Title: The Other Side of the Sun
Pairing: Sasuke/Naruto
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: For uh, just before the timejump?
Warnings: Darkness, angst, boy kissing, and such.
For: LJ comm sasunaru100 challenge #11. Theme - Memories.
Word Count: 837 (including lyrics)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Also, I don't own the lyrics (italicized) in the fic, they are from the song "The Other Side of the Sun" by Janis Ian.
Author's Notes: Un-beta'ed. Written because I should be doing my Maths homework, but it was so hard, and I didn't want to do them, so I decided to do something else. And because I totally love this song.
The Other Side of the Sun
Leaving with the feeling
I don't know how I'm dealing
With loving you
---
"Come on, Sakura!" Naruto is dragging the pink-haired girl with him. Kakashi is a few paces behind Sakura, and Sasuke trails behind the group, watching silently.
Naruto is trying to make conversation with Sakura, but Sakura refuses to talk much. Sasuke catches a few coy glances in his direction. He rolls his eyes, focuses on the ground instead, and carries on walking.
At Ichiraku, Naruto generously offers a few pieces of meat to Sakura. Sakura declines, saying that she's on another diet and she's eating as little meat as possible. She looks at Sasuke again, with a slight blush on her cheeks. Sasuke doesn't ignore her, like he usually does, but he gives her a cold stare. Sakura flinches, and goes back to eating her ramen.
Sasuke notices that Naruto is frowning at him. For being rude to Sakura, maybe. Sasuke looks away and chews on his wooden chopsticks.
There will be a time when he will try to recall today, and he will always remember Naruto's frown perfectly.
---
There is a slight pause, the air freezing between them. And then Sasuke's head dips down again, his lips pressing against Naruto's. But the heat is gone, the air is still cold, and Sasuke feels distant. Naruto is looking at him with those big blue eyes, and they are wild and confused, oceans of churning waves.
Sasuke doesn't stop. Because he knows that when he stops, time will carry on without him, and he doesn't want that to happen, just yet. He wants now, this moment, and he shall have it.
Now.
Time is still. Sasuke's tongue slips into Naruto's mouth. Naruto makes a small noise. Sasuke doesn't react, doesn't feel anything. But Sasuke pretends he does, and hopes that eventually he will, before it's too late.
Another part of him knows that even Naruto cannot save him.
Sasuke closes his eyes, his fingers tracing the curve of Naruto's jaw. He feels that slight tremble underneath his fingertips, and he feels that tremendous power of the kyuubi, pulsing beneath Naruto's skin.
Naruto doesn't deserve that sort of power, he thinks. That sort of power is meant for him, an Uchiha, an avenger.
There is more kissing. Desperately clinging onto this moment. Time has stopped, and he and Naruto are the only ones in this world. They are rivals. They are enemies. One day they will kill each other. They are already killing each other. There is an knot formed of hate between them, linking them together, and that knot cannot be untied.
Sasuke wonders what has tied that knot.
Naruto's blond hair is a strange yellow-green under the moonlight. It's no longer so bright, and Sasuke smirks at that fact. The night consumes everything. Even Naruto's shining brilliance.
They are best friends.
Laughter rises in Sasuke's throat, tasting like bile. He kisses Naruto with more force, trying to get rid of that vile taste in his mouth. It doesn't work, and Sasuke feels like vomitting. And yet, he still wants to laugh.
"Sasuke..." It's the first word ever spoken that night. And it's the last. There is an icy glare in Naruto's direction. Sasuke picks himself up, and disappears within a moment.
Time has started flowing again.
---
Sasuke feels the rain soaking his clothes, soaking his skin, and somehow it feels like his heart has been drenched too. Everything in front of him is either red or black. His brother's sharingan eyes are regarding him coolly. The sun is gone, hidden behind a thick layer of grey clouds.
There was a time when Sasuke had thought that the sun would never rise for him again.
And there was a time when Sasuke saw the sun's beaming rays upon him once more, and that had made him happy, if only for a little while.
And now, he knows that the sun will really never rise for him anymore. Sasuke looks in front of him, and sees eternal darkness. He doesn't dare turn back. There will be nothing left for him, anyway. So he carries on walking. But he is already missing the sunshine.
He closes his eyes. The world becomes darker than ever. He takes more steps forward. He can feel time all around him. Seconds ticking by, marking his life.
He wonders how Naruto will feel. Naruto is silly, trying to save him. Uchiha Sasuke cannot be saved. That is a fact.
He is already forgetting what the sun looked like. How bright it was. How it shone for him.
He smiles, because forgetting is good. He doesn't need memories. He is starting a new life, without any attachments to his old one. He doesn't want, doesn't need the sun to come out again.
Or maybe he's just lying to himself.
---
Even as I'm leaving
I'll never stop believing
You are the one
Who can make me laugh
And can bring me back
From beyond the other side of the sun.
The End