my prince, my princess Chapter 3: the music box princess & her prince, a naruto fanfic

I wind up this aged music box every morning when I'm getting ready for work. I listen to the simple, beautiful melody that fills my empty room with memories of you, of me, of us. While I stare into the mirror, fixing my hair and putting on makeup, I see flashbacks of our youth – of when we were both so young and hopeful. But when the music stops and I'm brought back into the silence of my empty room, tears always fall from my eyes when my days with you are only memories – when there is never anything more to my desperate longing.

I wind it up again before I go to sleep. In the darkness, the beautiful melody transforms into some sort of waltz of the stars – a musical presentation of the twinkling lights of the stars and the faded noises from the outside city. And when I close my eyes, I enter the world of my memories. I enter the world of smiles, laughter, holding hands, lips pressed against each other, warmth. I remember the bitter memories that, over the flow of time, have turned sweet.

I miss you, and I love you. But I know that you, like your love, is only a fleeting memory...

my prince, my princess
by: paperbagface

disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine.
A/N: Been a while since I last updated. Hopefully, you like this one. Thanks for your support!

fairytale 3. the music box princess & her prince

rewind: eighteen years old

I was really smitten by you when I met you during university. It might have been the fact that I've never met anyone so arrogant, so cold, and so defensive before in my life. You always sat in the corner of the classroom by the window, staring at the outside world, so detached and isolated from the hustle and bustle of the classroom. Even when all the girls in the classroom were staring at you, attempting to speak to you and break your barriers, you still remained like a glacier that refused to melt under the warm sunshine.

Even if we didn't speak one word to one another, I couldn't help but start a crush – one reminiscent of high school crushes – on you. Yet even then, I was stuck in a predicament, because I didn't want to fight the gravitation, but I knew I had to stay within my limits. I had to stay rational.

"You're Haruno Sakura, aren't you?"

I was surprised when you were the one to break the barrier between us. You were standing in front of my desk, lips formed in an annoyed frown, onyx eyes looking down upon me. I thought I would have been too embarrassed, speechless beyond belief that you had finally talked to me. But I wasn't. I don't quite know how or why, but I was strong and brave. Maybe it was the way that you looked down upon me that sparked the side of me that bordered irrationality.

"Yeah. No need to look annoyed. What do you want?"

Your eyes widened, probably by surprise. It must have been the first time a girl spoke to you without a red blush on her cheeks and hearts in her eyes. Considering how attractive you were and the experiences you'd probably experienced because of these looks, I guess I could understand why it took you a few moments to gather your thoughts.

"We're partners in the research project," You finally said, your voice less sharp.

Ah – the third-quarter research project that was required for our molecular biology course. I scratched my head, a sheepish smile on my lips. I always failed to read the bulletin board outside of the classroom before walking into the room.

"Will you be okay stuck with someone like me?" I lightly joked.

You smirked and crossed your arms, shaking your head at my childish antics that I would never abandon.

"It's not like I have a choice. Partner assignments were chosen by the professor."

I cheekily smiled, maybe from the happiness that came from you finally talking to me, or maybe because I could sense that your barriers were somehow beginning to melt.

It was a beautiful beginning for the both of us.

play: twenty-six years old

"Have you resolved to die lonely?"

Yamanaka Ino, my best friend, solemnly smiles at me, taking a sip of her warm coffee as she sits down in the hospital cafeteria. Such meetings like this are our morning routines, catching up on the events of the previous afternoon and evening, as we both led different lives that are no longer as intertwined as they used to be.

"I don't know," I reply, taking a bite out of my blueberry muffin before opening the morning's news paper, skimming the front page for news that may prove interesting.

Ino sighs, staring at the sparkling engagement ring on her ring finger. I know that she can read my heart, as we've been friends since the high school days. The look in her eyes is solemn as she quietly watches me read my paper and eat, occasionally taking a sip of her coffee before returning her pensive eyes to mine.

"What happened, Sakura?" She finally asks the question that has lingered in the air between us for the past three years.

I look up from my newspaper, eyes wide and unsure of my own answer. She takes my hand in hers, and I can't help but stare at the beautiful ring on her finger that I was more than envious of.

"You were so happy," She continues, and I almost think that she's been waiting to have this talk with me for the past three years. "What happened?"

I squeeze her delicate hands before releasing myself from her loose grip, my eyes downcast and a somber smile gracing my usually content lips. The music of my music box plays in my ears, as if I've just wound it up in the morning to listen to its enchanted melody and let it take me away into the rosy world of my memories.

"I don't know."

I miss you. I miss you so much.

I feel tears brim at my eyes and feel my heart twist in my chest as I continue to remember you. The memories flood into me, taking me away from this world of pain and loneliness. Ino says nothing more, and the rest of our meeting is done in an accepted silence.

"I love..." I begin to say in my delirium, and Ino quietly moves and sits beside me, holding me in her fragile arms.

I love you.

rewind: twenty-one years old

We became the best of friends after the research project. My high-school-like crush aside, we were comfortable with each other. I knew that I was different for you. I wasn't the crazed girl that was infatuated with your very existence, nor was I completely ignorant of your painfully obvious genetic makeup. Rather, I knew that I was a balance – at first, I knew I was just the "nice girl" whom you trusted and befriended; nothing more, nothing less. And the me at twenty-one could accept that friendship bond between us. Even though I knew I hungered for more, as long as I could stay by your side, I didn't care whether I was a friend or a lover.

I was happy just to see you every day; it was enough for me.

And I knew that even though I was just the "nice girl", I was more valuable to you than any other girl. Even though you treated me the same as our other best friend, Uzumaki Naruto, I knew that there was another strange, intangible bond between us that kept us together. For me, I knew you would do anything. On days when I would be in the library for hours, studying away at medical texts and writing reports for various biology research courses, you would often take a seat on the other side of my table, pulling out your own texts and reading them. Even though you never said a word, I knew about the underlying sentiments that were behind your otherwise cryptic actions.

At that point in our life and our relationship, my high-school-like crush turned into something that was flourishing into love. Unrequited or not, I knew that I would stay by you whether you wanted me to or not. Because that's exactly what love did to people – it made them crazy.

play: twenty-six years old

The streets of Konoha are always alive, no matter the time of day or night. Walking these streets is casual routine for me, passing by the same stores and the same lampposts that illuminate the same patch of sidewalk at the same time every night. These same streets and stores and lampposts seem to be the only stable foundations in my otherwise chaotic life, never moving, never changing. Perhaps their stability is the reason why I'm so fond of walking these streets after my hospital shifts; after all, a person so lost in helplessness as I am can only scramble to find stable foundations to hold onto. With my life so centered around my music box and the fleeting memories that the enchanted melody holds, it is only in my nature to grasp at those stable foundations, hoping to anchor myself in a reality that would be fractured and rosy without them.

Besides, I constantly tell myself that maybe, with a good stroke of luck and a fair amount of hope, I'll see you walking down the streets. Maybe I'll see you, and I can confess everything I've hidden inside. Then my life will no longer be so stuck into the past of our memories together; then perhaps I wouldn't be in such delirium when it came to matters about you. People might think that my devotion to you – a person only in my memories and nothing more tangible than dreams – is insane.

But I'm still crazy about you – I'm still in love with you. And to be perfectly honest, I don't think that fact will ever change.

"Sakura!"

I turn around and am met with the cheery face of Uzumaki Naruto, our best friend. I smile and wave, waiting for him to catch up. He hugs me tight when he reaches me, his standard greeting that hasn't changed.

"So, how are you?" He asks, after we being our trek down the city streets side by side.

"The usual," I reply. "How about you? How's Hinata?"

He grins, a light blush coloring his cheeks. It's cute how he's still so embarrassed at the mention of his wife-to-be, even though they've been together since the university years.

"Great."

I smile and jokingly pinch his cheeks before jokingly saying, "Naru-chan is so cute!"

We both share wholehearted laughter. I'm surprised when he suddenly takes my hand, his cerulean eyes carefully gazing into mine.

"But seriously, Sakura, how are you?"

I release myself from his grip and turn away, slowly continuing my walk. I know that he is asking me about you. After all, he's my best friend – my older brother-type figure – and he can see right through any barrier I place between us.

"I won't give up," I sincerely say, turning behind me and offering a genuine smile.

Naruto sighs with relief and ruffles my hair.

"Good. If times call for it, I'll hunt him down. I'll drag him back and save the first punch just for you."

My lips curl into an amused smile before I quietly murmur, "It's a promise then."

I arrive in my apartment after Naruto and I split ways. I immediately head to my bedroom, too tired to cook up a fairly decent dinner. After changing into my pajamas, brushing my teeth, washing my face, and various other before-bed rituals, I finally take a seat on my bed.

In my hands is the music box that you gave me three years ago. I slowly wind the key, gently placing the box on my nightstand after winding it to its maximum ability. Turning off my bedroom light, I lie awake in my bed, the soft music of the box slowly lulling me away to slumber – to the world of my dreams and my memories.

"I miss you so much," I murmur, a lone tear falling from my eyes.

The music continues on, carrying me away into the remnants of our days together.

rewind: twenty-two years old

A year ago, I resolved that I would be okay being your best friend. But my feelings for you were overflowing. As cheesy and cliché as it sounded, I couldn't help but love you more as the seconds of us together passed us by. I felt as if I were suffocating from all these overflowing feelings that I could only keep inside.

I was terrified. I was so scared of letting those feelings free, because I was so scared of your rejection. I had grown to love you so much that I felt that without you, my life would be over. It was pathetic of me to think that way, but it was true. I didn't want to sound like your various fan girls, because I knew my love was true. I didn't want you to think my love was just a fleeting emotion based on your appearances, because you knew as well as I did that it wasn't.

But I knew I had to tell you. My overflowing feelings were ramming against my self-control, and I was scared I would just scream out to the world that I loved you. Along with that, I would never know if some other girl would snatch you away from me because of my own cowardice. I was never the type of person to go down without a fight.

It happened in November. You were at home – in that lonely apartment of yours – sick with a flu. I knew that you were probably passed out on your bed, bottle of water on your nightstand to hydrate you whenever your throat felt dry; but I also knew that you were probably going to open up a bowl of instant ramen rather than find gratification on some home-cooked chicken soup with proper nutrition. And me, being the prospective doctor that I was, couldn't deal with the fact that you would be suffering in that lonely apartment without even warm chicken soup to soothe your soul. So, flu medicine and other groceries in hand, I crossed a line that I never would have dared to cross –I invited myself into your house after finding your spare key.

My feelings were overflowing –

"Sasuke! It's me," I said, taking off my shoes and placing my bag at your doorstep. I took a deep breath and walked through your living room, knocking twice on your bedroom door before entering.

You were sleeping in your bed, empty bottles of water scattered about your floor. But the moment I quietly shut the door and dropped the bag of groceries beside your bed to pick up your trash, your eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Eh, Sakura. Why are you here?" You asked.

"My best friend senses were tingling. You aren't getting proper nutrition, are you?"

You shifted position in your bed, turning on your side to watch me pick up the scattered bottles to throw into your recycle bin later. Your onyx eyes watching me so intently made my heart beat faster than I was used to; I thought it was the first time you had watched me so undistracted before.

"Go home," you finally said.

"Nope," I immediately replied, shoving all your used up bottles into the grocery bag. "Just sleep more. I'll be back with soup after it finishes cooking."

"No."

I sighed, wondering how someone as mature as you, the epitome of mature, could be so immature at a time like this. Couldn't you just accept my kindness, since I've accepted yours wholeheartedly? If you didn't love me, you could've at least let me stay by your side, friend status. Best friend status. A took a seat on your bed and stuck my hand against your forehead, shaking my head at your high temperature.

"Have you taken medicine?" I asked.

"—Yes."

"You should never lie to a doctor."

"You aren't a doctor yet, are you?" You smugly replied.

I jokingly pinched your nose, standing up from your bed and taking the bag of groceries in my hand.

"Shut up and go to sleep. I'll be back in a bit."

You didn't say anything, only watching me as I exited your room.

"Sakura," I heard you call out.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

I smiled to myself as I threw the bottles into your recycling bin and rummaged through your cupboards to find the proper cooking equipment to make decent soup. I took out the vegetables I bought at the market, chopping them up to add into the broth that was slowly boiling on your stove.

"Sakura?" I heard you faintly call from your room.

"What?"

"I don't like ginger. Don't even think about it."

I laughed to myself, shaking my head at your antics. It was too late, I thought, for me to take out the ginger. For one, I had already cut it up into pieces and added it into the broth. And for two, ginger was good for you; with the meals you've been eating prior to my arrival, you needed to boost your immune system.

So I just continued on with your chicken soup, waiting patiently for it to fully cook. I glanced around your neat apartment, the hidden sadness in this house flowing into me. The fact that you had only one picture in your apartment, and it was on a table that met the most sunlight in the living room, was a story only Naruto and I knew of. The picture of your family – that crumpled photo that had all your past memories and resentments torn into the aged piece of paper.

My feelings were overflowing.

When the soup finally finished, I poured a portion for you in one of your bowls, adding freshly cooked white rice to the mix. Grabbing a place mat from your dining table and proper utensils, I made my way to your room. When I entered your room, your eyes were closed and your breaths were slow and even; you were sleeping, and you had the most peaceful expression on your face that I had ever seen.

"Hm," I quietly said to myself, setting everything down on your table.

I kneeled in front of your bed, memorizing that rare, peaceful expression.

I love you.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this in, Sasuke," I whispered, gently lowering my head onto an open portion of your bed.

You startled me when your hand gently rest atop my head, carefully running your fingers through my bobbed hair. I lifted my eyes and stared at you, your cheeks rosy – was it from the fever? Or were you genuinely blushing? – and the corner of your lips tugged up into a miniscule smile.

"Don't," you finally said, your other hand covering your onyx eyes.

"Don't what?" I asked, my heart stopping as if it were expecting something ominous.

"Don't – say those things," you mumbled.

"And why not?" I defensively said. "I just – it's just – it's true. They're overflowing. They're telling me that I love you. That I'm in love with you. That I'm crazy – "

"Because when you say those things," You said, interrupting my defensive rant by taking your fingers and quickly pinching my nose. "Mine overflow too."

No words could come out of my mouth at that moment. My eyes widened, and I felt all the heat rush to my cheeks. And you – you, the devil you were – slowly sat up in your bed, finally uncovering those smoldering onyx eyes, your lips finally moved into an actual smile. You brought your blanket-covered knees to your chest, resting your head atop them as your eyes continued to stare into mine.

"But you've known that for a while, haven't you, Sakura?"

I blushed as I mumbled, "But you were always so cryptic – "

"Tsk," you said, lightly knocking your hand on my head before you turned in your bed and picked up the bowl of soup.

I watched, almost in some dumbfounded trance, as you ate. After your first few bites, you paused and stared at me, your lips tugged into your trademark smirk.

"Didn't I tell you that I hated ginger?"

I smiled and shrugged, leaning my back against your bed to stare at your blank white ceiling. I saw millions of colors shining brightly atop that blank ceiling – was it from the euphoria? Or did it signify the millions of possibilities that have just popped up into our lives?

"It's good for you," I finally replied.

"Hm," you replied, and continued eating on.

Wordlessly, without extravagant actions – we were one.

rewind: twenty-three years old

Our relationship flourished after that November day. Nothing much had really changed between us; the transition between best friends and lovers wasn't difficult. After all, we had always been on that border of "something more". Really, all we had to do was move our feet to step over a puddle. Life at that moment, with our mutual feelings, was the best euphoria I have ever felt. Everything seemed brighter, warmer. That happiness, that perfection, lasted one year.

But one day, a bullet came to shatter that perfectly happy world – our world. It was a day that was drowned by the oncoming storm – the ominous grey clouds and the pouring rain. You were standing in front of my apartment, your onyx eyes filled with remorse. Your clothes were soaked through, and I stood a few feet in front of you, the rain mixing with my tears. I knew it was happening.

"It's over?" I quietly asked, the pounding rain drowning out my voice.

"Don't say that," You replied.

Your hand moved to touch my cheek, a habit that you had picked up in the year that we were together. But it froze before your cold skin could touch mine. There was a barrier between us then. One that we both knew couldn't be broken – not at that moment in time. I looked up into your remorseful eyes, all your feelings of sadness mixing into mine.

"You know I have to do this," you said, shoving your hands into your pockets and turning your face to the sky. More rain fell down onto your face and rolled down your cheeks.

And I did. I knew your estranged relationship with your family. It was the reason you were so cold, so closed off from the world. It was the reason why that old photo of your family, crumpled at points in time, but so carefully saved in that simple frame, was the only photo to be found in your house. Your relationship with them was what haunted you over the years. It was what made you feel an unbreakable loneliness, one that even Naruto and I could not penetrate. It was your unfinished business that had been procrastinated for far too long.

"I – know I have no right to say this, but I love you," You said, your once strong, unwavering voice quivering with unknown emotion.

"But you have other priorities," I selfishly said, dropping my head, my hair clumping together and sticking to my face. More rain fell onto us, and more tears fell from my eyes, indistinguishable from the pattering rain.

"I'll come back. I promise, Sakura. So please, just wait for me," you quietly asked.

And without another word, you quickly got into your car and drove away. I thought it was a selfish request, but it could be done. After all, I was already crazy to have loved you for six years.

The next morning, the sun peeked out from beneath the dark blanket of clouds. I opened my door to fetch the newspaper, and saw a tiny box set atop the pile of newspapers. When I unwrapped it, there was a simple, yet quite beautiful, music box. Inside was a note, messily scribbled and folded.

I promise.

play: twenty-six years old

My eyes slowly flutter open when the first rays of sunshine penetrate the shutters on my windows. I slowly sit up in my bed, stretching my arms and rubbing my eyes. I frown when I feel the dry, sticky streaks of tears on my cheeks; another night dreaming of us – of you, and my tears still fall from my eyes. No matter how hard I force myself to continue on in the day without missing you, my body rejects my willpower.

I love you.

I quickly get out of bed and jump into the shower, beginning my daily morning regiment to prepare for a long shift at the hospital. When I finish cleansing my body and begin working on my appearance, I wind up the aged music box once more, carefully taking out the crumpled paper to read the messy letters that have kept me frozen in time.

I promise.

The simple, beautiful melody fills my apartment, and my daily dose of nostalgia continues. When will this vicious cycle ever stop? When will you come back?

When can I – start living again?

fast forward: twenty-eight years old

Life continues on. I continue on in my casual routine, winding up the music box every morning and every night. I happily smile and clap my hands when Ino and Shikamaru are married, hugging her and congratulating her like every best friend and maid of honor should. I do the same for Hinata and Naruto, happy to see my friends finally start a new chapter in their life. Slowly, parts of my stagnated life began to move again.

But I still never forget about you. I remember you, I dream about you, I love you. I continue fulfilling your selfish request, thinking to myself that you'd surely return and put me out of my impatient misery.

It is a warm, spring night. I'm walking home from my shift at the hospital, carrying birthday presents I had received during the day in my hands. I looked at the blooming cherry blossoms as I walked, thinking about how beautiful the pastel pinks and whites looked like stars ascending from the blanket of diamond sky. The road continues on, time quickly passing me by as continued walking on in that road illuminated by bright stars. I stand before my apartment complex, preparing myself for another night – preparing myself to be taken back into the world of my memories like every night. I fumble for my keys, ascending the stairs to reach my floor and my room.

And then –

"Hm, wouldn't it be nice to watch where you're going?"

"I'm sorry – " I begin to apologize, but my eyes widen and everything in my body freezes.

It's you. You are standing in front of my door, holding one, simple rose in your pale hands. Your cheeks are painted pink, and your onyx eyes gaze into mine, much like they had done five years ago.

"Will you be okay stuck with someone like me?" You lightly ask.

I smile and gently take the rose from your hands, tears beginning to fall from my eyes. Your hand gently cradles my cheek, your gentle fingers wiping away the tears that continue to fall.

"It's not like I have a choice," I say through uneven breaths. "Partner assignments were chosen by the professor."

And finally, I can wind up that simple, beautiful music box without feeling the overwhelming nostalgia. No longer does that beautiful melody lull me away into the world of my memories, the only place you existed. No longer does that melody sing a song of painful, unforgotten love – of reminiscence and loneliness. No longer does the crumpled promise folded within the music box hold the key to finally being free.

Now, that melody sings the song of our hearts – of love and promise finally fulfilled and euphoria finally met.

the music box princess & her prince – end

I'm not sure how I feel about this one, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Thank you so much for reading!