A/N: Hi there, folks!
Heh, after reading the reviews I've gotten for 'FMTS' so far I just couldn't hold myself back from writing this. I swear, I've NEVER created anything this fast! (Though I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing…)
As mentioned in the summary, this is a sort of, though VERY independent companion to 'FMTS'. You won't have to read that one to understand this, but as the greedy author I am I'd lie saying I wouldn't like to see those of you there who haven't visited already… (grins sheepishly) And for those who've red 'FMTS' already, I think this story includes stuff that should give you something as well, un – including Naruto finding out (which was something requested from me).
WARNINGS: YAOI, sadness, general oddness, shortness, etc…
HEAVE TISSUE WARNING!
Awkay, because I've already babbled away far longer than I was supposed, let's go, ne? I really hope you'll enjoy!
Three Hours, Forty Minutes
Sasuke's instincts had always been sharp, and it was rare he could be caught by surprise. But even he couldn't possibly have imagined what'd happen during the upcoming three hours and forty minutes when he entered a mall in Paris, to buy his fiancé something to make up for his two weeks long absence.
He never expected three men to appear with guns, straight into the store where he was.
He never expected someone to be an idiot enough to trigger an alarm, making to men – mere robbers – panic.
He never expected the chaos that ensued.
He never expected the gun that was aimed directly towards his skull, nor the voice that announced he'd be the first. " It's time to show them we mean business."
And he sure as hell never expected having to make a final request.
Had his mind been just a little less tangled, he might've been surprised by the fact that as he sat in a tiny room which could be seen from pretty much everywhere (because, apparently, that was the best possible place to perform a message filled execution), his hand didn't tremble while he dialed very familiar numbers.
It seemed to take forever before there was finally a response. The moment he heard Naruto's voice – the joy the blond didn't manage to restrain – he wondered if he was making a huge mistake. " Hey. I thought you wouldn't call today – you sounded so busy yesterday."
In some other situation he might've chuckled at the irony. To think that twenty-four hours earlier constant, deadly boring business meetings and a busy schedule had been his biggest problem… " I managed to snatch a minute."
There seemed to be some hassle in Naruto's end until his fiancé spoke once more. " Shikamaru says 'hi'."
" Hmph", was all he could produce at first, his throat growing impossibly tight. His eyes narrowed at rage directed towards himself. Damn it… " I just… called to tell that I won't be able to take that two o'clock flight."
" Oh." He could clearly hear all the blonde's disappointment, and although he would've never admitted it out loud it hurt, almost more than he could take.
I'm sorry, dobe.
" Don't sound like that." He sighed, and would've rubbed his face with one hand if he'd dared to from the weapon constantly pointing towards him. He didn't want to go until… His eyes strayed to the gun, and he shivered just a little bit. " I wish I was home, too."
He could sense Naruto's frown. " Is everything okay?"
He looked away from the weapon once more. " Yeah." To his immense surprise his voice was perfectly normal. " Let's just say that Paris isn't the same without you along."
Even without closing his eyes he could see Naruto's grin, and it chased away some of the coldness filling him. " Remember that the next time you complain about me constantly whining you to drag me everywhere." The blond went on after a beat's pause. " Look… I've been thinking about that proposition of yours. You know, about the bigger house."
He blinked once, despite the situation at hand managing to be genuinely surprised. " You have?"
" Yeah." The image of Naruto's grin was still so clear that it made his eyes sting. " I think we should go for it."
Little by little – with the aid of Naruto's voice – he managed to float away from the unpleasant present. His eyes softened without him even knowing it. " I thought you loved your house too much to give up on it."
" I do. But… It's just a dump house, you know?" He could just imagine how Naruto's expression changed to the scarily happy one it always was when they made plans on future. " If we want to have a real family, we'll need room for the kids."
He smiled just a little bit, ignoring his pride and the gun pointing at him to allow himself a chance to daydream for the last time. " A couple of kids would be nice."
It would've been nice to start out a family with Naruto, he admitted to himself and swallowed laboriously, although he already knew no amount of saliva would remove the bitter taste in his mouth.
" What do you say about Africa? I bet a lot of kids out there would like to have us as parents."
He snorted, the stinging in his eyes growing tenfold. " That's because they couldn't possibly even imagine what they'd be getting into, dobe." Just then he crashed brutally into reality when the gun threatening him poked his forehead twice. Apparently his time was up. " I have to go – my battery's running low." He was amazed the blond didn't hear anything weird in his tone although it was quiet and all but shuddered.
Maybe it was for the best, he had time to muse before he heard Naruto a take a deep breath. " 'K. Just…" The other swallowed loudly. " Call again soon, okay?"
Yet again his eyes sauntered towards the gun, and he fought back a bitter chuckle, desperately attempted to swallow away the lump in his throat. " I will." He held a moment's pause, his head whirring. There was just too damn much wanting to crawl out at one go. " Remember to take Pakkun out before it destroys the entire house. And feed it – I doubt Kakashi would like to find his dog starved to death." He had no idea why he wasted time on something so trivial and pointless. Perhaps people weren't supposed to be rational in situations like this – not even the mighty Uchihas.
The mental image of Naruto's roll of eyes made his stomach wrap to painful knots. " Yeah, yeah. Give me a little fate, will you?" The blond then seemed to come to think of something. " Bring me some chocolate when you come home. You owe me that much for making me wait this long."
He made a choked sound, and prayed from the bottom of his heart Naruto wouldn't recognize it as a restrained sob. Fucking moron… " I'll see what I can do." He held a tiny pause, simply to collect the little there was left of his sanity, along with all his courage. " I love you." Some time to utter those words for the first time…
Naruto was silent for a long time, and a tiny part of him already wondered if the blond had fainted from shock. " 'Love you too. Now hurry up and come home. I miss you already."
He closed his eyes grit his teeth, the pain banging against his ribcage becoming unbearable. " 'Bye, dobe." With that he hung up, feeling something inside him flutter and fade away.
While putting away his phone he took some deep breaths, wishing they wouldn't have shuddered. For some reason his eyes locked to noticing that the phone call had lasted five minutes and thirty seconds.
Odd. It'd felt a lot shorter.
" Was it a worthy final request?"
He didn't dignify that question with even a glance.
His muscles stiffened when he felt cold steel against his forehead. " If it offers you any consolation, I'll make this quick."
He closed his eyes and grit his teeth.
He was fortunate enough to be spared from having to hear the gunshot.
To his surprise, his last thought wasn't that of fear. Instead the last thing he ever saw was the purest, most beautiful shine of gold. And he managed to smile just a little.
Long before he came back from the emergency duty with Shikamaru, Naruto had a feeling that something was horribly wrong. That feeling only grew when he got out of the car, finding Kakashi – who'd been Sasuke's legal guardian since the raven's parents died – stood by the doorway of he and Sasuke's house with an expression he'd never seen before.
He approached with weak, trembling legs, although he had a feeling he didn't want to hear whatever the silver haired had showed up to tell. " What's… What's going on?" he wheezed.
All this fears were confirmed when the man swallowed and took a deep breath before finally managing to start, something in his eyes that chilled him. Had the man been crying? " Naruto, I… I got a phone call from France an hour ago. They didn't manage to contact you."
His eyes widened immediately, pieces sliding together. " Is Sasuke alright?" A part of him knew already, but he wasn't willing to listen to it.
Kakashi's eyes darkened still, sending everything inside him shrinking. " There… was a hostage situation." The man – in control over his emotions as he usually was – needed another deep breath. " I… I'm so sorry."
He felt absolute all air disappear from his lungs, and it became so cold that he started to tremble violently. Color disappeared from his face as he shook his head vigorously. " No. Hell no." He tried to chuckle, although it sounded more like a wheezing sob. " You're kidding me, aren't you? This… This is just a sick joke." It wasn't until years later he understood why his gaze blurred while strength seeped from his muscles, sending him to the ground before Shikamaru or Kakashi could catch him. " You… You're joking. Please… You're…"
But the sad look on Kakashi's face didn't change for anything brighter, didn't give him the slightest bit of the hope he would've desperately needed.
The loud, wounded scream he gave would've shattered even the stoniest of hearts.
It took several hours and two extremely heavy pills from Tsunade – who was Naruto's adoptive mother and a doctor – but eventually the blond was drifting somewhere between dreams and reality. His feelings spun completely out of control while he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling with eyes that hadn't really seen anything for a long time.
All of a sudden he jolted a little and gasped when he was almost sure he heard someone open the house's door. (In some other state of mind he might've noticed that it was the fifth time he did so during the past hour.) His eyes narrowed and almost overflowed when his groggy head finally reminded him that Sasuke hadn't come back. That Sasuke wouldn't be coming back ever again.
He balled his fists – furious with himself, Sasuke or someone else entirely, he didn't know.
If… If he'd known that was the last time he talked to Sasuke he would've…
What? He wished he'd known.
He groaned, then gave a dry sob while shifting to lay on his back, burying his face into a pillow.
Maybe he should take some more pills, he mused absentmindedly, most likely simply to get his mind off of Sasuke for even a second. Because the ones he'd had so far clearly weren't helping.
-
Naruto, of course, couldn't possibly know that he wasn't entirely alone.
Sasuke's eyes were even darker than usually while he sat beside his fiancé – his lover, his best friend, his pain in the ass – hoping from the bottom of his heart that he would've been allowed to touch, even once.
" Dobe", he murmured, not giving a damn about what his voice sounded like anymore. After all, no one would even hear him. " Stop crying already. You know I hate it when you cry."
The blond shivered a little when he touched the man's cheek – his hand going straight through – while leaning down, towards the other's ear.
I'm so sorry.
The words his lips formed as soon as he closed his eyes weren't meant for anyone else to hear.
-
With him a breath away from sleep, Naruto's lips curved into the tiniest, frailest of smiles while tears dried to his pale cheeks. His hand twitched, although it already knew there'd be nothing to grasp on to. " I love you, too", he murmured to thin air.
And so – with the last rays of the day's sun dying – he fell asleep, curled up into a ball. He was unaware of the ghost that sat by his bedside for a long time, stroking his hair without being able to touch or feel and guarding his restless, drug indulged sleep.
Owari.
A/N: Gosh! (gulps, and sniffs) Heh, I must confess I came close to crying when writing and proofreading this. I'm becoming a total sap. (grins sheepishly) (sniffs) Dang, my next fic ending MUST be a happy one! I don't want to find myself crying all over my keyboard. (winces)
Awkay, because I've been typing away waaaaay too long already, I'll better start tuning out before I'll grow roots to my chair. (grins)
PLEASE, do leave a review before you go! Pwease – it'd make me happy, ya know? (bats irresistible eyelashes)
Thank you so much for reading this!
Take care!