The universe, like a balled up piece of paper, has many folds and creases, and many remain unknown to even itself. Furthermore, sitting in a very dark corner, easily overlooked and often forgotten, was a garden.
Gardens have many characteristics that make it such. Trees, flowers, fruits, etc.
This garden had all of those things…and more. It was the home of those who were never really meant to be, but almost were, and, of course, their caretaker.
The garden had no name, for no one ever named it.
The caretaker, whose appearance is unknown, was said to have fallen from a star when traveling with his parents. See, according to the whispers of the universe, the caretaker's parents were nomadic in nature, traveling from fold and crease, to shelf and corner.
However, they were not very bright, and upon visiting a dying world, whose sun was on the brink of destruction, they gave birth to a healthy baby boy. But days later, the world began to shake, and the sky began to fall. So in the heat of the dying sun and with the last of their faith, which surely was not enough to save all three of them, they shot their baby like an arrow through the light and into nothingness, where he floated for seven weeks; drifting.
Eventually, he drifted so close to the skirts of the garden that he was sucked in by its gravitational pull, falling like a missile into the water.
But of course, this is all myth. No one has ever reported seeing a baby, shooting through void from a star. No one has ever even heard of such a garden. These, of course, are rumors, whispered from one even of the universe to the next.
xXx
Heavy eyelids opened, blinking slowly. Dark eyes were momentarily blinded, but upon adjusting, realized that it was not a light which impaired their vision, but an ominous glow. Everything around him seemed to glow, the sky, the ground, the air.
A man with dark hair, around his late twenties, gradually stood from his previous position on the ground, taking in the surrounding area. Nothing seemed familiar. Instead of paved roads and sidewalks there was wild grass that reached almost to his knees, trees as thick as SUVs, exotic flowers in every color.
The sky, which should've been a pale, pale blue, appeared to be a deep magenta. He noted the intensity of the contrast between the sky and the bluish-green colors of the land and felt almost frightened.
Surely, this was not the real world.
Standing still and hesitant to move, the man looked around him, and noticed a path through the trees. Ignoring the nagging voice in the back of his mind, telling him not to go, he trekked through the foliage, cautiously aware of the silence.
There was not a sound to be heard. Not even the singing of the birds, or the rustle of leaves. It didn't even make a sound when he stepped on a stick and it broke in half.
All he could hear was his own thoughts. He couldn't even hear himself breathing.
He continued to walk down the path through the trees for several minutes and he was sure it would never end. That is, until he came across what appeared to be a cottage made of sticks and leaves. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a complex pattern of vines holding the structure together.
He hesitated. Does he knock?
There was no door.
So he stood in front of the opening of the cottage, amazed by the architecture, and how it shouldn't even be as effective as it appeared to be. Millions of thoughts began to pour into his mind, all pertaining to the silent dream he has somehow found himself in.
"What are you doing?" a voice asked, startling the man so much that he jumped and turned.
He was surprised to see a young man, about a foot shorter than himself, around maybe his late teens, with shoulder length blonde hair, staring up at him with wide eyes.
"Huh?" he muttered, still confused, and trapped in a clear sapphire gaze.
The young man laughed outright at the man's behavior. Without thinking the dark haired man felt the corners of his mouth begin to rise, as the younger male's laughter reminded him of honey, rich and golden.
"You're funny," the blonde chuckled. "What are you doing?" he repeated.
The dark haired man, still enlightened by the beauty of the blonde's laughter, shook his head due to his uncertainty.
"I'm…not quite sure," he told quite honestly.
"Oh, but you must be," the blonde insisted. "You came here after all."
"I don't even know where here is," the dark haired man replied.
The blonde narrowed his sparkling eyes at the man, not at all seeming serious, before placing his hands on the curve of his hips.
"What is your name?" he asked.
The dark haired man wasn't all that sure why, but he answered without a second thought. "Sasuke."
"Sasuke," the blonde rolled, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke," he repeated, like a mantra, stepping closer to the taller man every time.
"Stop," the man, Sasuke, commanded frustrated, not understanding why his body heated up upon hearing his name on the young man's lips. "What's your name?"
The blonde shook his head. "Really, you should already know."
"But I don't," Sasuke replied, confused and slightly annoyed.
The blonde gave Sasuke another suspicious look, with his blue eyes narrowed and scratching the back of his neck. "But…you came here," he insisted again. "No one ever comes here without a reason."
"I don't know why I am here," Sasuke explained. "I just showed up."
The blonde seemed to think about this for a minute or so, causing Sasuke to become slightly irritated and impatient. After a while, the blonde looked back at Sasuke and frowned.
"That is very peculiar," he started, "but you're here now, so there's not much to be done."
Sasuke nodded, understanding this to be true. "So you'll tell me your name now?"
The blonde laughed again, sweet like honey, and the sound sent a shiver through the raven's body.
"But you already know my name," he said, a wicked smile across his face, mocking the older man.
"How could I possibly already know your name when I've never met you before until now?"
The blonde shrugged, the mocking smile still on his face. "Well, you came here, didn't you?"
xXx
So Sasuke, giving up on finding out the blonde's name, allowed himself to be shown around what seemed to be a garden. Of course, that what he thought until the younger male showed him that it was surrounded completely by water so black he could feel his soul leaving him if he looked too long.
"It's the void," the blonde had explained. "It is the very essence of the universe. Everything starts from this."
Sasuke found it to be terrifying.
So really, they were on an island of sorts, and…he was trapped. This place, with its red sky and silence, would eventually drive him mad, he concluded.
The days and night's passed by in a blur, and he never slept for too long. From what he could tell, the colors of the sky never changed. It was always a deep magenta, intense and ominous. There was no moon and no sun. The days and nights were one and the same.
The blonde was always there. He was there when Sasuke went to sleep, and there when he awoke. He gave him funny looks whenever he ate, as if the fruit on the island was not for consumption. He laughed his honey laugh whenever Sasuke complained about something or the other. He always seemed to find Sasuke amusing by how much he laughed and smiled in the dark haired man's presence.
They'd spend their time frolicking through the forests and loitering in the trees. When Sasuke grew tired they'd lie on the grass, which was softer than any grass he's ever touched. The blonde never slept, but sometimes, as he lied next to the older man, his sapphire eyes would drift shut and his breathing would even out, and Sasuke would find himself staring for an unknown reason.
The blonde was beautiful, he admitted, in a way that fire is tempting to touch and poison is tempting to taste. He's beautiful in an eerie sense, with big blue eyes that pierced through his heart, and a sinful mouth that mocked him effortlessly. And no matter what they did, it seemed as if the blonde was constantly beckoning him with his eyes, and his body.
There was a large lake in the center of the garden, with a wide stream that connected it to the black water on the outside. The climate in the garden was perpetually balmy it seemed, but one day it was particularly searing. The younger man dragged him to the water, a soft clear blue, the kind of blue you wish water could be, and insisted that they swim.
He didn't think much of swimming until the blonde began to undress shamelessly slow in front of him. First, he pulled his shirt, which was a size too big, over his torso and head, shaking his blonde hair. The dark haired man at first thought it was his own mind playing perverse tricks on him, that the blonde was putting on a show. But then he saw it, the mischievous gleam in those playful blue eyes and the shadow of a smirk on his full lips.
He then proceeded to tug on the waistband of his shorts, which sat dangerously low on his tan hips. Sasuke watched, jaw clenched, as he lowered them past his knees.
The blonde didn't wear underwear.
Sasuke schooled himself and quickly undressed, then joined the blonde in the water. His mocking blue eyes were always on him, beckoning him to give in to his desires.
Of course, Sasuke didn't dare.
xXx
Sasuke still didn't know the blonde's name, but sometimes he was sure he did. He could feel his name on the tip of his tongue, in the back of his mind. It was always there, just out of his grasp, and he was sure the blonde knew of his dilemma, for he constantly had a mocking smile on his lips.
As time began to pass, Sasuke felt himself grow closer and closer to the nameless blonde, especially since they rarely spent time apart. Occasionally, the blonde would disappear, as if he turned into smoke, and Sasuke would be alone amongst the foliage.
Sometimes Sasuke would think about finding the blonde and seeing what he does when they aren't together. There would be such an intense pull to know more about the blonde, because even though he had been there for what seemed like weeks, the blonde was still very much a mystery to him, even more so that the world in and of itself.
One day, which was more of a moment for the days never seemed to end, Sasuke and the blonde were lounging on the edge of the lake, which they often swam in now. The dark haired man ached to move closer to the blonde, to have their bodies touch, but he reframed from doing so, still weary of his current predicament.
At the moment, the younger male gazed into the water, seemingly in thought. As usual, however, the aura about him was sunny and light.
Sasuke, of course, wanted to know more about the blonde. He wanted to ask him questions, but he was hesitant.
Sensing this dilemma, the blonde lifted his gaze to the older man beside him and smiled the smile that drove Sasuke insane, with his lips slightly curved and his eyes soft and taunting.
"What's on your mind?" he asked.
Sasuke shrugged and looked away, unable to hold his gaze. "What makes you think there is something on my mind?"
The blonde mirrored the man's shrug and laughed lightly. "Well, I don't know. Maybe because you've been staring at me for the past ten minutes."
Sasuke's shoulders tensed subtly, but he was sure the blonde noticed, just like he noticed everything.
"C'mon," he tried. "Ask me what you want."
The raven hesitated, then took a deep breath before looking back into cornflower blue eyes. "How…old are you?" he asked. Truthfully, he wanted to ask the blonde where he goes, where he disappears to, but he was afraid for some reason he couldn't explain.
"I am…," the blonde rubbed the back of his neck, seriously in thought. "I suppose I am quite young." He laughed sheepishly. "I'm not quite sure how to answer your question."
Sasuke felt something in him become frustrated, because that made no sense. How could someone not know how old they were? Then again, the blonde did live in an uninhabited island.
"Oh, don't get so angry," he said, smiling brightly. "Ask me another. You want to get to know me, right?"
"Fine," Sasuke muttered. "Why do I never see you eat or sleep?"
The blonde shrugged. "Because I don't," he answered simply.
"That's weird," the dark haired man commented. "Don't you get tired? Or hungry?"
The blonde shrugged again. "No, not really."
Sasuke stared at the blonde young man, seriously perplexed. How could someone never get tired or hungry? It didn't make sense, and it sure as hell wasn't normal.
"Are you real?" Sasuke asked suddenly, without thinking.
At this, the young blonde burst into laughter, eventually clutching his side at how hard he laughed.
"Of course I'm real!" he exclaimed in absolute amusement. "That is the funniest thing I ever heard!"
"It wasn't intended to be," the raven mumbled, embarrassed and annoyed.
Seeing this, the blonde smiled and moved closer to the older man, their thighs touching as they sat on the edge of the lake. He leaned in close to Sasuke's face and pressed a lingering kiss on his jaw, right below his ear.
"Stop taking everything so serious," he whispered, placing his hand on Sasuke's and squeezing it.
The raven, although embarrassed before, was now fighting down a blush. He gave the blonde a suspicious look, with his eyebrows furrowed and his lips set into a hard line.
"What," he began dramatically, "is your name?"
Once again the blonde smiled in that sensually mocking way that sent a shiver through the raven, and kissed him again, this time on the lips. The kiss was unexpected and caused Sasuke's face to lose its serious façade.
"You'll figure it out," was the blonde's response.
xXx
The next few days, the blonde would frequently disappear, only to reappear hours later. His light which surrounded him was no longer as bright, which Sasuke only seemed to notice when it dulled. He wanted to think he wasn't worried, but he was.
Ever since he had kissed him, he felt even more drawn to the young man than before. Whenever he disappeared, Sasuke could feel a hollowness begin to settle within him that could only be filled once the blonde returned.
He never actually saw the blonde leave. Rather, he would turn and the blonde would be gone, or he would awaken and fine himself alone. But now, as he felt himself drifting into sleep, something compelled him to wait. So instead of relaxing completely, he attempted to stay awake. It was when he felt that familiar sense of abandonment did he open his eyes.
To his surprise, as soon as he opened his eyes he could see a flash of blonde hair in the distance disappear around a tree. So he walked quickly, still unused to the lack of sound which disoriented him at times. He had lost sight of the blonde, but he kept searching despite his lack of knowledge of where he was.
Soon, he found himself in a part of the garden that was rather dark and almost colorless, as there were only trees, but no fruits or flowers to add color to the greenery. Not only that, but the trees were almost without leaves, giving the appearance of wickedness.
He continued on, eventually spotting a space between the trees, with a trail that could only be made if the route was frequently traveled.
He went through the space, and found himself in a desolate clearing, inhabited only by what seemed to be hundreds of butterflies of every kind. In the center of the clearing was the blonde, kneeled on the ground with his back to Sasuke.
The raven was in shock. With all of the ominous beauty that he had witnessed while on the island, not once did he think there would be a place like this, so barren and bleak beneath the magenta sky, which only seemed all the more horrifying. The part of him that desired the blonde, wanted to protect him. He wanted to take him far away from such an ugly place. The blonde young man should only be surrounded by life and beauty, he felt.
However, the other part of him, which was afraid of the blonde as well, felt this was only a confirmation of the boy's suspicious nature.
The butterflies were what unnerved him the most, because until this moment, he never noticed that the only living creatures on the island were the blonde, himself, the plants, and sometimes he suspected the water was alive as well. Not once did he see a single animal. Not a bird in the sky, a fish, or a squirrel.
"Sasuke," the voice of the younger male said, his back still turned towards the raven, interrupting his thought. "Don't just stand there. Come sit down."
Hesitantly, Sasuke moved towards the center of the clearing, and sat next to the blonde, whose face had taken on a forlorn expression.
"How did you know I was there?" Sasuke asked, frequently unnerved at how the blonde seemed to know about everything that happened around him.
"I heard you," was his simple reply.
"You heard me?" the dark haired man asked, puzzled. "How is that possible, when I've only ever heard you or myself speak?"
The blonde gave Sasuke a nameless look that could only be described as exhausted, before looking down at his hands which were seated in his lap.
"You can't hear," he started slowly, "because you don't belong here."
Sasuke felt his heart skip, and his mind drew a blank. "What…do you mean?"
The blonde let out a sigh, and gave Sasuke sad look. Then he gestured upward towards the butterflies flying about. "You see these?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. "These are the souls of those which were never meant to live, but yet they almost did." His eyes seemed to glaze over as he spoke. "Unfortunately, while life is a cycle, it only moves in one direction. They can never go backwards, so they come here."
Sasuke nodded, not quite sure he understood. "But what does that have to do with me not belonging here?"
"Sasuke," the blonde sighed again. "You lived, correct?" He didn't give Sasuke time to answer. "If you were never born, you wouldn't have been meant to be born, so you'd be a butterfly. But you're a man, whose lived, which means your soul should not have come here." His voice seemed to get more emotional as he spoke, eventually cracking at the end.
"You mean I'm—"
"I should've known it was too good to be true," the blonde interrupted, beginning to weep silently. "I should've known with the way you acted. You can't hear, for crying out loud."
Sasuke could feel himself shaking. "So you're telling me that I'm—I'm—"
"You're dying, Sasuke," the blonde finished for him, looking teary eyed into Sasuke's eyes, clearly heartbroken by the revelation.
Sasuke didn't quite know how to feel, besides the initial shock of knowing that he is dying. Alongside that was the whispering feeling of lost, which didn't make sense, because he had no one but himself all of his life.
Surprisingly, however, he didn't feel…sad. He felt shocked, and confused, but not sad. Within seconds he found he accepted this knowledge. After all, what could he possibly do?
He looked back at the blonde, whose tears had stopped, and he wore an expression of sorrowful acceptance. Sensing Sasuke's staring, he returned his gaze and forced a smile, which to Sasuke appeared to be painful.
"At least we have that in common," the blonde spoke, trying his best to stay optimistic.
"What's that?"
"That we are dying," he replied casually, with a light shrug.
"…I thought you said that you were real?" Sasuke asked, even more confused than he presently was.
The blonde simply grabbed Sasuke's hand and held it between both of his smaller ones. "There are ways of dying that don't end in funerals," he said solemnly. "While your body may disappear, and your soul moves on, I will be stuck here forever, gradually fading away into the recesses of my mind."
"But your mind is beautiful," Sasuke heard himself say.
The blonde turned to him, a sad, genuine smile across his lips. "Beautiful it may be, but it is awfully lonely."
Without thinking, Sasuke lifted his free hand to the blonde's face. He softly placed his hand on the soft tan cheek and caressed along the blonde's jaw. In the back of his mind he noted that their faces were getting closer. Before it even registered in his mind, however, he found that his lips were sealed against the soft full lips of the young blonde next to him.
Something within him seemed to break free as their mouths began to move in earnest against one another. He could practically taste the longing pouring out of the blonde's mouth, and he didn't hesitate to drink in every drop. His soul, he was sure, was on cloud nine, as he never tasted something so pure in all of his existence.
It seemed like the kiss went on for forever. Eventually the two broke free from each other and Sasuke felt like he was finally fulfilled as he looked in to glittering, dazed sapphire eyes. He felt a smile creep across his face.
"Angel," he whispered breathlessly, and watched as that mocking smile he loved so much appeared on the blonde's lips, and he knew that he got his name wrong.
xXx
Surprisingly, there was a peculiar feeling of joy knowing that you're dead. Sasuke realized this and welcomed it with open arms. Nevermind that his angel often shot him sad eyes. He was content with never returning to the life he had before.
However, one thing irked him greatly. It troubled him from the very core and sometimes even kept him from falling asleep.
His blonde told him that he did not belong here. That when his soul finally passed, he would leave this island, and his angel. So while he felt more alive than ever before, he also spent his days apprehensive of his departure, which he hoped would come later rather than sooner. He tried to pretend as if he wasn't thinking about it, because he didn't want to worry the younger man.
He tried to keep him cheerful with touches and kisses, and for the most part it worked. That is, until their eyes would lock and the blonde's deep, deep sapphire orbs read into his own, and almost immediately he'd begin mourning something that was not yet lost.
"Sasuke," he would call, barely above a whisper, "you'll remember me, right? Wherever you go?"
Sasuke knew the right thing to say, to keep his angel from sinking into his own dark mind.
"Of course I will."
xXx
The two of them had just gotten out of the water of the sparkling blue lake, and they soon lied down on the soft grass near the bank. Sasuke sighed contentedly with his eyes closed, feeling the blonde's naked body pressed against his own. Without opening his eyes he wrapped his arm around the other man's waist, and pulled him on top of him to straddle his hips.
He smiled and opened his eyes when his angel began to laugh lightly.
"What's so funny?" he asked, looking up and admiring the way the other man's wet hair clung to his face and neck and how the water droplets slowly rolled across his skin.
"You haven't kept your hands to yourself all day," the blonde said, flashing a taunting smirk.
Sasuke let both of his hands caress tan hips before moving to cup the smaller man's bottom, slowly kneading the warm flesh. He lifted himself into a sitting position and kissed along the blonde's jaw and neck.
"I can't help it," he mumbled into his jaw. "I like having you in my arms."
The blonde only hummed and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's shoulders. He arched his neck, giving the older man more room. Sasuke continued to mark his angel's neck languidly, before moving back up to capture his full lips with his own.
The two kissed without haste, thoroughly enjoying each other's essence. The blonde moaned breathlessly when Sasuke softly bit his bottom lips, before running his tongue over the tender flesh.
With their bodies pressed together, they could clearly feel their arousals and a shiver ran down Sasuke's spine, knowing how turned on his lover was.
Without warning, he flipped them over, lying on top of the blonde and in between tan thighs. The younger man let out a breathy chuckle before tangling his hands in dark, wet hair. He pulled the dark haired man down until their lips met again, and teasingly thrust his hips into Sasuke's.
"Don't be gentle," he whispered against the older man's mouth.
Sasuke made sure to give him all he had.
xXx
Weeks seemed to pass in a sense of bliss for Sasuke. Every minute with the blonde angel was equivalent to an eternity in heaven, he was sure. Every time he spoke to him, laughed with him, touched him, and made love to him was like falling into a sea of liquid paradise and it took all he could not to drown.
But even on this island, this garden, in the darkest most forgotten corner of the universe, most, if not all, things must come to an end.
At first, it began like a trick of the eye. A flash of light he had mistaken it as, until he really looked, and there on the tip of his finger was a hole. In a state of shock, he stood up and hastily began to walk towards the trees.
"Where are you going?" the blonde yelled as Sasuke got farther and farther away.
Instead of stopping and turning to answer, the raven kept moving. "I'll be back!" was his only response as he disappeared in the foliage.
He walked and walked, fist clenched, until he came to a familiar desolate clearing. Dropping to his knees beneath the butterflies, his heart broke as he stared right through his hand at the ground below, as the hole only seemed to grow. He felt the stinging of tears in his eyes, but did not allow them to fall.
For what only seemed like minutes he stayed just like that, staring unseeing at his open palm, which at this point was nothing, and his arm now started at his wrist.
"…Sasuke?" a familiar questioning voice asked from behind him. "Sasuke, are you okay?"
"Go away, Angel," he replied, ignoring the crack in his voice.
Ignoring him, the younger man walked around Sasuke, and upon seeing him he gasped. There the raven was, holding his forearm as his hand had disappeared, and right below his eye another hole had formed, giving the blonde a clear view of the trees and butterflies behind the man.
"Oh, no," he mumbled in anguish and dropped to his knees in front of his lover. "Oh, Sasuke," he began to cry. "I hoped we'd have more time."
Overcome with an emotion he couldn't name, Sasuke quickly got to his feet and walked a few feet away from the blonde, keeping his back to him.
"Please," he said, trying to hold onto his composer. "Go away. I don't want you to see me like this."
"Go away?" the blonde questioned, standing up. "And leave you alone to disappear from me?"
"Just listen to me," the raven replied.
"No! I want to stay with you!"
"I know," he said, resisting the urge to look at the blonde. "I…I don't want to see you cry…I just…I can't." He clenched his remaining fist. "Trust me. It's better this way."
"No it's not!" the younger man began to shout, his voice cracking. "Please, just let me hold you!"
"I can't…"
"Please!"
Sasuke, out of frustration, finally turned to the blonde haired man. His entire right cheek was gone, and most of his right eye.
"Goddammit, Naruto!" he yelled. "Please, ju—"
"You said my name," the younger man interrupted, eyes wide. "You…said my name."
Sasuke's face paled and something within him broke. He collapsed onto his knees and he leaned down until his forehead touched the ground.
"Naruto," he began to cry. "Dammit, Naruto."
Said blonde only moved closer to the weeping raven. He dropped down in front of him and wrapped his arms around the shaking body. His own tears poured down his cheeks and they both sobbed silently.
"I love you," Naruto whispered, letting his lips ghost across the back of Sasuke's neck before placing a kiss.
Sasuke, having heard this, wished to reply, but unfortunately the lower half of his mouth was gone.
When he didn't get a reply, Naruto only cried harder, wrapping his arms around the parts of Sasuke that were still present. Before long, he held onto nothing. Naruto, weak with despair, balled himself into a fetal position and wept as he wrapped his arms around himself, the only thing his lover had left behind.
Once again, there was only him, the island, and the butterflies.
Forever, and forgotten.
END.
So as promised, I'm back with another story..err...a one-shot lol I don't think that I'll write many chapter stories though, but I do have maaaannyyy more ideas waiting to be typed up.
Anyways, thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave a review :)