AN: I do not own any characters in this story
Constructive criticism is always appreciated,
thank you
The curtains were pulled closed, allowing little light into the room. Walls covered in shadows, paint chipping in the corners and falling to the dusty floor below. A picture of a swan hangs on the wall, the shadows crossing it turning it ugly and black. Two people stand in the middle, an air of bitterness and shame between them.
"You're leaving."
It wasn't said as a question but a statement. The person speaking clenches their fist tight, eyes boring angrily into the man in front of them. The man's gaze is calm and steady, he sighs and turns to the covered window watching the dust particles dance in a small bar of light.
"You knew this was coming Naruto, a mission can't last forever. Don't act like this now."
The man regarded him with cold eyes, accusing in a way that made Naruto's breath catch in his throat. A choked sound forced its way out, eyes filling with tears caused more from anger than pain.
"All those things you said, all those times we were together, they meant nothing?"
The accusation cracked between them like a whip. The man crossed the room in two quick strides, crowding him against the peeling wall. Anger is filling the man's every movement; his eyes are alight with fury and something else lurking behind it.
"You knew what this was the moment it started, that it could never last. That doesn't mean it meant nothing, so don't you dare say that."
His voice shook in anger, his normally deep pitch heightened with his emotions. His breathing is labored, eyes wild with anger and an aching pain.
"That doesn't change the fact you're leaving, again."
It was said quietly, as Naruto looked down at the floor. The tears begin to fall; a waterfall of pain, anger, heartache, and shame running down his face.
The man sighed roughly, backing away from him and giving him space to breath. He took Naruto's wrist in his large calloused hand and ran fingers over the bracelet. It was a sailor's knot bracelet, and he could still remember the day he gave it to him. It had been sunny, and they had gone out to the beach to get away from the world. The blue in a shop window had caught his eye, it was the same shade as his lover's eyes and he knew he would love it. Naruto hasn't taken it off since.
"I know you hate this, I know. We both do." The man's voice loses its anger, replaced with an aching sadness.
"If there was another way then I would take it, but I have a family to take care of. I have kids and a wife. I made promises and I am going to keep them. We can't keep doing this" His voice carries a steely resolution in it and Naruto knows that no matter what he says, it will change nothing. Compared to a ring and promises he knows he won't win and that thought douses the angry flame burning in him.
The silence stretches between them long enough to become deafening. Naruto's eyes are trained on the hand holding his wrist, the thumb sweeping back and forth over the bracelet. He leans his head back onto the wall, eyes staring up at the ceiling above them. Part of him wants to beg the man to stay, to forget his promises and just stay for once. To be happy with him and only him, but they have been here a million times, and Naruto knows no matter how much he begs the man will never stay.
"This is really the last time then."
Naruto's voice is surprisingly calm, his tears slowing, eyes glassy and vacant. He pushes off the wall and passed the man, walking to the window. He pulls the curtain aside allowing the last rays of sunlight in before the night comes. The man is silent behind him.
The man walks to the window, standing behind him and looking out at the land beyond the window. The sun sinks below the horizon, the light leaving them and casting the room in shadow. No more words are spoken between the two, everything has already been said. The man touches him softly, regretfully, before turning and walking out of the room. He doesn't look back.
Naruto is left standing alone in the dark. He sinks down slowly, resting his head on the windowsill. His gaze is vacant, eyes staring at the bracelet on his wrist and when the tears come, he doesn't try to stop them. No one sees him cry.