Sing Me Higher

by fowl68

They’d never seen Naruto beaming quite so brightly as the day when he found out that there was soon going to be another addition to their patchwork, mismatched family.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The songs, in order are:

Champagne by Sugarcult

Diary of Jane—Breaking Bennjamin

Running in the Rain--Hinder

Song from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Moment of Truth—FM Static

Dude Looks Like a Lady—Aerosmith

Higher—Creed

Author's Note: Don't ask me why I was struck with this angst, I have no idea. I was about to heat up an empanada for breakfast (laziness, or my Hispanic blood showing through, I wonder) and the idea kinda slowly came into my head. And I watched Green Street Hooligans last night with my brother and his girlfriend. I loved it. And I have the Bubbles song in my head.

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I don't sing because I'm happy; I'm happy because I sing. ~William James

-~-~-~-~

The days were never, ever quiet when they had the simple missions. Escort missions were under the 'Simple' category, to the displeasure of their clients. But Team Kakashi was long since accustomed to the nonexistent silence. Though, the person responsible for the non-silence didn't always talk. In fact, he more often chose to sing.

It had been habit since Day One when they met all those years ago. They'd been fixing some fences that had gotten blown down in the last storm and Sasuke had been aware of humming. It wasn't annoying, really, because it was fairly quiet. It only took a few more minutes for him to ascertain who was humming.

And it only took Naruto a few more minutes until he began singing. Nothing absolutely amazing, but simple songs, or a tune, or sometimes whatever he'd happened to hear on his secondhand radio. And everyday, it was a different song without fail.

"All I can taste is champagne…" Was one on one of the days that, after their mission, they would sit down and play cards.

"Something's getting in the way
Something's just about to break
I will try to find my place
In the Diary of Jane
So tell me how it should be"

That was one on the rainy days, when they worked tirelessly to try to get inside to warm blankets and dry clothes. The days when they got home a little earlier than usual and Naruto would dry his hair with a worn towel before they turned on low jazz or the blues and would watch whatever movie they flipped to in their collection.

"There's so much more that matters
And I know you will be alright,
Just try to love the little things in life
Like running in the rain."

The days when Sakura was just a little testy and wouldn't let any of them so much as touch her were the days when Naruto would sing songs like that. Songs of slow healing. None of them ever said it outright, but after a few hours, sometimes Sakura might let them put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and no one saw any tears that might have fallen because of a broken heart.

"There was a rich man from Nottingham,

Who tried to cross the river
What a dope, he tripped over a rope.

Now look at him shiver!"

Naruto had sung that song under his breath with a wild grin on his lips when a client of theirs slipped into a shallow river. The client had been pompously annoying to all of them and Sakura couldn't help but join in.

"I used to know her brother, but I never knew I loved her,

'till the day she laid her eyes on me.

Now I'm jumpin' up and down,
she's the only one around, and

She means every little thing to me."

That was the song on the radio that Naruto was singing the day that Sai had murmured to them as he sketched that Sakura was pregnant. And Naruto had stopped, stared and began laughing before turning to Sasuke and Kakashi.

"You know what that means, right? We're gonna be uncles!" They'd never seen Naruto beaming quite so brightly as the day when he found out that there was soon going to be another addition to their patchwork, mismatched family.

"So never judge a book by it's cover
Or who you're going to love by your lover
Love put me wise to her love in disguise
She had the body of a Venus
Lord imagine my surprise
Dude look like a lady"

The song that both Kiba and Naruto had sang on the way home from a mission where Neji had been forced to dress as a woman and be a daimyo's consort to protect him from an assassination attempt. They'd never quite let Neji forget that mission either.

But the songs weren't there anymore. Not since The Day.

The Day, because no one could quite say that it was The Day That Naruto Died. It hurt too much to remember that day. It hurt to remember the war-torn landscape, the flames still burning, and the terrible wounds all along Naruto's body. The white of bone had been clearly visible where skin and muscle had been seared from his body, the ribcage exposed and underneath the too-thin skin hanging off his bones, they'd been able to see his heart pulsing a horrible red, desperate to keep the blood pumping.

And still, even as they felt the hot tears escaping, Naruto smiled and they watched in horrid fascination as his lungs would inflate and soft, hoarse words floated to them, often interrupted by red-stained coughing.

"Come on, let's go there
Let's ask can we stay?
Can you take me higher?
To the place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To the place with golden streets…"

And after The Day…none of them sang anymore.