Disclaimer: The world and the characters of Naruto do not belong me.
Warnings: Shounen Ai and slight angst.
Pairings:Genma/Raidou
Genre: Romance, Angst.
Comments: Just a short work of fiction on faith and belief. Dedicated to all those who have encouraged and supported all my efforts at writing so far. Thank you!
Faith
Genma was gone. At least, that's what everyone was saying. He wasn't coming back, not ever, they said.
Raidou didn't believe them. He refused to. If he gave up on Genma now, then there was no chance that he would ever come back. Somewhere out there, Genma was fighting in any way that he could to get back to those who were waiting for him. Raidou was the only one left now.
And Raidou would wait, for as long as it took for his best friend, his childhood companion and his love to come home.
They hadn't been together for long. In fact, they'd only become lovers four days before the mission had been assigned. After years of steadfast and unshakable friendship, they had found the courage to take that next step.
Genma was Raidou's gravity, his centre and without him he was spinning wildly off course, uncontrollable and chaotic, whirling hectic and confused through the days as he waited for his return.
Yes, he was a terrible mess, and the only way to fix him was to have Genma at his side again.
He didn't care that he had become obsessed, he didn't care that others said he had gone made with his grief. He'd wait for as long as he had to. Genma was coming back.
What had been a week long mission turned into two weeks, then three, then a month.
Raidou refused to cry. He refused to attend the small memorial service his friends had held for him. He refused to take the comfort their friends had offered and eventually they left him alone with his obsession.
Genma was not gone. He had not left him alone.
And so he waited. Aching inside. Alone with his thoughts and memories. He picked at the shards of the past and examined each one closely when he was alone at night. Just to pass the long hours spent sitting in the dark. Raidou remembered their childhood days, when they had played ninja tag with their other friends in the forest, laughing and shouting in the dappled sunlight.
He remembered swimming in the river on hot, endless summer days. The vows of friendship given and accepted, the bonds tied tighter with each passing day. The bonds that held them together never weakened as they had grown up. They'd celebrated together when they had each graduated separately, and when they'd began those lowly D-rank missions.
As they'd gotten older, those small innocent celebrations had turned into gatherings where warm sake and tales were shared, where loses were mourned then put aside, reserved for later introspection when alone.
Raidou remembered the years of ignored and hidden lust, and later on, love. The special intimate moments shared between best friends, even when they hadn't been lovers.
Raidou remembered their first kiss, uncertain and hesitant to begin with, and then deep, passionate and hungry as years of suppressed longing was released and recognised by the other.
Yes, he remembered. As he lay in bed, awake on those lonely cold nights, he remembered that handsome, charming face, the sleep silky hair blowing gently in the warm summer wind with that stupid senbon stuck carelessly between sensuous lips.
As he stole scrolls, fought bloody battles and carried out assassinations he fought for that undying flame of hope, and those vivid, rich memories which were worth more than any gold in the world.
One day, his world stopped spinning.
Waiting for him, in the hospital room he'd been summoned to was the man he had seen only in memories for the past month. He looked exhausted, and anxious, wounded, but not seriously.
For a moment he just stood there and stared, ignoring the smirking Hokage, ignoring the rest of their friends. All he could see was the relieved smile on Genma's haggard face. That same old smile with was more familiar than his own. And that stupid smile which held a world of promises.
No word was spoken between them.
All Raidou knew was that he was in the arms of the one he loved. He breathed in the smell of sweat and blood and other unpleasant odours which he couldn't name, and there it was. The unique scent of Genma, a sweet concoction of sandalwood, and freshly cut grass. The scent told him that this wasn't a dream. It was real. He buried his head in Genma's chest and clutched him tightly.
There were no tears. He'd known Genma would return. It was an unspoken agreement between them.
They would always return home to one another. Because the other would always be waiting.