PLEASE READ THE NOTES, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT. THANK YOU.

NOTES: Hello :)))

This story is actually an I'm-sorry story dedicated to those who read and put not only my stories but also me on their 'favourites' list (for further explanation, please go to my profile page). Then again, maybe I shouldn't say that because this story will update irregularly (if not at all) so I simply want to warn you guys: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. I honestly don't know if this will go on hiatus or not, one thing I am sure of though is that this is an incomplete story. And it wouldn't actually bring you bright smiles (okay I will shut up now, no spoilers for you guys!). Oh, but this would prolly be a three-four chapter story. So okay, thank you for spending a bit of your time here. Enjoy!

Saving Grace

When noone stands, stand on your own.

It was a dull, grey day, as it always has been. Everything was always dull and grey, from the mornings he opens his eyes to the nights he tucks himself to bed and rests. The dull, grey walks he does from his house to the nearby bakery and back were always done at seven-thirty to eight in the morning, then he would always be in front of his company building at exactly eight-fifteen, walking in through the halls and nodding his greetings away to all the employees he comes across until he reaches the same dull, grey elevator bound to his office at the top floor. In there, Sasuke spends almost all the time of his life with dull, grey eyes that sees the world without any interest, without any satisfaction and colour and damnit! Why is everything so damn colourless?

He did everything the exact same way to no end. His days, his hours, his minutes, his moments were always monotonous. Always dull. Always grey. Absolutely boring.

Sasuke sighed as he sat back on his leather chair. The softness and the comfort it brought went unnoticed, just like everything else in his life. He sighed again. One (everyone actually) would consider him lucky (and they all do), and heck he guessed he did too once upon a time – what with his social standing and lavish lifestyle given immediately at birth. The world famous handsome features and innate smartness were simply added bonus, but those just made the 'package' more than desirable. Really, everyone would kill to be him. Everyone wanted his life. Everyone just thought that it was so damn colourful and interesting and oh-so-satisfying; they thought that nothing will ever go wrong because his life was so damn easy. Well, damn right his life was damn easy, but he sure was no lucky person.

No, Sasuke Uchina was not lucky. He was born into a family who valued money more than love, into a family who originally did not want any children. He grew up in a house with no warmth; there were no laughters that filled the air nor was there any homely aroma coming from the kitchen whenever he got home from school. There were nannies and books in replacement of his parents, and take outs or deliveries in replacement of a cooked-with-love meals. And at the age of twenty-one, there were no proud mother and father to congratulate him. All that was there was a check. And a reminder to get his ass off his parents' house. Not that he was living in that dull, gray mansion in the first place. He had long began his own business after all.

He had to work extremely hard to live an extremely easy life, and even then his life had turned out to be void of any colour except that constant grayness that surrounded him since childhood. The dullness came with the routine which labeled his entire being, and more than once how he had wished for it and for the gray to embrace him completely. To erase his twenty-nine years even.

Lifting himself up and away from his thoughts, Sasuke went for the glass door. His secretary outside nodded at him, her silky black hair flowing smoothly and following her every movements. The plate on her table introduced her as one Hinata Hyuuga, and Sasuke silently acknowledged her. Hinata paused momentarily to wonder where his boss plan to go but then smiled at the thought of him finally spending his lunch break outside rather than locking himself up in his office. She told him not to worry in her ever soft voice, that she'll handle things so he be best to stay as late as possible and that he ought to enjoy the sunshine. The 'or else' came without any word uttered. He simply raised a delicate eyebrow at that.

Needless to say, 'outside' was dull and grey. He got a shot of hot black coffee from a dull, grey coffee chain – silently and mentally shaking his head as he saw some young people preferring those cold version (frappe was it?) over the original hot ones (really, what's the sense of coffee if it's not hot?), – walked through a dull, grey street and stopped to have a seat in a dull, grey park. The sun was awfully bright, a little too warm for his own liking but nothing he couldn't handle. The endless laughter of children screaming their lungs out made his ears ring, and though the endless public display of affection of young couples made his head ache a little, Sasuke continued to watch his surroundings with clouded eyes. It went form the elderly knitting their day away, to the mothers chatting to no end, lingering a minute longer to the ice cream man being assaulted by little brats demanding extra rainbow sprinkles, everywhere his eyes went he saw immense joy. They were practically buzzing with life. And Sasuke felt a heavy, ugly pang in his chest as his eyes stopped at the coffee cup in his hands. He felt something dark.

Envy.

Jealousy.

Hurt.

Sadness.

Loneliness.

Why?

Why can't he see the world with the same colour as these people do? Why was everything so dull, so grey in his eyes? Why didn't he have the same smiles and the same twinkle and the same gleam of happiness and joy in his eyes? Why, why, why?

"Sasuke."

The wind blew hard as Sasuke jolted his head up, eyes becoming alert as he scanned the place. He had heard his name with the breeze, or did he really? There was no one in sight who was paying him any attention, no one close enough for him to hear their calls. He sighed. Brushing it as tiredness, the raven head decided to head back to his office.

He did not notice the deep, clear blue eyes following his retreating form.

It happened again. And again. And again. It happened all too often to be brushed off as simple tiredness, thus there were times when Sasuke did not brush it off as just that. The thought of someone, or something, calling his name did nothing to surprise him, what did was the fact that he did not feel afraid. The way his name was called soothed him and brought him warmth that no amount of sunshine have ever brought him. It was weird how he suddenly knew how warmth feels like.

It first happened as he lied quietly on his bed after a cold shower (the incident at the park now tucked at the bottom of his memory). His name came as a whisper, as silent as the state of his room: "Sasuke," the voice called. He slept peacefully for the first time after so long.

Two days later and the voice called his name again; he was alone eating lunch. The tomatoes tasted deliciously fresh.

And then it kept on happening, the voice called his name whether he was alone or not. And often he would snap his head up and look for the source, and often he would find nothing but an empty space.

Hinata had noticed this rather odd behaviour of his, and promptly asked if anything was wrong with him (put in a way that was sweetly, innocently Hinata). His boss was hesitant on telling her about the matter, but with the continuous nudging that only his cousin had the balls to even dare of thinking to do, Sasuke told her. The Hyuuga gave her a skeptical look while Sasuke returned her sentiments with a shrug. A day later he found himself being ushered out of the building by a smiling secretary, told him that she had clear his schedule for the coming week on his behalf, and all but shoved a 'well-deserved-and-oh-goodness-so-delayed vacation.' He glared and he hissed and was about to throw yet another set of protests when the voice called him again, and Sasuke ended up agreeing just like that.

That was the reason why he was currently sitting on the same dull, grey bench, sipping the same coffee from the same dull, grey coffee chain and letting the same dull, grey dullness envelop everything. And it was only an hour and a half ago since that scene with Hinata. Talk about getting a life.

He shook his head and leaned back. It was rather quiet; there weren't many people loitering around the park. The cold dance of the wind and the ominous darkening of the sky were probably to blame for it. Was that lightning he saw? Great, he thought. Just great.

"What's great?"

Sasuke gave a start but quickly composed himself at the rather familiar voice. Where had he heard that voice? Had he even heard it before? He didn't know, and honestly he didn't want to acknowledge it at the moment. Yes, great.

"Hey, I'm asking what's so great!"

Ignore it, ignore it. He didn't want to open the eyes he didn't remember closing. Ignore. It.

"What the fuck bastard! Don't ignore me! That's so fucking rude!"

At that, he opened his eyes. He met deep blue. "Who're you?"

"What a rude bastard you are!" He pouted, and damnit that pout was a tad bit too cute, before casually taking a seat beside the raven. "And a boring one at that. Geez, you just got yourself a vacation and look what you're doing! Nothing! Nothing! I mean, if I were given a week's worth of vacation, I sure as hell wouldn't sit it out and do nothing. I'll tell you what I'd do, I'd do something! Like, like, oh I dunno, I have no idea what you lot do when you're on vacation. But I would probably eat, not that I need to but still! Oh, and I'd go on those parks with the rides, what do you call them again? I think..."

Sasuke watched as the other went on and on about the things he would do on his vacation and how it would never come true because he didn't get vacations. He seem to have no problem telling all these in a single breath, the raven noted. Also, he was a complete, total idiot. Sasuke was sure of it; as sure as he was that the babbling guy was a complete, total stranger. Without a doubt.

"...got all that Sasuke?"

Great, Sasuke thought. A stalker. He knew he shouldn't have left his gun in his car! He better get out of here. Fast.

"Wait! Wait!" The idiot ran after him the moment he noticed him walking away. "I know what you're thinking, and no! I am not a stalker! Believe it!"

Hn. That's what they all say.

"You've got that right, but believe me! No stalker here, nope!"

At that, Sasuke spun around, furrowing. Was he? "Are you reading my mind?"

There were a few rays of sunshine for a couple of seconds, and Sasuke got the chance of seeing the annoyance in front of him with better light. He was a young man, at least he looked younger than he was, with unruly golden hair that somehow fell in the right places and creamy tan skin that was a complete contrast to his rather brightly coloured crown. The guy had the bluest eyes Sasuke had ever seen before. And he was scratching a cheek with a scar that suspiciously resembles a fox's whiskers (because both cheeks has identical lines, and no scars were ever identical). Sasuke gave the coldest glare he could. "A-ha-ha, well..." He smiled at him. It was suddenly too bright. "That's one way of putting it, I guess. But I'm not, I promise! We're just, ummm how do I put this? In sync? Does that make sense?"

"Who- What are you?"

"Hey! That's a little mean!" There was that pout again. "But I guess it's a fair question, so okay!" He took a deep breath. "Hello, my name's Naruto and I'm your angel! Pleasure to finally have a decent talk with you!" And he smiled a brighter smile as he held out his hand expectantly.

Sasuke stared blankly at the person shitting with him. In the distance, he heard thunder roar and actually saw another flash of lightning. The rain was about to fall. He could practically smell it. That's it, that's his chance!

Tucking a free hand in his pocket and fisting it, the raven head slowly raised the other and promptly threw the cup of coffee he had been holding at the blonde's face. Sasuke sprinted as fast as he could with his car keys ready to use.

There was a downpour that day.

to be continued