I am sorry, I love you
Summary- Two blondes, sitting in front of a grave. It's a beautiful day.
It was a beautiful day, sunny and bright, as summer days often were, in the Village Hidden In The Leaves. The village itself was unusually hectic, teeming and bustling with activity.
However, aside from the din and noise of the village, in a field, under a Sakura tree, a grave sat. It was made out of stone, with elegant white knots running around it, beautiful in its simplicity.
Underneath the shade, sat two blondes, in quiet companionship.
A cup of sake was poured.
"He always wanted to be there for you. Today, of all days, he would have definitely been there."
Another cup.
"I know. I want him here too, ya know. I want him to see that he taught two Hokages, not just one."
A third cup was poured, and placed at the grave.
"He would never shut up about you. All his letters to me, they were mostly about you. How you were annoying, a knucklehead, never ate anything other than ramen, yada, yada, yada. Really! It sometimes got so annoying!"
Her face softened into a smile.
"But I could tell. He really cared for you, brat."
The other blonde grinned, sapphire blue eyes lighting up.
"I did too. Still do. "
Looking up towards the sky, the man wistfully exhaled, grin fading.
"I just wish he was here. I miss him so much. I sometimes imagine it. Him, with his stupid big grin, shouting and cheering, the loudest of all the people gathered there. "
Letting out a laugh, the woman replied,
"I bet he would have begged you to make mixed gender bathhouses legal on the first day of you becoming Hokage."
The man burst into laughter.
"That sounds like Pervy Sage, alright!"
The woman stared into her cup, lost in her thoughts.
"I…..I sometimes find myself thinking, what if things had been different? What if I hadn't allowed him to go and ordered him to stay? Would he still be alive?"
Looking suddenly vulnerable, she said, "What if I had told him that time….."
As if snapping out of a trance, she hastily closed her mouth and flinched, hoping that the man hadn't caught on.
However, it was too late. He was surprisingly perceptive sometimes in his ability to understand people, and his incredible empathy struck again. Sapphire blue eyes, warm and understanding, looked at her. The blonde said, "I know, Granny. I have known since a long while. Did you know, he never shut up about you too? Always telling me of your beauty, of your temper, of your kindness. It's okay. You don't have to hide it. Don't have to regret it."
The woman pressed her lips together, silent for a while, as if collecting her thoughts. Then, raising her cup in the air, she said, "Let's drink. To you becoming hokage!"
The blonde raised his cup.
"To the greatest teacher of my life. The one who helped me become a good shinobi."
The woman shook her head, gently smiling.
"To the one who helped you become a good person." She corrected.
Touching their cups to the cup in front of the grave, they knocked back the cups and drank it in one single gulp.
" Bleh! Still don't know why you like this stuff so much." The man grumbled, sticking his tongue out.
"It's because you are a lightweight who doesn't know how to handle his alcohol, brat!" The woman teased.
Bristling, the man shouted, "Oye! I will have you know, I don't get drunk, ever! Kurama filters out all the alcohol in my system immediately!"
The woman laughed. "Yeah, right."
The blonde stood up, dusting his pants off. "I gotta go. Can't be late to my own coronation now, can I?" He said with a rueful smile.
The blonde woman, still seated on the ground, waved him off." Get going, I will be there in a minute, brat."
"Don't sit for too long, Granny. Your old joints can't take that much abuse any longer, ya know?" Naruto remarked teasingly, disappearing in a Body-Flicker before the irate woman could get her hands on him.
"Little brat, calling me old. Who does he think he is!" the woman grumbled.
Looking back at the gravestone, Tsunade gave a small sad smile, tears, which she had held in for so long, dripping down her face.
"I am sorry, Jiraiya. You don't know how much I really am. Sorry I didn't recognize what you were to me earlier. Sorry for a lot of things that I did and didn't do. Sorry it took me so long to say these words. Well, I am saying it now, you old pervert."
"I love you."
AN:
Yes, you are thinking correctly. I wrote a Tsunade x Jiraiya.
And I shall not be dissuaded from my opinion that they didn't love each other and anyone who says otherwise is a blasphemer!
Ahem, ignoring that little outburst, read and review, please?
P.S- Please do check out my other fic, Failures. It is sort of a companion piece to this. It is not romantic but it's Jiraiya centric.