Hello
So, this cover picture is a meme that was circulating through some anime feeds a while back, and turns out, the movie behind it is Bollywood, but is actually real nice. International culture wrapped up in one tiny 2.5 hour film! This will probably be a three shot based on said movie, titled, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which apparently translates to 'O heart, it's hard.'
Kind of fluffy, but I like it.
ALL CREDITS GO TO KISHIMOTO AND THE MAKERS OF THE MOVIE
As always, tell me what you think!
~Raven
Love is twisted.
Finding peace in that twisted love, is both a gift and a curse
But only few possess it
He watched her from the corner of his eye.
Rather, she caught his eye as he turned the page of the book that rested in his hands.
Why wouldn't she catch his eye with such a unique hair colour- light, wavy pink, as though it had been plucked from the palette of spring cherry orchard, piled above her head in a now dishevelled updo, a formal shimada. Her formal kimono was deep navy, intricately patterned with silver thread, and unusual, that is, out of place in the airport lounge.
He watched with mild interest as she stumbled across the lounge, rucksack in one hand, almost knocking over several luggage as she moved to the small food counter situated near the table where he was seated.
She absent mindedly picked a bunch of cherries out of a fruit basket and swayed slightly as she looked around, her eyes sweeping the lounge, but not actually seeing it. Distant and vacant, her presence of mind elsewhere. Her eyes fixed on his table and he watched, slightly amused as she walked towards it, taking an absent minded bite out of her cherry.
Her lips, he noted, were a delicate shade of pink, a small, juicy red glisten of cherry juice now coating them, a single drop trailing down her lower lip before a small, pink tongue darted out and caught it.
As she approached his table, he looked back to his book, listening to the sound of her footsteps as she stopped behind him. Her voice was empty, soothing but dejected, as she spoke. "Is this seat free?"
Not answering directly, he nodded slowly.
"The lounge is far from full. Why not sit elsewhere?" he asked, after watching her bite into a few more cherries, sitting down in the empty seat across from him.
He felt her gaze shift to look at him as she spoke. "But I don't want to be alone." she said, plucking off a cherry from her bunch and holding it out to him. "Cherry?"
Closing the book and setting it down on the table, he held out his palm, taking the cherry from her outstretched fingers.
"I just watched my best friend get married to the woman he loves." she said after a pause, shrugging slightly as she went on to add, "He still doesn't know that he's the man I love." A small, almost forced laugh escaped her.
"The question is," he started, drawing her attention away from the memory, "Would it have made a difference?"
She shrugged, shaking her head. "I left halfway."
"I see."
She looked away from him, absent mindedly looking at the table between them, before her hand reached out to grab the small, red book that was his passport. She opened onto its middle page, looking between the page, and the man in front of her.
"Sasuke Uchiha..." she read out, eyes glinting, "Interesting. What brings a gentleman like you all the way out to a lonely lounge in Tokyo Airport?" she asked, before folding the passport and sliding it over the table, back to him.
"Business." was his curt reply.
She reached into the rucksack next to her, pulling out an identical red book with a small smile. "I was born in Oxford. Two sides of the same coin, ne?"
He smirked, looking into her eyes for the first time, startled by her expressive, emerald irises. They were large, doe shaped. Captivating.
"I'm en route to Berlin. Via Abu Dhabi. And you?"
"Geneva." he said, amused by her need for conversation. He added, "Via Abu Dhabi."
"What did I say? Two sides of the same coin." She said, triumphantly.
The conversation lulled as she frowned, the humour in her eyes fading again. He found himself being pulled into her game. "Tell me more. What do you do?"
She looked back up at him, perking up slightly. "MBA. Business Management. But that's not what I'll really do. I call myself a musician."
"Self proclaimed?"
She smiled knowingly. "Self proclaimed and yet to start. What about you?"
"I write. Poetry." he said.
"Self proclaimed?" she asked, lips curling into a mischevious smile.
"And globally acclaimed." he added.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Mr Uchiha." she held out a hand in greeting.
"Please, call me Sasuke. And you are...?" he said, shaking her hand.
"Sakura" she supplied.
She was shielding her pain with mundane words. And yet, her eyes spoke volumes for what her voice couldn't share. Something inside her was slowly shattering into a thousand broken shards.
But, for the first time in many years, he was intrigued. He felt himself wanting to push the boundaries of how far she would bend, and allow herself to be moulded, until she snapped.
"We'll chat on the plane, Sasuke. I'm sure I could share a few more...interesting stories."
Putting the book away, he leaned forward, asking the question that had been playing on his mind since she started talking. "Do tell, what stories? What's actually wrong? Small talk is for the shallow. The pain in your eyes won't wash away with words."
She stared at him, eyes widening in surprise, at a loss for words, rooted on spot. She hadn't even noticed as a single tear left a silver trail down the side of her cheek. A whirlwind of emotions and thoughts whirled behind her eyes- each of them relatable, understandable, yet leaving him unaware of the memories behind them.
He reached out, catching her tear on the tip of his index finger. "These tears are beautiful. Why cage them? Don't hold them back. Liberate them."
As his hand drew away, her hand shot out and grasped it by the wrist. Both slender hands holding onto his, she leaned on her elbows, holding his hand to her forehead, as she wept.
"Sometimes you meet someone who knows everything about you before you even open your mouth. That kind of friendship doesn't take any effort- it just comes naturally."
She had downed her fourth bottle of beer.
He caught her eye while he danced vivaciously among the masses of people, arms flailing and ass shaking. She couldn't help but laugh at his antics.
Seemingly, she caught his eye too, him beckoning her over for a dance.
Before they knew it they were in a room. Alone. Kissing wildly in a tangle of limbs.
But just as quickly as the fire lit up, it dissapated as their kisses dissolved into a mess of laughter and giggles; they poked fun at each other's shortcomings- no doubt an effect of the alcohol- and disentangled themselves.
The rest of the night was an intoxicating mix of alcohol, bar hopping, dancing and talking; they spilled their hearts to each other.
And by morning, she was left with a new brother and a best friend.
"At first we were just really good friends. We were the same- atleast, we were the same where it counts. Two kindred souls"
They were both in different relationships.
She a victim of arranged agreements.
He a victim of gold diggers; praying on his ambivalence.
But as circumstance had it, both relationships dissolved after a second double date. [If finding his girlfriend hooking up with her boyfriend didn't dissolve their relationships, nothing would]
And all they had left was each other- and a week of partying in Cyprus.
"The things we did were crazy- insane. But they were delusional dreams we both had."
Sky diving with minimal protection, bunjee jumping, a tea ceremony with bears and deer in the hills- you name it, they did it.
It might not have been the burning passion of a relationship, but it was better. It was peace.
And for a week in Cyprus, they enjoyed it.
"I'll admit- I found him attractive. It sort of hurt my ego to know he didn't think the same. But I was flattered too- he valued our friendship more than anything else.
And then she came."
Midnight dark hair, creamy skin and long, sexy legs that could go on forever if they weren't stopped by the black stilettos beneath them.
Seeing her was enough to send him into a frenzy. He started packing his bags, all set to leave in that instant.
It was clear he hated her. But it was also clear he still loved her. And he didn't want to.
So they arranged a way out. They would be out of Cyprus within the hour.
Back to just the two of them. And their peace.
"I guess you don't realise how much someone means to you until they're slipping away. It was like a harsh stab from reality- the woman he loved came and took away the man I loved. And I didn't realise I loved him until she took him away."
They were almost gone- almost away from the hotel, the city, the bar where he saw her.
But almost only went so far.
She asked him to stay, and he listened. He bid away friendship in the name of love.
And she could do nothing to stop him.
"I didn't hear from them in months. The next time Naruto called me, he was in Tokyo. His family had disowned him, and he was engaged to her. The dancing sensation from the far east, Hinata Hyuga."
Naruto asked her to attend the ceremony. If none of his family wanted to be there, at least he wanted his best friend with him.
It would be a week of torture for her, but she went nonetheless.
She watched as the wedding drew closer, bottling up the storm of raging emotions inside her as she watched the engaged couple so absorbed in each other.
But on the eve of the wedding, something changed.
She wanted him to be happy, but she wanted him to know how unhappy he was making her. Call it selfish, she couldn't help it.
And so she sang. One song, a small verse. But it conveyed all she couldn't say in words. About everything she wanted but couldn't have from him.
When he confronted her about it, she let nothing slip. Smiled warmly, congratulated him like his best friend would.
And afterwards, she left.
"I couldn't take it any more. If I stayed there any longer, either he'd have found out, or I'd have told him. So I left."
There was nothing she could do about it. She had fallen in love with someone who would never love her back- she'd known that from the start.
And he had fallen in love with someone who broke his heart once. Someone who he had sworn never to let back in again.
But love was blind. And it was deadly.
She couldn't even bring herself to hate the other woman. She was too nice- too sweet, and already punished herself to no end for breaking his heart once.
Meanwhile as for Sakura- with every step she took away from that wedding hall, and that mansion, her heart slowly broke away; numbing with every minute.
But that didn't erase the pain.
"I guess this is my stop."
"And this mine."
Sasuke watched as the woman stood, a few feet away from her, facing him with her full attention. She really did look much better without the additional layers of makeup and formalities which the wedding had enshrouded her with. If she had looked stunning before, he was spellbound now.
She had changed into casual clothes- jeans, a loose shirt and a hoodie. Her hair lay in a loose, messy, one sided braid. And yet, she was as enticing as the cherry blossoms that named her.
"It was really, really amazing meeting you, Sasuke. I can'... I can't thank you enough, for everything. For listening to me while I rambled and nagged and whined- I think I even fell asleep while talking as well..."
"Oh, don't worry. Words didn't leave you even in your sleep." he said, smirking.
"What?! Crap! What did I say?!" she said, looking scandalised.
A small laugh escaped him, as his smirk held it's place. "Hn, relax. You're secrets are safe with me."
She giggled softly, smiling. A pleasant change from the stricken expression she had worn the previous night and throughout their flight. She looked far more refreshed now. And less burdened by her story. She certainly was interesting. Even after all this time, he found himself still not boring of her presence.
"Listen," he said, starting on a serious note, a slightly worried expression creeping over her features. "Some wounds are in flesh, some in the heart. Each has their own type of bandage. Sometimes even words can't alleviate your pain." he smiled, shrugging his shoulders resignedly as he said, "But words are all I have- So take this." he handed her the book he had been reading before. His book. A collection of his works.
She gingerly took the book out of his hands, looking at the sleek, bubbled title.
"Maybe it can help a bit. And if that doesn't work..." he continued, before taking a step closer and leaning down so his mouth brushed against her ear lobe. His breath tickled her neck as he spoke "...Maybe the number inside will." he added, before stepping away.
By the time she realised what he meant, he was long gone, leaving her alone in the bustling hallway of her departure gate.
