Heartbreak
Chapter One
The soft pitter-patter of rain drummed against the roof of the cramped hotel room. Sapphire eyes gazed out through the white rimmed window, sinking into the depths of the silken night. The starry sky twinkled a greeting, as if to comfort him; pressing his whiskered cheek against the chilled glass, he exhaled, forming a tiny cloud of mist against the window. Stretching his legs, he yawned; using only one eye to scan the tiny room.
Clothes were scattered everywhere; pants were in the bath, socks were hanging halfway out of the drawers, underwear on plates of ramen. The bottom line: the room was complete and utter chaos.
"Aw crap," Naruto said to himself, "Gaara's going to kill me."
He sat up and placed his fists on his knees. Naruto wore a determined look on his face, as he grabbed a strip of white cloth and tied it firmly in a knot around his head.
"Alright," He said, "Let's get down to business."
Having said that, the blond ninja began to work at a frantic pace; throwing all his boxers with spiral patterns in one corner, and the pure orange ones in another. Mismatched socks were abruptly tossed into the laundry basket and pants were thrown onto the deteriorating coffee-coloured bed. The formal indigo ninja uniform, however, was neatly folded and placed carefully within an airtight plastic bag. A gentle smile graced the lips of the blond as he securely wrapped the bag; remembering that the uniform now proved that he has fulfilled one of his many dreams. His vision of being a true jounin was finally realised and was now a reality. As he completed his task of clearing the room of his many unusual and intriguing belongings; such as, the inflatable teddy bear raft, the collapsible mini ramen basket, and water resistant washcloth made for pranks. The once cramped hotel room now has breathing space.
Naruto dragged the large black bag filled with empty instant ramen containers, and took in a deep breath; wiping the sweat off his brow, and decided that it was time for a shower. Stepping into the bathroom, Naruto stripped out of his clothes and placed them aside.
"Ah!" Naruto smacked his forehead, "I almost forgot."
Naked as the day he was born, Naruto walked out of the bathroom, and headed towards the closets. He pulled out blue pyjamas with orange spirals, a slightly forlorn look swept across his face. Those were his favourite pair of pyjamas; they were a gift from Sasuke. The young man gripped the clothes tightly and grabbed his rubber duck from the shelf. He stormed into the bathroom, angry because he let his guard slip and thought about Sasuke.
"Stupid!" he shook his head, as if to shake out the memories of Sasuke out of his mind. Tears welled within his eyes and whispered, "You'll never get over him if you keep on thinking about him."
Roughly wiping the tears away, Naruto twisted the knob for hot water; steaming crystalline gushes of the transparent liquid spurted out of the faucet. Testing the water for its heat with his right index finger before he climbed in, he was always partial to hot water. Sasuke used to think that he was crazy and that he'd be cooked alive within the bathtub. A mournful smile flickered across Naruto's lips; then he sighed, at least Sasuke would not be bothered by him anymore.
Naruto paused, and slapped himself, silently reprimanding himself for thinking about his previous lover.
He squeezed the orange rubber duck, it gave a sharp squeak; and then continued to float happily on the surface of the steamy water. Grabbing the bar of cerise-coloured soap by the side of the bathtub, he quickly soaped himself down, enjoying the feel of the slippery pink bubbles tickling his tan skin. He then submersed himself facedown into the tepid water and blew bubbles through his lips within the transparent liquid. The kyubi ran out of oxygen and flung his head backwards and sprayed tiny diamond droplets of water upon the black lacquered tiles of the bathroom floor. He climbed out of the tub and pulled the red rubber plug, the steaming water then quickly drained out of the wooden tub. Naruto stepped onto the fluffy woollen rug by the sink; he glanced at the mirror and criticized his reflection.
His mid-length sunshine blond hair was wet and plastered to his back. Naruto trailed his fingers down his tan abdomen, admired the firmness of the skin. He stroked one of the whiskers on his right cheek. He examined his face, scrutinising carefully through cerulean eyes for any defects. Naruto noticed that he actually had rather long eyelashes for a boy.
"Not bad," he said, running his coarse fingers through his hair, "Not bad at all."
"A newly turned narcissist?" said the familiar redheaded ninja who just stepped into the bathroom, "Or were you like this all this time and I have failed to notice?"
"Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed, turning around to face his current lover, "You're back, welcome back."
"I'm home." Gaara gave a half smile to Naruto, "Are we having ramen for dinner tonight again?" He teased.
"Of course," Naruto stuck his tongue out at Gaara. "It's only natural."
Gaara chuckled, something he would have never dreamt about doing in his life if it weren't for Naruto, "Right, I'll go boil the water while you get dressed."
Naruto narrowed his eyes at Gaara, and threatened, "Don't you even think about touching the ramen, you don't know the proper way to cook it to perfection."
"Sure, whatever," Gaara raised his hands in surrender, no one wins against Naruto in an argument about ramen, "You'll just spend the whole night explaining that half-assed method to me anyways."
Naruto stuck his bottom lip out, "It is nothalf-assed. All you need to do is to boil the water to exactly 105 degrees Celsius and gently place the noodles in without breaking it, then you wait for two and three quarters of a minute and take the noodles out and into a bag. Pour in the seasoning and shake; it's all in the wrist. Then you-"
Gaara placed his left index finger onto the lips of the blond. "Okay, enough. Go change. Or else we won't be able to eat until next morning."
Naruto huffed and went to change.
Naruto placed the finishing touches on the ramen and said "It's done, let's eat."
Gaara peered at the shorter ninja through suspicious eyes, "Are you sure? It's only took you two hours to make this instead of the usual three."
Naruto pouted and replied hotly, "Yes, it's done."
Gaara took in a sip of the soup and said to Naruto, "You know your 'way' of cooking ramen completely disregards the purpose of instant ramen right? You know, instant usually means quick, or immediate."
"Well," Naruto paused, as of searching for a witty answer, "It…tastes good." He finished lamely.
"That I agree."
Both chuckled and continued their daily tête-à-tête.
Back in Konoha, a certain black-haired shinobi stood in the middle of a small clearing within the forest. Gazing up at the star littered sky, an almost remorseful look flickered across his face.
A single word escaped from his thin lips, too quiet for anyone but himself to hear. But as soon as the word was uttered, he was gone. Swiftly, he slipped on the mask as he disappeared into the darkness.
"Naruto, tomorrow-" Gaara paused as if to contemplate his wording of the phrase he was about to say, "Tomorrow we are going to Konoha."
Nothing could have surprised Naruto more. For the first few minutes, Naruto sat and stared, gaping at the black clad figure in front of him. The clock ticked, the five minute mark has passed, but Naruto still sat and stared.
"What-" Naruto swallowed, finding that there is now a big lump stuck within his throat, "What did you just say? Because I must have been mistaken, surely you couldn't have said-"
"We are going to Konoha, tomorrow." Gaara stated plainly, as though there was nothing wrong in doing so.
Naruto gaped at Gaara in disbelief, and then asked, "Why?"
"I have a mission there."
Naruto's face flushed with fury, staining his whiskered cheeks a scarlet red. "Why can't you go yourself then?"
"Tsunade wants to see you."
The face of the flaxen ninja suddenly paled, as his cobalt eyes widened with astonishment and understanding. Tsunade was the only one who knew the truth about why Naruto has left Konoha, as an excuse to not stay within Konoha; she made him do several assignments outside of Konoha. Thanks to her, his friends do not know of what happened between him and Sasuke. Thanks to her, he did not have to return to Konoha to witness the thing that would surely crush his heart into a bloody pulp. Thanks to her, he did not have to suffer through Sakura and Sasuke's wedding.
He took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly, "I see." Naruto walked towards the kitchen table of their small apartment room and made himself a drink with shaking hands. "Will he be there?"
Gaara's jade eyes hardened with Naruto's mention of the sharingan shinobi. "No, he won't be there, I made sure of it. Tsunade sent him on a two week mission yesterday."
Naruto gave Gaara a watery smile, "Thank you."
The emerald eyes softened with the smile and Gaara gave Naruto a hint of a smile back. Something very rare from Gaara, one only Naruto would ever see. Gaara held his arms out, "Come here."
Like a child, Naruto ran into Gaara's arms and cuddled up close. Perhaps, I can get over Sasuke. It's only a matter of time, he thought. Naruto looked up into the Sand Ninja and pecked him on the lips. 'We'll only be staying until you finish your mission right?"
The redhead twisted the curl by Naruto's neck, the one Sasuke used to twirl around his finger. "Yeah." He answered.
"Good, I can then visit my friends for a bit." Naruto yawned, "It's been so long."
The larger boy warmly gazed down upon the now sleeping figure in his arms. Savouring the feel of the blond bundle within his arms for a few more moments, then he carried Naruto to the bedroom and watched as the boy slept.
The rosy fingers of dawn crept up the rolling hills of the Konoha Border. Two figures were there sprinting furiously, swiftly leaping from tree to tree, towards the Konoha centre. Too fast for the naked eye to spot, the only thing possible to see were two blurs of crimson red and golden yellow.
Once they reached the centre, Naruto and Gaara stopped. Both not the least tired and did not break a single drop of sweat despite the rough terrains that they ran through. Naruto pecked Gaara on the cheek and turned to enter the Hokage's tower, while Gaara went to complete his mission.
As Naruto stepped into the entrance, several people openly stared and gaped at him. Whispers about him were passed on from ninja to ninja.
Naruto was back.
The Kyubi strolled down the corridor and into Tsunade's office, only to be greeted with a big bear hug by the woman. After a few moments, the bone crushing hug of Tsunade finally loosened, and Naruto quickly took this opportunity to escape.
Gasping for air, and face flushed scarlet, Naruto pointed a shaking finger at the current Hokage, "Are you trying kill me!" He took in a deep breath, and glared at the voluptuous woman before him.
Tsunade crossed her arms and huffed, "Sorry then. I guess that's what I get for missing a brat."
Sapphire eyes softened into a hazy blue, "I missed you too, Auntie Tsunade." He stressed the name which he once used as a childish insult, but now used as a loving nickname.
Tsunade elbowed him in the stomach and chuckled, "Don't call me that," She reprimanded lightly, and looked up at the young ninja. "You look good Naruto."
He did.
The juvenile round face he once had hardened into rough angles, his three whiskers on each cheek as prominent as ever, all rested slightly under his eyes. His messy mop of blond hair was now more controlled, yet it remained as vivid of a colour as the sun itself. Although draped in a midnight blue fabric, one cannot deny the fact that there stands an athletic body behind the folds. Naruto has grown from a boy, into a man.
His mind wandered as he strolled down the dusty streets in which many memories, both good and bad, were made. By the time he snapped out of his reverie, he was standing there. In the middle of the tiny dell where obsidian eyes always looked at him with tenderness.
Naruto heard a faint rustle behind him and he turned around, seeing the very person he dreaded to meet.
Ehehehe…I guess. This chapter is a bit…late? Better late than never I guess.
But this chapter is long-ish. So be grateful for that? Yeah I know, not a very exciting chapter hm? It's get better. I promise. XD
Oh, and someone flamed me and said that I was "sick." When I clearly stated in the summary that there was homosexual pairings. So, yeah. Used the flame to roast s'mores.
You know the drill. Read and review!
Hitaki
PS: If anyone is wondering where my disclaimer is. It's on my author's page. So don't sue.