The Calm after a Storm
It had been three miserable years since the accident. And yet he remembered it like it was yesterday. He couldn't believe it had been so long. He still had the note that was placed on the counter that morning for him. He just couldn't get up the strength to throw the last tie he had to 'him' away. He had read and reread it so many times that he didn't even need to look at it to know what it said word for word.
Sasuke once again sat on their –no, his- bed looking down at the note. 'I miss him so much.' Even when he was alone he wouldn't let his mask slip. 'I won't cry. Uchiha's don't cry. We are… I am strong.' He mentally corrected himself. He had told himself this so many times and had yet to believe himself.
Reading over it again he just couldn't hold the mask any more. He let the unshed tears from so long again flow freely. A silent sob escaped his throat. 'How can this still affect me so much? Its like I haven't moved on at all.' He set the note down next to him and pulled his knees up to his chest. 'Maybe that's because you haven't gotten over it?' Said the soft voice he hadn't heard in so long.
"But it's been over three years!" He yelled at the empty room.
'But you don't believe that it really happened.' Said the voice matter-of-factly. "It had to have happened… It was on the news." He kept talking to the empty room. "And if it hadn't happened he would have found a way to contact me."
'Not if he found someone else.' There was pity in the voice and that really made him mad.
"NO!! He loved me!! He wouldn't have done that to me…" His voice trailed off as fresh tears slid down his face. "And plus he had to go."
'You don't know that for sure. He could have just used it as an excuse to leave you.' There was no pity this time but there was doubt.
"I know he loved me. He wouldn't have stayed if he didn't. He wasn't that kind of person." He knew that he would sound crazy if someone were to come check on him now but he didn't care. The last time he had heard the voice was just after the clan was killed. The voice had been there to help him through. He didn't want to hear t again, he knew he was slowly going insane without his other half.
'But he only left you that note. He didn't even wait for you to wake up so he could say goodbye he just left a meaningless note.'
"He would have been late if he waited for me." He was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince the voice. But deep down, he knew that the voice was right. He was starting to get mad again. "But you are right he should have told me. I at least would have gotten to say goodbye." He was getting angrier with every word he spoke. "But all he left is this stupid worthless note that's all a lie!!" He was shouting again but he didn't care. He picked up the note were it lay, crumpled it and threw it at the wall.
'You might not want to do that." Said the soft voice finally breaking through to him again.
"Oh yeah? And why is that?" He flopped onto his back as he spoke.
'Because its all you have left.'
"That's not true." He stood and walked over to the closet were he kept a small box of memories. He pulled it out and walked back over to the bed. As he sat down he pulled the lid off and was instantly assaulted by the smell of his lost lover. "God I miss you so much Naruto." A single tear rolled down his cheek as he pulled out all the photos of him and Naruto.
"I don't think I can go much longer without you." He wasn't speaking to the voice but more to the photo of the smiling blonde.
'But he wouldn't want you to give up. He would want you to keep living for you both.'
"But what's the point anymore? I'm not afraid to die because then I will get to see him once again."
'Don't be stupid! You have your whole life ahead of you! He wouldn't want this and you know that damn well!!' The voice screamed at him but he just tuned it out. He was to busy looking at the photos that they had taken on their last vacation.
The smiling face of his dead lover brought back so many memories that were at one time the happiest that he had ever had but now only brought sorrow and pain. Them at the beach, Naruto running up to him when they were teens, their first kiss, when they finally made love for the first time.
He didn't want to have to remember it all. He wanted to be able to turn around and see his dobe laying there on the bed thinking of ways to make him smile or thinking of the next prank he was going to pull. But he knew that that would never happen because he was gone and would be forever.
"Why did they have to send him then? If he had been on another flight maybe he would still be here." He placed the pictures back into the box and shut the lid for the last time. He would never open it again because he didn't want to have to face the what ifs and whys.
'Those are questions that can never be answered.' The voice was back and it wasn't going to be leaving this time. Sasuke could just feel it. He walked over to the closet and placed the box on the top shelf again. As he turned around he scanned the floor for the crumpled note. When he finally found it he walked over to it and dropped to his knees. As he smoothed out the wrinkles he reread it for what felt like the millionth time that night.
'Sasuke,
Hey I have to go on a little business thing for a few days. I wont be gone long so please don't miss me to much. I'm sorry I didn't wake you but you looked so cute and I didn't want to ruin it. Well I really have to go Ill see you in about three days. Remember I love you and I always will.
Yours till the end of time
Naruto'
"Why would he write something like this?"
'You know damn well that he didn't have any clue as to what was going to happen so don't eve start blaming him. He died when the plane crashed on its way out of Japan.'
"I've had enough emotional strain for one night I need to sleep. And maybe in the morning I can figure out a way to finally move on."
'You know that's not going to happen because you still love him.' The voice said this as he walked back over to his bed. He had no remaining energy to wash up and change so he just fell onto the bed as he was. He was out in seconds.
Sasuke's dream (Sasuke doesn't realize it's a dream at first because its so real)
Everything around him was green. As he looked around he realized he was sitting on a forest floor. 'This place seems oddly familiar.' He thought as he stood up. When he stood upright he saw a flash of golden yellow off to his left. 'No it can't be…?' He made to follow the figure when he saw another flash just ahead of him.
"Naruto? Is that you?" He shouted but as he did he felt kind of foolish of course it wasn't him. He was dead after all. But at his words he saw another flash and this time he distinctly heard a giggle. "Please if that's you come out! I want to see you so bad." He took a few steps forward as he spoke.
There was a rustle in the tree right in front of him. He took one more step closer and from the green leaves fell the sun himself. Sasuke gasped as he looked over his late lover.
"Did you miss me?" The grin on the scared face actually brought Sasuke to his knees (literally). He hadn't seen the real thing in so long that he had forgotten the emotion that it invoked in him. At first his voice wouldn't work but when he finally found his voice it was surprisingly strong.
"Oh God Naruto!! Is it really you? I've missed you so much." He tried to fight back the tears but he failed and they started to rain down his pale cheeks. Naruto walked over to him then kneeled so he could look into his face.
"Shhh it's ok now… I'm here; you will never have to be alone again." The fox wrapped his arms around his distraught lover.
"B-but w-w-what do you mean?" Sasuke stammered through his tears.
"I mean you don't have to go back, you can come with me now." At those words the dark haired one still looked confused but when the blonde open his mouth to explain further it finally clicked and he got it. Naruto stood and dragged his teme up with him. God how he had missed just being neat Sasuke. The last three years had been torture having to watch Sasuke get all mope and not being there to fix it. "But of course this is only if you want it. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do." He knew that his words would break the silence that the raven had fallen into.
"Are you kidding me? Hell no am I going back there for god knows how long without you. I'm going with you I don't give a crap where but no matter what I'm not leaving you." Sasuke nearly lose his newly regained composure. "Not after the worst three years of my life." He then pulled his dobe as close to him as he could and lean in to kiss him. When their lips met for the first time in three years it was like no time had passed. Then when Naruto gasped into the kiss Sasuke took that as an invite in and he took it most willingly, plunging his tongue into the warm wet cavern that he hadn't explored for what felt like forever.
Soon the need for air became too great so they pulled away to catch their breath. As they looked into each others eyes Naruto spoke. "S'uke I missed that so much." Then he placed his head on Sasuke's chest.
"I've missed it too 'Ruto." He smiled and nuzzled the top of the golden crown.
"Well I think we should move on now." Naruto unfolded himself from Sasuke's arms then grabbed his hand. Then he started off in the direction that he had first come. After a few minutes of walking they stopped at what looked like the end of the forest. There was a bright like filtering in through the gaps in the trees.
"After you S'uke." Naruto gave him a light push.
"But…" Sasuke started but was cut off before he could voice his concern.
"Don't worry I'll be right behind you." He gave Sasuke another soft nudge. Before he walked forward though he grabbed his lover's hand. Once their fingers were intertwined he walked forward into the light. The only thing that kept him walking was the warm presence behind him.
"See I told you I would be right behind you." He said as he wrapped his arms possessively around his raven and kissed his lips gently before pulling away to look at his face.
"I love you Sasuke." It had been so long since he had said it and it felt so good to finally say it once again.
"I love you too Naruto." Sasuke leaned in once again to kiss the man he loved with every fiber of his being.
END DREAM
Sasuke lay unmoving on his bed. The last of the air left his lunges as his soul went on to the afterlife with the man he had missed so much. The next morning Sakura had come to bring Sasuke breakfast like every morning since this other half's death. 'Hmmm that's odd usually Sasuke is up waiting for me by this time.' She set the food on the table as she passed it on the way to the room at the back of the house that had once belonged to Naruto also.
When she walked through the door the first thing she noticed was that Sasuke was actually smiling. 'Wow I haven't seen him smile like that in the longest time.' She thought as she walked over to shake him awake. But when she placed her hands on his normally warm skin to find that it was icy cold she instantly knew what it meant. "Well its about damn time he came to take him back." She said out loud as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "Maybe now he can be happy again." Then she turned on her heel to tell their friends what had happened.
Naruto and Sasuke ended up spending the rest of eternity by each others side. They both were happy and so were their friends.
The End