Author's Note: It's been ages since I last uploaded anything here, and I'm not as guilty as I should be haha. But anyway, what's important is I'm alive, and I'm back with a new story. Yay, right? I mean, what better way is there to celebrate my return than with something that is decidedly depressing? (8
I know, I have a twisted sense of humor. But you should get used to it.
This was written long before Obito started popping up in the manga updates, so there might be.. inconsistencies with the official thing. But then this is what fanfiction is for.
Okay, so yeah. Hope you enjoy anyway (even though I've just realized how cheesy the ending is sheesh. Don't make fun of me for it haha).
Disclaimer: Edelweiss copyright Rodgers and Hammerstein (though I changed the last line of the lyrics to something that would better fit the story). Plus Naruto is not and will never be mine. Boo.
Edelweiss, edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white
Clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever
They were both six when they first met.
It was on a crisp morning, when the first leaves of the year were shed and clusters of parents and children gathered around the Academy for the first-ever day at school.
Naruto was sitting alone on the swing, glancing wistfully at the others from where he was. It was from that place in the playground where he first locked eyes with the other boy.
The other boy was, unlike him, surrounded by a gaggle of people, though mostly female. They kept singing praises to him, about how brave he was, how just absolutely adorable he looked. But somehow the other boy didn't seem to be too interested. And somehow, he happened to look around and catch Naruto's gaze.
It was just a brief moment in which bright blue eyes clashed with the deepest black, yet it was enough for Naruto to know from that moment on that there was someone who knew what it meant to be alone, someone who understood how he felt.
It wasn't until a few days later that he and Uchiha Sasuke shared their first conversation.
Years passed, and they were now twelve.
Naruto was more or less the same as he had always been, with his still-messy blond spikes, his always-present whisker-like marks on his cheeks, and his ever-azure eyes. The only obvious difference on him was his cheery (and sometimes idiotic) grin, which he had learned to incorporate into everything he did.
He had friends now, people he trusted and held onto dearly. He still wasn't exactly welcomed by everyone in the village—people considered him a nuisance above all else—but he was happy and he was starting to have ambitions for the future.
Sasuke, again, was unlike him. He'd matured considerably for someone his age. He'd already planned his future, set his priorities straight, and trained himself to focus on nothing but reaching his goal.
Almost all the girls he met fawned and swooned at his presence; He was arguably the best-looking boy in Konoha.
Despite that, he still more or less looked the same. He still wore his hair in the same fashion: bangs framing his face and spikes at the back, his eyes were still the same dark orbs. But he, unlike Naruto, noticeably smiled lesser and lesser.
It was by some trick of fate that they ended up together in the same Genin squad, along with Sakura Haruno, one of the girls their age.
Naruto had been disgusted by the unchangeable fact that he was stuck with that he was stuck with him, with the arrogant bastard, and they often fought and argued about every little thing.
It wasn't long before Naruto made Sasuke his rival, constantly trying—and failing—to beat the Uchiha.
They were best friends.
By the time they got to sixteen, Sasuke was long gone, and Naruto hurt more inside than he ever cared to admit.
He had grown a lot ("Haha! I guess Sasuke'll never be able to call me short anymore!"), matured a lot ("Sasuke would be proud of me if he were here."), and improved a lot in terms of technique ("I can't wait to spar with Sasuke! I'll kick his ass this time, I swear it!").
After his battle with Nagato and the rest of the Akatsuki, more and more people have come to appreciate him, and one could not simply imagine Konoha without the energetic blond in the picture. He had become the sort that everyone had grown accustomed to, and he had become sort of like the hero of his village.
His dreams of becoming Hokage were pushed aside for the time being, and now he sought to bring Sasuke back home. This was the time Madara was being, for the lack of a better term, a huge pain in the ass.
Every now and then he heard little tidbits about Sasuke terrorizing some other ninja village, killing people, or in general causing destruction, and he vowed to correct this. But at the same time he couldn't help but feel his chest swell with pride at how much his best friend had gotten better at what he was doing.
Sometimes, though, he thought Sasuke was the most stubborn asshole ever, and wanted nothing more than to smack him upside the head. Sometimes he just wanted to drug him and kidnap him, to make things easier ("Great Kami, sorry for my language, but since when was it so fucking hard to convince one fucking guy to just fucking come home already?!"). And sometimes he just wanted to tackle him to the ground and hug him, never letting go, so Sasuke can never leave again.
And of course, his smile was still there, as always, plastered goofily for everyone to see.
But then sometimes, when he thinks no one is looking, his smile fades away, and his face twists into one that looks like the burden of the world is on his shoulders.
Then Naruto was seventeen, and the war was more difficult than ever.
Seventeen, and Naruto had seen more casualties than he had ever wanted to see in his life.
Seventeen, and Sasuke was still out of his reach.
Seventeen, and he realized for the first time that he was in love.
Things have died down more or less by the time he's reached nineteen. By nineteen, all his dreams were slowly being realized.
The buildings and roads destroyed by the war were repaired and good as new, the injuries they sustained had healed, and the daily life of the residents of Konoha were starting to go back to the way it was.
The hero of Konohagakure was now officially one Naruto Uzumaki, and he believed his parents couldn't be any prouder.
Every household in the village welcomed him, and every kid knew his name. Everywhere he went people bowed down to him and thanked him profusely, and the curse he once thought he bore had become a blessing. (His friends were still idiots, but he liked them just the way they were.)
Life at nineteen was beautiful for Naruto.
Because, above all else, Sasuke was back.
At the age of twenty-two, Naruto believed he had everything he'd ever want to have.
Sasuke was his, he was Sasuke's, and they couldn't be any happier.
It had been two years since he confessed, and while it took the Uchiha a bit of time to digest the impromptu love declaration ("H-how long exactly were you s-standing there, Sasuke?"), eventually he came to reciprocate the blond's feelings. And once they got together, they were never seen without the other.
While it came as a shock to most of the people, others like Shikamaru shrugged it off and told them it was obvious ("C'mon, ever since our Academy days I knew there was something going on between you two."). Naruto kind of felt bad about Hinata, but she came to terms with it after three weeks of locking herself in her room, so all was well.
Sasuke was living with Naruto for a while as people worked on reconstructing and renovating the Uchiha family compound.
Many times people would spot them lying down on the roof of Naruto's apartment together, laughing as they pointed at the stars. Many times they would see them eating in Ichiraku's, where Naruto would gobble up his bowl within minutes and Sasuke would shake his head distastefully at the blond. Many times they would see the couple's friends teasing them, making Naruto's face turn into a shocking shade of red while Sasuke smirked and licked his lips suggestively. And many times.. well, many times they would hear Kiba yell at them to "please stop screaming and moaning wantonly because I can hear you from all the way in my room, and I'm trying to get some fucking sleep."
It was in this age that Naruto spent nights lying down on the bed beside Sasuke, doing nothing but talk and plan their future together.
Life at twenty-two was bliss.
Life at twenty-two was life he could live and re-live forever.
Troubles came at twenty-six, and Naruto had seen better days.
The seat of the Hokage was secure for him, and the extreme training and preparing he had to undergo for it was putting a strain on his relationship with Sasuke.
He came home to find Sasuke already asleep more often than he liked. More and more he found himself breaking promises to dinner out, to being home for Christmas, to celebrating his birthday with him.
The Uchiha never complained, but he could see unhappiness in his eyes.
It was also then that the elders decided to butt in, and declare that Sasuke had to fulfill his duty and revive the clan. Naruto had protested indignantly, but he knew the decision lay in Sasuke's hands.
The apartment they once called their love nest was slowly becoming forlorn, and the bed they once made love in was now where sleepless tosses and turns took place.
Some nights Naruto woke up to find Sasuke sitting on the side of his bed, a frown on his face. It would take a while for him to coax him back to sleep, and then it would always end with Sasuke asking Naruto if he still loved him.
Naruto would always say yes, and Sasuke's face would lighten up just a little.
Then he would promise to himself that he was going to make everything better, if only for Sasuke's sake.
They both turned twenty-seven, and by that time, Naruto's world had been smashed, crushed, and shattered into a million pieces.
His best friend, his only love, his life-long companion no longer stood beside him.
Sasuke had given in to the elders, and got married to a girl of their choice.
The wedding that took place was a three-day long celebration that the whole village took part in, complete with fireworks and sake.
It hurt him just to look at Sasuke, but Naruto agreed to be their best man, and promised to make a speech for them.
When the day in question came, the blond hero of Konoha was nowhere to be found.
At twenty-seven and a half, it was clear that Sasuke has moved on, and Naruto tells himself that he should, too.
Sasuke's wife gets pregnant at twenty-eight, and Naruto has never felt more broken in his entire life.
Twenty-nine and three-fourths, and still a stab of pain shoots through his chest whenever an image of Sasuke flutters into his mind.
Thirty, and life loses its meaning.
Naruto spends his nights wishing for nothing but for things to get back to the way they used to be.
At forty, all it takes is a step over the cliff for it to stop hurting.
A step over the cliff.
For it to end.
Edelweiss, edelweiss
May you be mine forever