ON THESE NIGHTS
Summary: Life just doesn't go according to plan sometimes. For Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura that happens more often than sometimes. Life for each is lacking, messy...complicated. In comes the universe and rears its ugly head, spinning the threads of fate, entangling and knocking their heads together, unwarranted, ungraceful and disorienting. Now they find themselves staring each other down at separate ends of the dinner table. Here's to , SasuNaru, Saku(?) Angsty, Dark.
Rating: M for content
The city was just as bright as it was dangerous, as exotic as it was toxic and as beautiful as it was rotted. There were parts of the city that were romanticized like those in movies with high skyscrapers and a bustling population...and then there were the parts hidden in the shadows of the street corners, the ones with toppled overflowing garbage cans, the ones where the grass was sparse and frost bitten...the ones that were hidden from the nosy eyes and ears of the law.
Red mittens cupped a white face and puffed warm air into the space, some slipping through spaces and dancing up into the nights sky like a smoker's cigarette. Big green eyes followed the breath and looked out onto the city skylight, sighing in almost-tiredness. The cold bit at her ears so she tugged her matching red hat over her hair. The girl walked across the park quickly since there was a figure slumped against the lamp post, staring out onto the black calm of the river, smoking a cigarette. The figure was all black and she must of caught it's attention because striking black eyes followed her, giving her a rude sidelong glance. There was a melancholy energy between them but she didn't back down, staring him right back with that same appraising sideways look.
The stranger peaked her interest, she was pretty sure that the boy was her age but she didn't really want to get to close. The don't come near me aura she understood. Feeling rather whimsical the girl made her way to the swings, hopping up onto the cement molded to the lamp post, twirling around it twice, softly humming to herself. Her eyes remained on the stranger from the swings, who now ignored her fully. She couldn't stop staring at him, her space felt invaded, I'm always here at this time!
Trying to ignore the figure she swung back and forth, letting her head fall all the way backwards to stare at the stars, dizzying and bright. When she snapped her head back up the figure was snubbing out the cigarette. She stared at the sky as he started to follow the path leading out of the park, all the while shooting those same rude looks. The girl still returned the look, turning her nose up at the boy until he disappeared from her sight altogether, finally. But without missing a beat a minute after the boy's departure she jumped off the swings, making her trek back to the apartment.
*OoOoO*
The girl was a smart girl, she knew the run down apartment building like the back of her hand, after spending so much time there, of course she would. She knew how to find the right alleyway, the staircase, and the right way to bang on the windows so that it would release the lock. So, when they found her she already had a foot on the floor.
"Ohhh, so that's how you get in, quite the ninja aren't you?" the shirtless man with slicked back greasy gray hair asked, smirk twisting his features. He always made her uneasy.
"Come on" the man hoisted her up and inside single handedly by the jacket scruff, her mouth an 'O'.
"Leave her alone Hidan, Sakura, how many times do I have to tell you, you know you can just use the front door, right?" A woman in very tight jeans and white tank top said. She had tattoos all over her, purple hair messy and up with a cigarette cradled in her fingers.
"I know, I don't want to though" she murmured taking off her hat and mittens and putting them on the entryway table. Hands came up to her hair and started patting down her staticky hair, she looked up to find Yahiko smirking at her, "welcome back, wasn't sure where you'd run off to."
Feeling exposed with three people watching her closely she walked through the kitchen, perpetually breathing in the second hand smoke that hung in the air, thick mocking clouds. Nowhere else to go, she thought bitterly. She ignored the blood splatters on the tiles, someone would pick that up sooner or later. She went down the hall into her room, specially reserved for her and threw herself on the bed. The room was threadbare at best but it was hers,...kinda. The music coming through the wall was hard to ignore, so she got up and locked the door, then went to the sparse lining of books on the wall.
The front door opened and a chorus of shouts in greeting bursted through the music and Sakura rolled her eyes, juts another Friday night...maybe she should've stayed in the park. She didn't like when Yahiko and Konan's group showed up to get fucked up and those sleazy people hung around, but by now she was used to it. The best way was to wait out the storm, it was her only option when it was the dead of winter in Konoha.
Sakura grabbed her iPod that she had pickpocketed from some girl who was stupid enough to turn her back on a crowded subway, popped in her earbuds and grabbed the book she had taken from the bookshop that day. On these nights she had learned to meld into and appreciate her music and her books, back turned to whatever went on outside her door and the occasional times someone would rattle the handle frantically.
*OoOoO*
"I'm here!" He never got a shout back when he did but he always wanted to check. He threw his backpack under the entryway table, ignoring the stacks of homework he had to do in favor of hunger whatever I'm not a A+ student anyway. He walked over to his fridge, looking inside to find the same expired carton of milk from last time should really throw that out, empty egg carton, and for some weird reason the salt shaker.
"Huh" he murmured contemplatively to himself, tapping his finger against his mouth, he shouldn't be surprised. He went upstairs, going through door by door for some sign of activity but finding the apartment empty. His mother wasn't home, sometimes he wondered whether he would ever see her again after she went out on her binges. But he had learned that you couldn't help someone who didn't want to be helped, especially if they resisted you. And so far she had always come back in some fucked up form or another. She was off in her own world high up in the clouds with God himself, so really where did that leave him?
Grabbing his blue scarf he rebuttoned his jacket, pulled on his orange mittens and pulled up his hood. Even though it wasn't late, the sun had already set. The boy left his house flicking the lights off and locking the door behind him, sneaking the key in the dead plants that lined the outside of the house, it had been years since they had planned to get rid of them. He ran down and out of his street, soon coming to a busy street.
Spotting the bus at the stop he groped his pockets for change, sticking out his tongue in concentration and when he came up empty he made a mad dash for the bus, his legs burning by the time he managed to jump and hitch a ride on the back, gripping the edges for dear life. A large grin came over his face and his hood flew off his face, whipping his hair all over the place and stinging his skin as the bus started moving. On nights like these he would duck low and make faces to all the people that were oblivious to his presence. Adrenaline and carelessness mixed under his skin, thrumming into a storm.
The cars that spotted him would honk at him, and the boy would just duck so the driver wouldn't catch him, more often times than not the bus driver would honk right back and the boy would flip them off. After two stops he was in the downtown area and before the bus came to a stand-still he would jump off, stumbling and almost getting run over, again giving them the finger when they almost hit him. He pulled his hood back tightly over his head and fixed his mittens, wandering through the darker, meaner streets.
It took him awhile until he rounded the corner to find his friend standing at the corner,
"Hey Haku" he grinned
"Hello" he said softly. Haku was pretty like a model except that he was a guy. "Did you go to school today?"
"Yep"
"Good. How was it?"
"Ugh, boring as usual. I practically slept through the whole day. How's it going?"
"Same old, same old. I found a cat, it won't leave me alone." Snuggled up against his calf was a black cat.
"Haven't seen you in awhile." He added nonchalant.
"I've been looking for you, but you just weren't here"
"Sorry" They lapsed into silence and leaned into each other for the sake of heat, both watching the cat rubbing itself between the two.
"How's your-" Haku was interrupted when a car pulled up, and the windshield rolled down. He was going to say how's your mom, but instead the pretty boy sighed and walked over the car, exchanging a few words with the driver. The boy managed to hear "he's not offering", and that's when he knew it was time to scram. Haku opened the car door and right before he got in he smiled down at the cat. "Take care. Here, I don't want him to get hit. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay, be careful Haku" He nodded, brown hair fluttering and got into the run down looking blue sedan with the dent in the side. It pulled away quick and sped away. Haku really had to be careful in his line of work. He really, really didn't want anything bad to happen to him. The cat struggled in his grip and bolted as soon as the car sped off. The boy stood looking at his now empty hands, "how rude" he said to himself.
Sighing he sped walked out of there until he reached the more busy parts of the city, deeply breathing in the scents of restaurants, boy he was hungry and his stomach wouldn't stop growling. It was time for dinner.
*OoOoO*
He walked up and down the street, looking in the windows with the pretty lights. He'd already tried the marts, sometimes they would let him get away with it, sometimes not. It wasn't until he started drooling over the sight of wonderful, cheesy, glorious pizza that he noticed someone was behind him in the reflection of the cold glass. Whipping around he narrowed his blue eyes at the stranger.
"Hello" the guy said, he was wearing eyeliner and a beanie and trench coat, he seemed nicer than most city people, dumber. Must be a tourist or something.
"Hey" he said weary.
"Uhh...sorry I just couldn't help but notice you trying to eat the pictures of food in the window". The boy fought the blush creeping up the skin of his neck and he made a face, making the guy laugh.
"Sorry, didn't mean it like that. Would you-would you like to join me for a slice?" At the suspicious narrowing of his eyes the man put up his hands and started babbling.
"I'm not a predator I swear...-I just, you look hungry un...not that I mean that in an offensive way. You seem lonely-not trying to offend you...yea, do you want to join me before I make an even bigger fool of myself, un?" The man scratched his cheek bashfully and he knew the naïve boys pride would never win over his stomach. He nodded and the man smiled warmly.
"Name's Deidara, yours?"
"Naruto"
"Okay, Naruto, nice to meet you"
They were seated at a booth and the man took off his hat, exposing long blond hair that was tied back. The boy was busy animatedly looking over the menu.
"Huh? Sorry?" Naruto said and Deidara reached over and pushed back his orange hood, making the boy tense up at his shoulders.
"There maybe you can hear me. Would you look at that, huh, blond juts like yours truly...I asked what you were getting?"
*OoOoO*
It wasn't long before Naruto was talking to his new friend, happily stuffing his face with pizza that he slowed for a second. It was surprisingly easy talking to the stranger, he seemed interested in getting to know him.
"Where's your parents?" Deidara casually asked sipping his drink. The boy bit his lip momentarily and shrugged his shoulders, Deidara just merely hummed and nodded. Touchy topic, clearly. Asking Naruto to go get extra napkins Deidara fumbled around his pockets and discreetly pulled out a small pill tablet. Dropping it in the boy's lemonade it fizzed instantly then calmed to reveal the small satisfaction of his reflection. Naruto returned and sure enough after more friendly conversation he finished everything in front of him.
After paying for their food, they walked around the streets, mainly him just listening to the attention depraved boy, watching for any symptoms to kick in, aware of the black SUV trailing them.
They had reached a small park when Naruto suddenly stopped talking, he stared at Deidara for a second, his vision blurring and a clammy sweat breaking out and beading on the surface of his skin. The lights seemed to multiply and he squinted, everything blending together leaving him disoriented and twitchy. The world was moving faster than his brain could register when he saw Deidara's mouth move.
"Wha-" his lips barely puffed out a wisp of clouds before panic settled and expanded in the pit of his stomach, big eyes rolling to the back of his head, the world and stars and streetlights all meshing together in a downwards spiraling crash.
Deidara just barely caught Naruto, eyes quickly darting around. The shiny SUV pulled up and the window rolled down to reveal a redheaded serious man. The boy was very light and his bones dug into Deidara's skin, street rats were always the easiest, the boy hadn't even noticed he had been watched for a couple of days.
With Naruto in the back Deidara jumped into the passengers seat and flashed a lopsided grin at the red head. Receiving the ever present unimpressed look the man pressed on the gas only to be interrupted by Deidara.
"Wait!" He said and fumbled for his seatbelt. He chucked to himself "you know what they say, safety first."