Dark Valentine
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.
Rating: T+ to be safe
Warnings: Character death, OOC-ness
A/N: I wrote this story in 2008, in a time where I was really depressed and just wrote little drabbles to get my mind of things. But the way the story flows has always nagged at me and after a particularly painful dream I had to change it.
This story is un-beta-ed, if you see any significant errors please let me know so that I can try and change it. English is not my mother tongue so some grammar things I just have trouble with (safe/save, life/live, then/than. Please overlook it or help me get better by pointing it out.
Special thanks to The Critic, Zoa for trying to help me with this all those ago.
For my dearest friend Rick. Because I will always love and miss you and the day's never seem to become brighter.
On to the story
xxxxxxx
Soft dragging footsteps could be heard on a long path of thousands of little stones as a tall black figure made his way over them slowly.
His dark raven eyes were empty as they spotted his destination and a small sigh escaped his lips as he sat down in front of it.
A hand covered in small scars rested on the ground to keep his balance as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on the cold stone in front of him.
Leaning back again je could hear sounds in the distance of happy and sweet music.
Valentine's Day.
The mentioning of those words alone made him tremble in anger and clutch at the small black stones under his fingers.
Biting his lower lip in anger to keep himself from screaming out to stop the music, that horrible evil music that had no place in his heard, he could taste blood in his mouth but didn't care.
He hated Valentine's Day more than anything else, even more than he had hated his own brother.
He didn't hate it because of the countless girls that would be chasing him across town.
Not because he couldn't open his front door in the morning, afraid he'd be overwhelmed in chocolate from his so-called secret admirers.
Not even because everyone acted so incredibly sticky and sweet to one another.
No. None of these reasons would ever explain why he hated Valentine's Day so incredibly much.
He himself could not really explain why it was anger and hatred that he was feeling, or if it was even that that he truly felt on that dark day.
Maybe it was just sadness that overwhelmed him so much on that one day a year, so much stronger than it normally did.
But that one day, that one unforgettable day, the one day that should have been one of the greatest days in his life…that day had instead turned into a day he would never care for again.
A day that he would forever hate in the back of his mind.
The day that his best friend, his rival… his lover had been killed.
Everything he had ever cared about, all he ever had had been combined into one loud blond boy. And that blond had been taken from him on that godforsaken day.
A lone tear slowly trailed down his cheek silently as memories came back to him while his fingers caressed the single stone.
Memories of how his angel, his sweet annoying angel, had been send on what should have been a simple D mission.
How he himself hadn't really worried, even knowing how often missions went out of control when his blond was involved.
Memories of how he had received one last kiss from his love, before he had turned and waved while running away with one of his bright smiles on his lips.
Of how he himself had smiled lightly, fingering the ring he kept hidden in his pants as he had seen his angel of. A ring he planned to give during a romantic dinner on that special evening once his love returned.
A dinner he would never show up for.
Tsunade had send several others after him a few days later and he had begged her to be able to come along, knowing in his heart that something was horribly wrong.
He and the backup team had swiftly make their way over a cliff of fallen rocks to the small village Naruto was supposed to be at.
Only to learn there that the blond had never even made it there.
He had turned in rapid speed, a deep hysterical fear washing over him as he had remembered the large wall of fallen rocks, scared to think of what might have happened.
The backup team had followed him to the wall of stones and had found traces, indicating explosive tags had exploded there in an enormous number.
A number great enough to cause a whole mountain to collapse on that spot.
A strong trap that had been set for any Shinobi that might have been send to help the little village.
He had refused to believe it, beginning to call out the blond name to show them how wrong they were.
He had screamed that a stupid trap like that would have never worked on the blond.
The others hadn't tried to stop his frantic explanation, had instead began to help him look while one of them began to remove the rocks.
They had been at it for a long time when a little girl came to them, tears running down her small face; telling them about a blond boy that had come and saved her when she had become stuck in a tear in the ground.
She had told them how the boy had been trapped by the falling rocks, unable to get himself into safety once he'd gotten her lose and pushed her out of the way.
How she had watched as he'd been crushed underneath them, unable to do anything other than cry.
In disbelieve and shaking he had then returned to the fallen mountain, lifting rocks numbly till they had finally found the blond.
The sight of him tearing up not only him.
He had kneeled down besides the broken body of his angel. A body that had been broken and torn; many rocks had slammed into the fragile form. Breaking limps that were weak and dangerous to break.
He had taken his blond-haired angel into his arms, unable to keep the tears from falling from his eyes.
Unable to keep the choked despair down as he cradled the broken form close to him.
Shinobi knew they would die; it was only a matter of time before it would happen.
Shinobi died in wars, in combat. Not by a stupid trap like this.
When they had finally convinced him to return to the village he had carried his broken angel to Tsunade.
Begging her to heal him, to undo time.
He hadn't cared for her tears, her helplessness as his own despair and pain tore at him.
He had yelled at her, screamed and said many, many things he might never have said if he had not been so broken.
They had buried his angel once more, just under a different substance than before.
He had been unable to help lift sand into the hole, unable to cover the one he loved like that.
He had heard the music of Valentine's Day in the distance, softly reaching the funeral scene.
And tears had fallen from his eyes, making him ball his hands in anger.
It had taken him all his strength to wait till he was alone before he had screamed out his agony, his despair.
From that day on he had hated Valentine's Day.
Even as several years had passed since he had lost his angel, his heart could not find it in itself to find peace.
Whipping the new tears away he laid a red rose on the stone before taking out a silver knife.
He slid it over his wrists as he stared at the stone in front of him, staring at the name engraved into the cold grey stone and trailing them with soaked fingers.
New tears formed and mixed with the blood rapidly growing on the ground around him.
In the distance he could hear the sweet cruel music again, but he couldn't find it in himself to curse the sound anymore. For he knew it would not be long before he'd never have to hear it again.
He closed his tired broken eyes and smiled lightly, his first smile in three years, when he could see a pair of cerulean ones in the dark and he felt relieve wash over him.
The blond smiled back at him sadly, looking whole and unhurt to him, and he reached out his bloody hand for the blond to take.
But the blond did not take it, instead he reached for his bleeding wrists, closing his fingers around them as if to stop the bleeding and he could not stop the small wince of pain escaping his lips.
Confusion overcame him and a question formed in his eyes as they shone with tears, the most emotion he had shown since that last outburst at the funeral.
He could not speak his question, could not even breath as he felt the blonds' touch on his broken skin. A touch that was slightly rough as the blond pressed down on his wrists hard, a touch he had missed so much and yearned for so desperately that he did not complain even if it hurt him now.
"Na…"
The blond shook his head slightly with a small sad smile and let his fingers slide from his wrists, wrists that were no longer bleeding, to his hands as they slipped into them and moved close to kiss his forehead.
"It is not your time to die yet Sasuke." Cerulean eyes shone with tears as he pulled away and looked at him.
His angel's soft voice broke through the trance he had gotten into and he inhaled sharply as the words sank into his overwhelmed mind and he sank to his knees.
"No…no…"
He desperately grabbed onto the blond as he moved backwards and pulled him close, pressing himself against the one he loved, not willing to ever let go.
The blond slowly sank to his knees himself, his slender body sitting up so he could wrap his arms around his neck and allowed him to pull him close.
He laid his head against the blonds' chest like he had done so many times in the past and breathed out slowly at the content feeling he felt from holding his blond again.
It took him a while to realize he could not hear the blonds' steady heartbeat like he had always been able to and he looking up at him with tears in his eyes as he was remembered again.
Naruto just smiled at him and his eyes shone as he placed his hand on his cheek.
"It is not your time to die yet" He repeated as he stood up, pulling him with him.
"Why…why can I not go with you"
He didn't understand. He didn't want this life. He didn't want to feel this never ending pain, this despair and anger anymore.
He wanted to be with the one he loved, wanted to just hold his angel for all eternity.
The blond smiled once more as tears slid down his face.
"I do not want you to give up your life for me. Not like this, never like this"
"I don't understand" Sasuke whispered, but even as he said those words he knew it was a lie. He did not wish to understand.
Even as Naruto just shook his head at him he knew the blond knew that he knew the why and would not be given an answer.
He held out his hand and he took it, holding it to his chest as he pulled the blond close once more.
The sweet sound of music reached his ears, but as he wanted to curse the sound Naruto put his arms around his neck once more and he whispered in his ear.
"Dance with me Sasuke"
His anger and hate of the sickly sweet music immediately vanished as he nodded, locking eyes with the one he loved as he slowly began to move with his blonds' head on his shoulder and in his arms on the steady beat of the music.
He couldn't help the smile that reached his lips and the way his heart settled as he danced with the one he loved. Even if he felt pain and anger that his blond would not let him join him he enjoyed dancing with him one more time.
Even if he would not understand the reason why for a long time still to come, he accepted it.
Even if he knew time would be hard on him, would perhaps never heal the gaping wound his love had left behind he knew he would go on. For that was what his love wanted for him.
As he could hear the song fade away he choked on his tears when his love pulled away slowly.
Understanding it did not make it easy and he desperately grabbed the blonds' hand, trying to pull him back.
"I love you " He breathed out through his tears and the blond smiled and kissed his softly on the lips before breaking their contact.
This time when Sasuke's hand reached out to him they slid right through him and new tears slid down his already tear covered face as he realized the blond was saying goodbye.
"When it is your time, we will meet again. But it is not your time, not yet so I cannot let you do this."
His beautiful blue eyes shone with unsheathed tears as he smiled at him as he began to fade.
"I will always love you Sasuke"
The words were a caressed whisper in his ears as the blond faded away before his eyes and he sank to the ground once more and his hid face in his hands as he cried once more.
When he finally opened his eyes again a long time later he realized he was still sitting at the cemetery, leaning heavily against the grey stone holding his lovers name.
A red splatter caused him to lift his wrist, to look at the wound he had inflicted upon himself. The wound was there, but it was much smaller than he remembered it to be and instead of bleeding freely, it was scabbed over, looking several hours old.
He felt tears build up in his eyes again but pushed them away as he slowly stood, leaning on the stone as he did so.
He closed his eyes for a moment and could see a smiling image of his blond in his mind and took a shaky breath before he opened them again. He knew his eyes were still broken and perhaps they would never heal…but he knew he had to go on for the one he loved.
As he patted the grey stone one last time he let the knife he was still gripping steadily in his arms slip from his grasp. He watched as it landed beside the red rose with a harsh sound before the sound of music reached his consciousness again.
He looked up toward where the sound was coming from but no growl or frown reached his face as he listened to the darn lovely overly sweet music.
He sighed and took an object from his pants. Looking at it once more he placed it on the flat stone and let his hand slide from it as he walked away.
"I will always love you too Naruto" He whispered before he walked away slowly again, his footsteps being heard softly as they made their way past the small stones once more.
He never looked back to the stone and did not see when a pale hand picked up the small object he had left behind and slipped it on his finger with a smile.
Nor did the softly whispered words of promises to wait for him forever reach his ears.
He knew would never like Valentine's Day, it would never be a happy day for him for all that he had lost that day….…but maybe, just maybe he wouldn't hate it so deeply someday anymore.
Some day.
The end
Xxxx
This story is for my dearest friend Rick, who's birthday is on February 14th. He did not die on that day, he lost his life in the terrorist attacks in July 2005. But I always have more trouble on Valentine's Day, because that was the day I met him many years before. And to me it has always been a special day, a day I to this day still have difficulty facing. He was the very first friend I had ever made and the one I still miss the most of all the friend's I've made and lost afterwards.
Therefore…I re-wrote this story for him, because even if we did not love each other romantically, we did love each other deeply and I know, even if it hurts my heart so much at times, that he would never want me to give up on life. Not like that and not for him. And even if most day's that I have to face are still hard and painful, I hold on because I know that is what he'd wish for me to do. To live life to the fullest and for those I have lost that cannot do so anymore.
Reviews would be loved.