Teaser. Huge teaser. But you're gonna love it.
Promises Not Made are Promises Never Kept
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Broken Doors
"I'm afraid, Haku."
He raised his eyes and looked over at the other, who had his arms wrapped around himself as he stared at the water. He smiled warmly and padded over to him to sit down and take his hand.
"Of what, dearheart?"
His companion's eyes were dark and troubled as he stared down at the water.
"Whenever I look in the water, I see two different faces," he stated simply. "Mine and someone else's. And I don't recognize him."
Haku blinked in curiosity before reaching up to run his fingers through the other's hair. Oh, how much he loved this little person next to him.
"Well, what does he look like?" He asked lightheartedly. "Does he look friendly?"
"He doesn't… he doesn't look like anything," his partner admitted after a moment, and Haku knew that this realization only succeeded in disturbing the other even more deeply. "I can't really see his face. I know it's there. It looks like it's a human face, but the water is always rippling. It never clears long enough to let me really see."
Haku leaned forward so that he could see into the water as well so that he could maybe get a look too, and smiled.
"Silly goose, I only see your face," he replied before looking back to the person next to him. The smile still on his lips, he reached out and touched the corner of his companion's lips softly. "And it looks like someone needs a happy thought!"
His partner, companion, friend, dearheart thought about this for a moment as he gazed at Haku. Then, he smiled.
"Haku," he stated simply as they sat there together in the sun. "You are my happy thought."
"Haku?"
Wearily, he opened his eyes and looked up to see dark black eyes gazing down at him. He managed a weak smile.
"Sasuke?" He breathed as the other lifted the older male's hand to his cheek and touched them together softly. Haku's smile widened the littlest bit. "Sasuke, I was dreaming about you."
"For almost two weeks? Haku, you might want to get that checked out," the Terranova replied with a soft smile. "You've been asleep for thirteen days. Almost fourteen."
"Straight?" Haku replied disbelievingly, his voice still hoarse. "My wounds weren't that bad, were they?"
Sasuke shifted a little bit before shrugging.
"No, they weren't," he admitted as he looked away. "The medics… weren't entirely sure why you were still asleep. They weren't even sure if you would wake up." Slowly, he shifted and lay beside Haku on top of the covers, resting his head on the older male's chest. "I… I was so scared."
Gazing up at the ceiling, Haku raised a hand and began to run his fingers through Sasuke's hair.
"I'm sorry I worried you," he breathed, making Sasuke's shoulders tense up as his fingers curled tightly around the blanket. "I promise, if I had known I was asleep, I would've done everything I could to wake up."
This brought a smile to the younger boy's face.
"I know," he replied softly, snuggling up into the other. "I know."
"How are Inaré and Zabuza?" Haku asked as they lay there. "Are they both okay?"
"Inaré woke up a couple of days ago. She's busy doing physical therapy right now. Zabuza is with her to make sure she doesn't overdo herself. You know how she is."
Haku smiled as he remembered very, very clearly.
"Yes, I do," he murmured fondly as he allowed himself to smell Sasuke's hair. It was like crisp rain followed by a lovely cool breeze. "Where are Moira and Dagina?"
"With Zabuza and Inaré," Sasuke's voice was very, very soft. Then after a moment, he continued. "Haku. Please don't… ever do that to me again, okay? The idea… that I might've had to walk out of this village without you… was terrifying. It scared me in ways that… I didn't know I could be scared in anymore. I would've gone crazy soon if you hadn't woken up."
Haku closed his eyes and sighed quietly, reaching up to weakly wrap his arms around Sasuke in a hug.
"It's okay," he cooed into the other's hair. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. Hush…"
They were silent for a very, very long time – simply basking in each other – before Sasuke spoke again.
"Haku?"
"Yes?"
"You mean more than life to me."
Haku could only smile as he tightened his grip.
"Thank you, dearheart."
You're my happy place too.
"Oh, man. I gotta tell ya, I wasn't expecting that."
There was a giggle, and she tossed her hair back over her shoulder as she pushed herself into a sitting position atop him, straddling his hips.
"I was in bed for eleven days, not in a fucking wheelchair," she quipped in amusement as he reached up to touch her, raising an eyebrow at him. "What did you think was going to happen?" She leaned down and began to softly kiss his neck. "Personally, I wasn't expecting you to leave Haku's side, now that he's awake."
Sasuke gazed up at the ceiling in thought, thinking about what she had just said before his eyes went back to her as she straightened back up, rocking her hips back and forth playfully on top of him.
"I don't know why I did either," he breathed after a moment, making her cock her head at him. "He's fine. He's alive. But for some reason…" he took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. "My heart still hurts. It's like he's still asleep and nobody knows why."
"Me thinks you haven't quite overcome the shock yet," she explained, taking his hands in hers and placing them upon her shoulders. Immediately, they skated down her skin and slid beneath her bare breasts. She smiled at him, rubbing his chest reassuringly. "Give it a couple of days. You're gonna wake up with a gasp and then you're going to feel so relieved because then it'll have finally sunk in." Not too reassured, Sasuke gave a noncommittal sound but didn't say anything else. She gazed at him for a moment, and then pouted. "Sasuke?"
His eyes went back to her.
"Yes?"
Her voice was quiet.
"Were you ever worried about me?"
He rolled his eyes at her, twisting his hips and making her collapse next to him on the bed.
"Of course I was. You were bleeding out in my arms. How could I not have? It was like I was bleeding out there." Reaching up, he softly touched her face as she gazed at him. "But… I knew you would pull through it. The doctors patched you up and transfused blood and plugged up all the… unnatural holes-" at this she giggled and pushed at him softly. "-and then all you needed to do was rest and heal. When you were right and ready you would wake up. But with Haku…" he shrugged. "Nobody knew why he wouldn't wake up. It was the mystery that scared me the most, I guess. That nobody could figure out why. But of course I was worried." Pressing their foreheads together, he pulled her forward so that she was pressed flush against him, their legs tangled up in each other as they gazed at each other. "After all, my heart will always have room for you."
She smiled at him.
"Oh, you smooth talker," she murmured luxuriously at him with a naughty smile, making him laugh as one of her hands snaked around the back of his neck as they both giggled. "Do you think we have enough time for seconds before we meet with Zabuza for lunch?"
"Oh, I'm sure we'll figure something out."
Kakashi sat at his table after training, staring at his dinner but making no move to eat it.
What was it? What was it about Sasuke's tenant that infuriated him but yet fascinated him so much? It was like he was a six-year-old boy at recess that just couldn't understand the fact that he liked the stupid little blonde girl in his class so he threw dirt on her dress and mercilessly tugged at her pigtails instead when all he really wanted to do was just hold her hand on the swings until the bell rang.
Obsession has never been a healthy thing for you, Kakashi…
The answer was there. He knew he had it and he knew he knew the answer, but it was so just beyond the tips of his fingers that he wanted to yank his hair out and stab his eyes out and poke holes in the desk with a fork and bite his nails and do all of those other things that sane people do when a problem drives them completely and absolutely batshit INSANE-
Where? Where do I know this? The pieces are all there, Kakashi, you just have to fucking put them together…
"But how?" He growled to himself. "How do they fit? How can I put them together?" Angrily, he took his plate and threw it at the opposite wall. "GODDAMMIT!"
He expected to hear the resulting smash of china and clatter of utensils, but the secondary flump! that came after made him pause, confused. Turning, he looked over to see what had fallen.
The plate had hit the bookshelf in his living room, and among the pieces on the hardwood floor and floppy remains of a perfectly good cheese-steak sandwich a book poked out from behind the bookcase, between the piece of furniture and the wall.
Curious, he pushed himself up out of his chair and walked over, kneeling down to get a better look.
Completely ignoring the sandwich, he reached out and took the book in his hands. It was a tiny, dusty little thing with a dark blue cover and simple gold lettering for the title, the sides of the pages stained yellow with age and layered in dust. No pictures, no author, no grandeur. Just a simple little book that only wanted to do its job: tell a story.
Gods, how long had this book been caught behind the bookcase? Kakashi weighed it in his hands for a moment before turning it over in his palm. How long had it been? Ten years? Twenty years? Since he was a baby? He didn't even remember owning something that looked like this. With a thumb, he wiped away the dust so he could see the title.
His eyes widened.
"…the Landslayer…!" he breathed in shock as he stared at it, unable to believe the very words coming out of his mouth. His heart pounding in his ears, he looked up and clenched the book in his hands as he finally, finally realized- "That's IT!"
Turning on a heel, he dashed out of his apartment.
End Chapter Twenty-Nine: Broken Doors
AHAHAHAHA COCK TEEEEEEEASE
You should let me know how cold of a shower you need to go take now. :3
Much love!
DDB
