bodies
by vernajast
sasuke x naruto
One body dodges, the other kicks.
One body sweeps a leg across rough gravel.
The other jumps and slams an elbow against a diaphragm, into the crackle and splinter of ribs, into soft tissue.
One body ignites the air, the other feeds the flames.
Fire and wind, lightning and ugly red chakra that no one ever sees coming, and then there are dozens of bodies...
...but only two remain standing.
One body huffs, trembling hands and bloody tears.
The other is already reaching across the gap between them.
Two bodies find warmth in another's presence, in a shared victory, in the unspoken belief that they are still unstoppable.
One body turns to leave, pauses, and the other waits, breath sliding past parted lips, eyes full and expectant and vulnerable and promising I'll bring you back.
One body nods slowly and slender pale fingers barely brush scarred cheeks, sure that the other will keep his promise one day.
But not today.
One body disappears in a whirl of smoke and ash and leaves that scatter around the clearing.
The other sighs, rough fingertips rubbing lips that can still feel his gentle, ghostly touch. "Sasuke..."
[ .end ]
