Happy Endings
Reminiscing
"It's strange, to say the least; but then, that's really not my place to say otherwise, is it?"
"I gave up on the topic long ago. I really don't want to go back to it now."
"That's understandable, but don't you think the topic will arise once more and one day you will have to face it, whether you like it or not?"
"Your logic is twisted, but it makes sense… I shall rephrase the answer then. I do not want to discuss the topic with you."
"I should feel offended but I feel rather amused."
"Leave, I have no business with you."
"Yes, your highness."
"It discomforts you to speak of him, no?"
"No, it does not your highness. It discomforts me to be without him."
"I know the feeling."
"Thank you, your highness." The white-eyed warrior bowed before resuming in making his presence scarce from the thrown room.
Prince Sasuke was not the best with words and he was certainly not the best at showing emotions - emotions like sympathy and acknowledgement; such as loneliness and desperate longing. So in times as such, Neji valued the small traces of outreach that produced from the cold prince.
Times such as this one were in so many words the prince voiced how much he missed his lover and in turn sympathised with Neji on the loss for his own.
"Gaara…" His voice whispered out dejectedly as his eyes fell on the landscape that stood in his line of vision as he looked outside the wide windows that stood grandly along the entire right side of the hall. He knew that his prince would be doing the very same thing as he stood in very same place he had been standing at for the past hour or so. Only the name that escaped his lips was that of Naruto - the prince of the Winter.
...
Naruto and Gaara had been found by Neji; after he found a burning wagon at the border of Sasuke's lands - when he was making one of his scout rounds. They were unconscious, most probably from the toll that the 'accident' must have put them through. When they finally come to, a couple of days later, it was discovered that the both had amnesia and only knew their own names and the basics of life. They didn't know where they were from, how the 'accident' happened, if they had families and who they were or what their station was.
It didn't take long for the royal family to enamour themselves with the lost youths, and the issue of who they were and where they were from was soon forgotten as the two young men settled into their lives and adjusted themselves to the family.
Sasuke had not been there at the time, as he was visiting his brother and his brother's lover at the time - they had just announced their engagement and Sasuke was the first to make the journey and congratulate them. He arrived the third week after Naruto and Gaara had been found and he was instantly taken by Naruto's positive and bright personality. Of course that had made Gaara defensive and friction was caused between the two almost at once, only to be abolished when they both figured that neither was willing to let harm reach the blond.
It all went wrong when Naruto and Gaara were recognised, when their heritage was found out, when their fates were sealed. Naruto was the crowned prince for the lands of Winter automatically making Naruto and Sasuke arch enemies. The lands of Eclipses soared into an uproar, they refused to accept the relationships that had aroused between the young princes and convinced themselves that Naruto's only goal was to destroy Sasuke's reign.
They were banished from the lands, the task hidden from Sasuke and Neji and carried out by the King himself, at the request of the lands and the King's own insecurities.
When Sasuke and Neji finally found out about Naruto and Gaara's dismissal, they were too late, far too late. "I'm sorry you're highness, I know how much you cared for him, I'm truly sorry but I was not fast enough… I was too late to stop them, too late and not strong enough. I think Naruto and Gaara died almost instantly... at least I hope they died without too much pain." The words still echoed silently in their minds; just as their sobs echoed in the vast darkness in the privacy of their bedchambers every single night.
...
Slowly he took out a thin gold chain out of a protective pouch from the inside of his robes - a hidden compartment right against his heart. Holding it out in front of him he looked at the kanji that shone brilliantly against the sunlight. It was the same word that Gaara had on his forehead, the only difference was the colour. He had it specially made with silver and emeralds to match their contrasting eye colours.
A chocked sob escaped his lips as he held the chain against his chest. The small object had been his gift to Gaara when he had confessed his feelings. Gaara had vowed on giving him something in return but Neji had refused saying that the only thing he had ever wanted was Gaara's love, Gaara had then, without delay, admitted that his love was all for Neji and Neji swore he had died and gone to heaven and was not shy to voice his thoughts. Such comment managed to bring a smile to the redhead's usually stoic lips and in turn made Neji warm all over again.
The memory did little to alleviate his heartache as holding the chain now reminded him of Gaara's promise to never ever remove it. Holding the chain now only confirmed that Gaara was gone, gone to a place where Neji couldn't reach him, gone to a place were Neji wanted to desperately be in. But it seemed like Neji was doomed to stay in hell, stay in hell for a very long time.