Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters created and trademarked by Masashi Kishimoto in the Naruto universe. They belong to their respected owners. I am not making any money off of this story. I do, however, own the plot of this story. Please do not use any of the written work as shown below without my written permission.
Warnings: Coarse language, suggestive themes, genderswitch, SasuFemNaru
Paragraphs in italics- flash backs, lyrics/poems, dreams, and thoughts
normal- present
Enjoy:)
Like Birds
Two
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She didn't sleep well that night. Her dreams were beleaguered with memories of them from all those years they had spent together. The most prominent memory happened to be that of when they were seventeen. They had snuck out in the middle of the night, Sasuke having been 'grounded' by Fugaku for a trivial matter and was not able to see anyone or use his car. He had disobediently 'stolen' his own vehicle, driven out, picked up Naruto and sped towards the downtown.
Somehow they had found an open piercing parlor, Sasuke's overly rebellious nature against his father and all; having the need to ruffle the old man's feathers a bit being the drive of his determination for disobedience. They ended up with Naruto getting a gnarly tattoo on her stomach and Sasuke getting his tongue pierced.
Then they had then driven to the monument section of the city, where you could view the entire place from a panoramic view. It was always a hot spot for couples, but tonight, it happened to be empty.
They ended up on the roof of his cherry red car, blasting Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden, and other oldies as loud as the speakers allowed for it to go. They had talked, relaxed, and just plain enjoyed each other's company.
At the end of the night they ended up kissing throughout Us and Them, near six am if she remembered correctly. She could hear it now,
Haven't you heard, it's a battle of words
The poster bearer cried.
Listen son, said the man with the gun
There's room for you inside
That was when they officially started dating.
It had been two weeks since he had last heard from him and she couldn't help but feel the need to text him or something. He had said a lot to her, even gone as far as explaining every detail of what had happened those past fucked up months. The raven had never been good with expressing his feelings vocally. It must have been slowly killing him inside out to share his thoughts with her like that…
You're just like your father.
He often let his emotions get the better of him when it was concerning his father. She could remember back when they were fifteen when he had done something similar. In fact, he had taken his anger out on her in front of the entire student body, even going as far as the physically fight her.
Although she held her own against him, too have humiliated her in front of the entire student body had been a shock to her. It had been close to destroying her.
They ignored each other for almost a month before one day, between her classes, he had grabbed, locking them in the janitors closest before apologizing quickly and quietly, as if embarrassed by the very act.
His fists were clenched and although it had been dark, she could see how red his eyes were.
"I caught father cheating on mom."
His breathing had been extremely heavy and she knew he was about to cry. Instead of keeping the anger inside of her for treating her like shit, she brought him into his arms, holding on as tight as she could while he clutched onto her lithe frame, his head buried in her shoulder.
"I hate him" he had continued to whisper into her neck. "I hate him so much. I hate his fucking guts."
She could remember the feel of those salty tears that had run down her neck that day. He was too proud to admit it and was completely silent, only mumbling 'I hate him,' over and over again. They ended up skipping the rest of the day, half of it spent in the small little closet until the janitor came, kicking them out immediately. He had even threatened to call to tell the principal that he had found 'two losers fucking in the damn closest!' as if. They had still just been friends then.
He slept at her place that night though as it was too painful for him to be at home now. Her mother completely understood, seeing Mikoto had called her best friend in her own despair. After all, Sasuke would always be welcome in their home.
Guilt beginning to eat her from the inside out, unable to handle it any longer, she pulled out her phone, texting him:
-I wanted to thank you for explaining everything to me. I appreciate it.
She then threw the phone aside, lying back down onto the couch as Kyuubi jumped onto her stomach, immediately snuggling into her warmth. Petting the soft orange fur, she couldn't help but reminisce the many memories of this place.
She could clearly remember when they moved in, how excited they had been. They would do their homework together, despite their majors being completely different from one another. The tall man had often somehow convinced her to watch horror movies with him and how she would always pretend that they didn't scare her when really she was shitting her pants. It would always be fine though. Just basking in each other's company was enough for her to be content with their lives and how they were. It was enough to leave her soaring through the heavens until she reached cloud nine. Then later, when getting ready for bed, they would have those lazy conversations that would end up being much longer then they had ever planned them.
Come to think of it, she hadn't slept in the bedroom since he left; the memories being too personal, too sweet, and too heart-wrenching to remember.
She missed him.
Groaning, the young woman's eyes fluttered open at the sound of loud mewling. Her eyes finally focusing, she rolled them up with a lazy expression directed at Kyuubi prancing around on her body as if he owned the damn thing. He kept nudging her hand and face, forcing her to awake from the deep slumber. The damn fur ball was probably hungry.
Sighing, she began to sit up and Kyuubi jumped off in glee, cavorting towards his bowl. She sighed loudly, running her fingers through her mop of blonde hair before self-consciously checking her phone. She had two messages… both from Sasuke.
-Thanks for understanding. I'm sorry that things happened this way.
And
-Meet me at Sound Café tomorrow? 12 good for you?
Feeling her heart begin to flutter like a thousand singing birds, she typed back, okay, before attending the her little monster of a kitten.
Walking down the street, the blonde kept her hands shoved deep within the pockets of her dark blue sweater. The messy bun on the very top of her head bobbing to the fast pace as her dirty black converse pounded the sidewalk with every stride. She was beginning to feel the irony of situation more and more.
Of course he would have chosen their favourite place to meet at.
Also, she couldn't believe she had even agreed. Weren't you never supposed to go on a 'date' with your ex-boyfriend?
As soon as she turned the corner, she wasn't surprised to see him already there. He had chosen to sit outside, not only because it was nice or so that he could smoke, but because she loved to sit outside. Of course he'd pull a stunt like this.
Building up courage, the blonde walked right over to the table, plopping down in the seat.
"Hey."
He blew smoke above him before mumbling, "hi," and proceeding to take in another deep drag. He was dressed with his ever present black skinnies and steel-toed combat boots, with aviators covering his eyes and a dark navy shirt hugging his frame. His signature black leather jacket hung off of the chair. He would be considered 'casual' today with the dark green bandana tied around his head. Glancing down at the table, she resisted the urge to scoff. Of course he'd order their usual; black coffee for himself and green tea for her. (1)
"You still taking history?" He suddenly asked, butting out his smoking cancer as she pulled out her own.
"Yeah," she mumbled, lighting venom between her lips. "History major with a minor in sociology. Although I have no idea what job that'll lead me too. Mom keeps pushing me to go into teaching."
"You always did love working with kids," he replied, casually taking off his glasses as well as taking a sip of his coffee. "You also happen to have a particular talent for it too. Which is a lot to say, considering you were the class Dobe."(2)
"Hey!" she countered, ignoring the use of the familiar and oh so bitter-sweet nickname as they settled into their usual and familiar banter. "I rather be the class clown then the classroom asshole!"
"You were the only one to think that," he smirked. "As I recall, you were jealous of all the girls fawning over me."
"They were blinded by your good looks and overlooked the fact that you were a total bastard!" He caught her mistake almost instantly, like a hawk stalking its prey.
His smirk widened with a gleam in his eyes that she knew all too well. Then came that deep bass of his voice laced with sugar as he whispered seductively, "so you're admitting that I'm handsome."
"Shut up, it was just a slip up." To show him her irritation further, she blew the smoke in his face, knowing that he wouldn't be affected at all.
It still made her feel better though. She had purposefully chosen these safe topics, very much wanting to avoid the inevitable but it appeared that the young man who had broken her heart, who possessed eyes as black as coal and hair as astounding as midnight, was quite content with skydiving into the unknown. He always was that type of person.
You weren't supposed to flirt with your ex. Especially the ex you haven't even talked to in six months.
She needed to tone this down. Now.
"How's your mom doing? With the divorce, that is."
He immediately tensed; frowning slightly before breathing deeply.
"Not the greatest I guess, he refuses to sign the papers which isn't unexpected. The lawyers are in a bit of stalemate because of that."
"She's probably happy to live with you guys though."
"Yeah," he breathed, a relieved look on his face before looking a little annoyed. "She treats us like kids though. Nagging us to do the laundry and saying that I look too skinny again."
"You've always been super skinny."
"I guess," he shrugged, taking another sip of the coffee. He was starting to shy away, frowning as he was lost in thought. He probably knew she asked that just to throw the mood off. He was always one step ahead of her.
You're just like your father.
"Do you still meet up with Karin, Juugo and Suigetsu? Doing the band thing?"
Those dark eyes seemed to brighten considerably, his once cool and suave nature turning giddy with child-like joy.
He started to ramble. Well, ramble as much as someone of his stature could, about how despite the painful events of the last couple of months, he was in fact still doing the 'band thing'.
The blonde however failed to pay any attention what so ever, her mind flying off to those traitorous isles that only birds like her could reach. The isles of past memories.
She could clearly recall back in high school when the foursome could always be found in the music room after school hours, practicing grunge and punk rock, metal pieces that Sasuke had composed himself. Sometimes they'd do gigs at nightclubs, charity events, and some school occasions.
She could remember when she'd sneak into the band room to listen to them. However, no matter how discreet and cautious she was, the raven would always find her. Sometimes he'd kick her out, angrily or with a quick kiss, a wink, and a promise of showing her his latest project soon. When they had been still friends, the later had been a sloppy kiss on her forehead to tease her with a promise of getting pizza later. Other times he'd turn a blind eye to it, glancing at her every now and then to show her that yes, he did very well indeed know that she was there.
More recent memories included him singing to her in the apartment, lulling her to sleep whenever she was studying up into the early hours of the morning. His voice had always been more beautiful than a thousand singing canaries. On the rare occasion, he would even play stunning, heart-wrenching, red string piano music that he would compose specifically for her. It would always make her heart flutter like a little bird. It was the only way he knew how to express his deeper emotions to her. It was the only way she could understand him so sincerely.
They didn't understand one another anymore.
"Naruto?"
She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts, the Uchiha staring at her with half concern, half with sneer.
"Were you even listening to what I was saying?"
The tone was harsh and accusing. Worst of all, he seemed hurt.
Of course he'd be hurt… music was his entire life. His father already rejected it; he didn't need her to reject it as well.
"I'm sorry," she sighed out, throwing away the remains of her once cigarette into the ash tray. "My head hasn't exactly been here these last couple of months," she admitted, causing him to flinch.
"It's fine. I get it."
He stared at his lap, eyes glaring at his resting arms. Did he expect for things to be the same?
Suddenly, his eyes locked with hers in a stare that she could not break away from. His eyes, usually so cold, so stoned, were full of emotions she could no longer recognize. They were swirling and flying with winds of something that shook her to her very core.
Lust.
"Would you be willing to go? Too listen to my music again?"
They had agreed to stay as friends. How come being friends with him always made things complicated?
"Of course," she replied genuinely, wrapping her arms around herself in embarrassment. She couldn't handle those painful tortured orbs staring right through anymore. She just wanted to run. To fly away. Far from here and back to her lonely cave. She was beginning to shame her decision more and more.
He, however, appeared unmoved by her discomfort. In fact, his face shone with relief. Relief and gratitude.
He was beginning to act like his old self around her again.
"The band and I are doing a gig this Saturday in that shady Akatsuki club we used to go to. It starts at nine o'clock."
He then stood up abruptly, throwing some loose change from his pockets onto the table, a striking smirk decorating his supercilious face. He slipped on his jacket, popped the collar and planted his hands on the table, hovering over her. She was shaking.
Since when did Uchiha Sasuke frighten her so much?
He was a vulture and she was the prey.
"Don't be late."
She still hasn't been able to figure out what had possessed her to come and see him at Akatsuki.
It could have been anything ranging from the thrill of a concert, her own love of music, the fact that she hadn't been out on a Saturday night for a long time, or the sole fact that she still had feelings burning brighter than the sun itself for a certain lonely raven. The last reason, however, was the one she refused to acknowledge the most.
Leaning against the bar, her tight leather pants hugging her waist, she couldn't help but miss going to this types of concerts. They used to go out every weekend, Sasuke wanting to support local music as much as possible. It was always an excuse to get out of the house, to live a little and feel at free with their youth.
The lights dimming, she quickly pulled out a small flyer from her pocket, squinting her eyes in order to read it in the bad lighting.
Her fingers traced over the names slowly until she found what she was looking for.
Taka – 9
Of course Sasuke's group would be close to last. These concerts usually went in an order from worst to best and the exotic raven would always be last. He would always be the best. And if they weren't the best, his perfectionist nature would kick in until they were the best.
She had drowned out the majority of the performances, thinking about everything and nothing as she clapped robotically whenever it was necessary, hooting with the crowd as performers would come and go.
At one point, she even joined the mosh pit, ending up crowd surfing with several other individuals at the same time. It seemed as if her wings were beginning to heal themselves slowly as they began to stretch out again.
She missed feeling alive like this.
To laugh out loud, talk to people she had never met before as if they were old friends, it was like she could be herself again.
Eventually, the lights dimmed as they last group walked off the stage and the new one arrived. Even in darkness, her eyes immediately caught sight of a bob of pristine white hair, seemingly to glow in the club. It was Suigetsu, Sasuke's male best friend and right hand man – if that was the word for it.
Her heart began to pound louder and louder as the anxiety settled in. She was nervous to see them preform again… she hadn't even heard their music since a year ago… she didn't know what to expect.
Suddenly the lights began to brighten and the crowd roared. Like every band before them, they were still setting up, plugging in their instruments and getting ready. The albino plugged in his guitar, looking out at the crowd as if to judge the situation at hand.
His eyes suddenly met hers and his immediate reaction was to grin. Familiarity spreading its wings, she smirked back, raising her hand to flash him the birdie. He chuckled in response, sticking out his tongue as he walked on over to his leader, whispering in his ear.
The raven only nodded, his back facing her as he continued to set up.
Her eyes drew to him immediately and the first thing she realized was the blue tint in his usually coal black hair. He was wearing a tight black shirt, the band logo of a massive eagle etched into it with swirls of navy blue and red and grey. Black, ripped skinny jeans hugged his toned legs with chains and for once, he had traded in his combat boots for converse which were, not to her surprise, of the black variety.
Just then, they started to play, Juugo's drums setting a fast beat as the harmonic guitars began to thunder and the crowd screamed. She even recognized Karin, her once close friend, going at it with her sleek red base. Seven months ago, she had stopped talking to everyone out of her own depression…
Sasuke abruptly turned around, an arrogant smirk covering his face as the crowd screamed even louder than it had before. She on the other hand, only rolled her eyes at his ego boost, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the bar again. She hadn't realized how popular they had become in these past few months.
He began to sing and crowd went even crazier. Well, the female population at least. He was playing on his favorite guitar, a glossy black Gibson that she and Itachi had bought him for his sixteenth birthday. His skilled fingers caressed the instrument as his voice rang out through the small building, leaving everyone to be starstruck.
Like the Andean Condor he is, he found her immediately, locking his dark eyes with her ocean blue and put her in a trance. It was like it was only the two of them in the room… it was like he was singing to her again. He would look across the room; break the hold to close his eyes for those high notes and allowing teasing glimpses of the metal shine in his mouth. However, his eyes would always find hers as he poured out his soul to her in the only way he knew how. (3)
Her hands became clammy as her heart began to pound through her ears. He was doing it again, stunning her, impressing her. Her heart had always been in his possession… he was only proving it to her now.
They continued through two more songs, being called back for a third and final encore before the next band had to go on stage.
She considered leaving, having already done her part of the deal. Her senses were on overload and the only thing she could think of is how much she wanted to get out of here, smoke, and go home to hide under her covers until she could get herself under control again. She hated what he could still do to her after all these months.
Pushing herself away from the now overcrowded bar, she was about to walk out the door when she froze.
She saw him, that damn hawk, talking to the girl in the park, his rumoured girlfriend…
She couldn't help but feel jealousy's monstrous hand rip her soul open again. Of course he would have moved on by now… only wanting to heal their friendship. She suddenly felt self conscious, wrapping her arms around herself, wishing to grow wings so she could get the hell out of her.
Of course he would have chosen someone else… she was… well what was she? If anything she had born with the wrong gender. She had always been a brute, preferring to wrestle with the boys in the mud and ditch class to smoke rather then take extreme care of her appearance and dress to impress. At one point, she had been teased as being a boy in middle school, her mother having cropped her hair when she had gotten lice. She had even begun to wear boy clothes rather then her girl ones out of spite. Sasuke had been the only one who had stood beside her. It was once they had gotten to high school that she regained her feminine figure as her bust had gone through a massive growth spurt over the summer.
Even then, she still acted like a boy. This girl… she had fair pale skin, bubble-gum pink hair that only complimented her beautiful jade green eyes. She was so stunningly pretty… Of course he would have preferred a real woman over a loser like her.
Unable to stomach the scene any longer, she sneered, turning around whilst pulling out a cigarette from behind her ear. If she got to the back exit of the club, no one would realize she had even left. She was close to the exit, pushing through the last wave of rockers before someone grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around.
It was the devil himself, his eyes searching her before he cracked a small smile.
"You came."
"Of course," she murmured, hands clenched into tight fists. Staring back at him, she swallowed before continuing in a pained toned.
"You look good out there rock star, you guys are getting better every time I see you."
He only smiled dangerously, his hands still holding her, "You look good rock star, and you're getting more and more beautiful every time I see you."
She scoffed, shaking her head sadly before she dared to point at his hair. He shrugged, still smiling.
"My friend, Sakura," he gestured to the pinkette who was flirting with a red-head near the bar. "She's a hair dresser. She did it for me yesterday."
"Sakura, your girlfriend?" she asked in a sneer, noting the way his face darkened with hurt and confusion.
"What? Of course not…" he whispered hoarsely. "How could you think..?"
He suddenly closed his mouth, stopping himself, remembering their meeting at the park.
"She likes to spread rumours," he eventually began, too ashamed to look into her eyes. "She likes me a lot…"
She only scoffed, "like every other girl… They just love too flock to you."
He smiled, revealing those pearly white canines as his face neared hers, lips barely touching.
"But I only fly to you."
He was kissing her, kissing her with a passion that left her knees weak and rendered her completely powerless. She had missed this so much… missed being held in his arms like a baby bird. So gently, so tenderly, so lovingly.
His hands found hers as he intertwined their fingers before pulling away briefly, dragging her through the mounds of people before they went out the back door and into the alley way. Her back met the cold and jagged bricks as he continued to kiss her, lifting their twined hands above her head while his other arm wrapped around her waist. Before she could even moan in response, he was trailing down her neck with sharp, sloppy kisses that made her insides burn.
This was wrong… so good yet so wrong…
"Sasuke," she whispered breathlessly, slowly loosing control over her actions. "S-Sasuke… Sasuke stop."
He only groaned in response, lifting his head from her revealing cleavage to her ear, whispering in a playfully husky tone, "stop what?"
She pushes him away with her free hand, causing him to open his eyes in confusion.
"You're making out with your EX girlfriend, doesn't that ring any bells?"
He frowned, bringing their linked fingers to his lips, kissing her hand softly before looking up at her with hooded coal eyes.
"I don't want you to be my ex, I want you to be more than just my girlfriend Naru, you're my best friend," he spoke with determination and demandingness, eyes narrowed dangerously.
She only shook her head, prying her hand from his as she leaned against the wall, her head lowered so she didn't have to look at his eyes.
"We can't, Sasuke." She suddenly looked up with narrowed eyes, staring right at his heartbroken ones.
"We can't just ignore each other for practically a year and then act like nothing happened, it doesn't work like that!"
He was trembling, pulling away from her as he leaned on the opposite wall, eyes clouded as his mask came on again.
She felt cold… colder than she had since they first broke up. A dead silence settled between them, the only noise being their heavy breathing and the music coming from the club. Slowly, he captured her eyes again, a look so pitifully pleading that she wanted to break out in hysteria right there and now.
"What," he started, swallowing deeply as he gathered the courage to speak again. "What do you want me to do?" he whispered, so quietly that she barely heard him.
"I… I want to take things slow…"
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Footnotes:
(1) The link to the picture with Sasuke's bandana is on my profile.
(2) Dobe – Dead last (insulting) in Japanese.
(3) Andean Condor – A type of vulture and although primarily a scavenger, they are scene as symbol of power, health and liberty. They are also one of the heaviest flying birds and have excellent eye sight and are very intelligent. They often find food by astute observation. Males are also larger and more powerful then females.
A/N: I don't have a beta and I'm extremely tired today, there may be more mistakes then usual. If you see any glaring ones please let me know!