have you read the inscription?' he asked as Naruto took it back.
There hadn't been much time between when he got the ring & when they banged on the door, so aside from recognizing it he hadn't properly checked it over.
He held it up rolling it over his fingers with his thumb as he read, printed in copperplate bold:
True Love Waits.
¬_¬
A/N: this story is disjointed & doesn't make alot of sense but everything i write is like that. it all comes from my dreams. half of the time the story i write out has very little in common with what i dreamt. i hope that some of you can enjoy it though. sasuke's barely in it at all! barely? his only appearance was in a dream.
i wrote this because there is something about the time leading up to christmas which makes me unbearably melancholy.
btw this is based alot around this song: true love waits by radiohead. there's a few lines from the song in there & a line from death cab for cutie's i'll follow you into the dark. a-lew-ding. now i must go kill a fly. hope your holidays are bright & not so bitter as mine.
-x