Auld Lang Syne
By Bara-chan
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Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
AN: It's been a while since I wrote anything…. Correction: It's been a while since I've FINISHED anything. I suck at chapter fics ^.^ *sigh* Well… I've completely gone against my two favorite couples( SasuNaru and LeeSaku), but I love 'Same Auld Lang Syne' by Dan Fogelberg and I thought it would be cute.
NOTES FOR THOSE WHO DON'T READ ANs: Everyone is around the age of twenty five now and I'm assuming that the mission to retreive Sasuke was successful, though that doesn't play that much of a part. The song is at the end.
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Naruto shivered as he exited the Hokage's office. It was Christmas Eve and extremely cold. At least it felt really cold to Naruto, who had been on a mission in a more tropical location for the last ten years. Truthfully, it was just barely under freezing – just enough for the weather to be snowy instead of rainy.
As he wandered in the direction of his apartment, he decided to make a detour to the grocery store: If he had food at home, it would have decayed into moldy dust by now.
He entered the store and shook off the snow. He gathered his items and headed down the last isle, where he saw a familiar pink mop of hair. He grinned as he snuck up to his former teammate and poked her in the middle of the back.
She gasped and whipped around to glare at him. Recognition didn't dawn in her eyes until they settled on Naruto's whiskers. He couldn't really blame her. It had been ten years since they last saw each other and he had grown up a lot in that time. His hair was shaggy and fell into a face that had lost all of its baby fat. He had grown taller so now he stood a good five inches over her. He also had gained a bit of muscle where he had been rather gangly as a kid.
Once she recognized him, she launched herself at Naruto and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Naruto! Where the hell have you been?! It's been so long! And where do you get off leaving without so much as a 'goodbye'?!"
Naruto looked a bit sheepish as he was release and the two headed to the checkout. "I was away on a mission in the south and I couldn't say goddbye: the old hag wouldn't even let me go get a set of spare clothes. She rushed me out the gate saying that I could buy what I needed on the way."
Sakura laughed. "That sounds like her…"
The two lapsed into an uncomfortable silence as everything was rung up. As they reached the door, Sakura hestitated. "Ne, Naruto? How about we go get some ramen as a sort of 'welcome home'? My treat."
Naruto laughed. "After all of the times I asked you out, you come now that it's too late."
Sakura joined in the laughter as she dragged him out of the door.
The walk to Ichiraku was filed with conversation about Naruto's mission, with many comments on Naruto's part about how stupid the 'old hag' was to give him such a mundane – and long – mission. They had sat and ordered when Naruto turned the conversation. "What about you and everyone else? I hear you're married now."
Sakura sighed, a little sad. " Yeah… Lee and I got married and have a little girl now…" She stared at her drink with a little smile.
Naruto looked confused. "What's wrong?….Don't you love him?"
Sakura shook her head. "Not really. I like him best out of all the boys here and he IS really good to me but…" Sakura bit her lip, tears threatening to fall. "I never got over Sasuke."
Naruto restrained a flinch. "Is he…?"
Sakura looked a bit surprised. "Oh yeah… you don't know. Sasuke managed to kill his brother but he…. He died of his wounds a few days later." She chuckled a bit. "You know… he was cursing you at the end. He said that you ran away from him and so you two never had that battle to see who was better. I think…. I think that was his way of saying that he wished he could say good bye to you. He never was.. normal when it came to emotions."
The conversation paused as the food came.
Sakura shook her head as if to clear it. "How about something happier? Ino-pig* and Shikamaru got married three years after you left and they have a couple of kids now. Neji and Ten Ten got married the year after and Hinata and Kiba just got married a year ago. I think she's pregnant even though she's not showing that much."
Naruto tilted his head. "Then how do you know?"
Sakura looked angry. "I just do! It's a girl thing."
"It looks like things went relatively well while I was gone…" Naruto gavea wistful smile and piched up his glass and raised it. "To fond memories, content lives, and happy futures."
Sakura raised her glass with a giggle. "You're really bad at toasts… Oh well. Cheers!"
Naruto grinned. "Cheers!"
*.*.*.*.*.*
The rest of the meal was passed with reminicing and other pleasant talk. Afterwards, they walked back toward their homes. They stopped where their paths separated.
Naruto scratched the back of his head with a grin. "Well… it's good to know that you haven't changed. You're still beautiful and sentimental."
Sakura blushed a bit, but it was cooled by the falling snow. "And you've changed a lot, baka." She commented fondly. She leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek, then turned to walk away. "See ya!" She yelled with a wave, not even looking back.
Naruto watched her until she turned the corner, all the while remembering all the times they had shared as genins with Sasuke and Kakashi. They were the only two left – with Sasuke dead from his battle with Itachi and Kakashi'' death during the war with the sound.
Naruto turned to walk back to his apartment with his groceries in hand. Rain hit his face and he realized that there was no more soft snow and that the snow on the ground was becoming sluch. He smiled. Now he didn't have to hide his silent tears. Sure, he and Sakura were the last two left but he knew he wouldn't see her again. He had been assigned another mission – this time to the Sound Village – and he would be leaving the day after tomorrow. When – If – he returned, it would be too late. He would have bee forgotten or, at best, turned into nothing more than a fond memory.
With a final goodbye sent in Sakura's direction, Naruto disappeared into the silver rain, ghost-like, as only a ninja could.
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AN: Well…I would like to apologize now for my bad style. I'm more of an artist than an author…. Also, any errors in spelling is because I mysteriously lost my spell check on my computer.
* When Sakura calls her Ino-pig, it's more fond and kinda like a nickname. All remnants of their rivalry died – literally – with Sasuke. Though the way things are going in the manga, I think that it would fade before mess with the sound is ended.
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Same Auld Lang Syne
By Dan Fogelberg
Met my old lover in the grocery store
The snow was falling Christmas Eve
I stole behind her in the frozen foods
And I touched her on the sleeve
She didn't recognize the face at first
But then her eyes flew open wide
She went to hug me and she spilled her purse
And we laughed until we cried.
We took her groceries to the checkout stand
The food was totalled up and bagged
We stood there lost in our embarrassment
As the conversation dragged.
We went to have ourselves a drink or two
But couldn't find an open bar
We bought a six-pack at the liquor store
And we drank it in her car.
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how.
She said she'd married her an architect
Who kept her warm and safe and dry
She would have liked to say she loved the man
But she didn't like to lie.
I said the years had been a friend to her
And that her eyes were still as blue
But in those eyes I wasn't sure if I saw
Doubt or gratitude.
She said she saw me in the record stores
And that I must be doing well
I said the audience was heavenly
But the traveling was hell.
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how.
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to time
Reliving in our eloquence
Another 'auld lang syne'...
The beer was empty and our tongues were tired
And running out of things to say
She gave a kiss to me as I got out
And I watched her drive away.
Just for a moment I was back at school
And felt that old familiar pain
And as I turned to make my way back home
The snow turned into rain --