Okay, this is a landmark. YAY! The twentieth chapter of Konoha Hearts, and by far the quickets-moving and yet sort of saddest. I hope you all enjoy it. Once again, props to Three Days Grace, linkin park, and The All-American Rejects
Nicola
Kaede and Miki reached the huge doors that would swing open into the main hall of the Hokage temple, barely breathing hard as their run was momentarily halted. Kaede stared up at the doors, reached out in front of her, and shoved. With a loud creak, the doors slowly swung away from the frame, revealing the once-intricately designed hall where the Kage chair sat, pressed against a wall, overlooking the entire area.
Without a moment's hesitation, Kaede sprinted inside, feeling hatred course through her veins at the sight of the disaster that her temple had become. The hall was not designed in bright, strong colors, but dulled to gray-ish tones, the Sound symbol displayed everywhere. She could just feel Orochimaru's presence in the hall, and clenched her fists, already imagining smearing his blood on the marble floor.
She knew exactly where she was going—she'd traveled these hallways enough times to be able to do it with her eyes closed. Down the hallway on the side of the front room, up the spiraling staircase, down another hall. She counted the doors on each side until she rounded a corner and she and Miki came in view of the Kage's office.
But the closer they seemed to walk to the doors, the farther they seemed to get, and Miki was the first to react to the realization that they were trapped in a genjutsu. The Hyuga made a chakra sign, declared, "Release!" and the genjutsu broke. They were still in the main hall of the Hokage temple, but Kaede knew the genjutsu was only part of the normal defenses placed on the area to protect the temple at all costs. Why she hadn't remembered it before getting caught in it, she didn't know, but whatever. They were in.
It was then that she heard a soft, quiet, antagonizing laugh coming from beside the Hokage's chair. She glared into the shadows, recognizing the voice, and said, "Come on out, Kabuto."
The gray-haired Sound loyal stepped out from the shadow cast by the chair in the low light that was available in the main hall. Kaede moved immediately into a defensive position, knowing that Kabuto was not one to be reckoned with nicely. But before she could rush at him with the speed her Taijutsu provided her, Miki had stepped forward, her Byakugan once again on.
"I'll handle him, Kaede," she said in low, angry tones. "You go on ahead." Judging by the sound of Miki's voice, Kaede could tell that her friend was not fooling around, and immediately took off towards the hallway entrance at the same moment Miki began attacking Kabuto with her Juriken.
He's probably let everyone else know that we're here, too. Damn it, now the other attacks have an even lesser chance of working. Kaede's mind was whirring around at top speeds, rethinking the plan that she'd been told. She was to get upstairs to the Hokage office as quickly as possible, not let anyone interfere, keep out of sight. But now that Kabuto had seen them, and most likely set off the alert, she had no chance of being any more out of the sight than she already was.
She heard footsteps coming from the opposite direction, and made a chakra sign, disguising herself as a Sound ninja. The Sound shinobi dashing down the hallway gave her a strange look, as if wondering why she was heading that way when she should be going to other way, but kept on running, and the moment they were out of sight she dropped the disguise and increased her pace. She was getting close to the staircase, she could see it. If only she wouldn't get interrupted and forced to fight before she could get to Orochimaru…
And Sasuke needed to be told about the situation. He was, after all, on their side, and was participating in the fight. Hopefully, at least. She did not know if he would switch loyalties from Konoha back to the Sound, or if he'd warned the Sound about the attack and betrayed the trust he'd instilled in them all.
She cracked her neck, thinking that if he had betrayed them, betrayed Konoha, she would personally see to it that he died, but not after tasting a bit of the pain he would have caused them.
She reached the staircase just as a loud crashing bang echoed through the temple, and she closed her eyes, hoping it was another small victory by Konoha, not the Sound. She murmured a silent prayer for her comrades before leaping up the stairs, taking them two at a time. It was time to get this party started.
Up in the Kage office, Orochimaru sat with his chin propped on his palms, facing the young Uchiha man in front of him. Sasuke stood with a slight lift to his head, exuding superiority even towards the white-faced creep watching him. He stared evenly into Orochimaru's snake-like eyes, waiting for the man to say something.
He could hear the beginnings of the battle below, felt the building shake as someone caused massive damage. He would bet it was either Tsunade punching down the walls to get to those threatening her, or Kimimaro setting out his jutsu, Dance of the Seedling Ferns. He could just imagine the bone spikes jutting out of the ground and plunging high into the air, stabbing through anyone who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and who lacked the necessary speed and agility to escape. The few times that Kimimaro had been pushed to using that jutsu on Sasuke, the Uchiha had gotten away scot-free, and was rewarded for it with a few days of freedom.
"Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said finally, his eyes never breaking Sasuke's gaze. "I want you to find the second Konoha ninja who infiltrated my and kill them. No, bring them to me. I wish to see them suffer under my own hands." Sasuke could see the fury building up in the snake Sannin, and nodded, turning on his heel to leave. Orochimaru's call stopped him.
"Yes?" he asked, eager to get down and find out what was going on, and if Miki or Kaede had stayed behind to fight Kabuto. He prayed that it were Kaede; he would have an easier time of fighting Miki than he would the determined ex-Hokage.
"Make sure you have your loyalties in the correct place, Sasuke-kun. You wouldn't want something to go terribly wrong for you." And, with that warning, Orochimaru laughed that maniacal laugh of his, and Sasuke suppressed the urge to shudder viciously.
He kept walking, through the door, and down the hallway that would lead to the staircase. If it was Kaede waiting for him, he knew what he had to do. He would not let Orochimaru hurt her.
Kaede reached the top of the stairs, panting slightly from the sheer exhilaration pumping adrenaline through her body. Orochimaru was so close, she could taste it, just down the hallway. She had been waiting for this moment for years, waiting to see Orochimaru's shocked face when he realized he had failed the kill her. She'd been waiting to take him by the neck, tell him just what she thought of him, and snap his collarbone in two.
She shivered with excitement at the very thought and pushed the door at the top of the stairs open. She stepped through the threshold, closed the door behind her, and looked up, finding herself suddenly face-to-face with Uchiha Sasuke.
A gasp escaped her mouth before she could stop it and she mentally kicked herself for that small sign of weakness. Sasuke smirked, one of his irritating smiles that she just couldn't stand, and she got into stance. She knew what his orders probably were, to give her a fight but not finish her off, save her for Orochimaru to torture.
"Well, let's get this over with, Uchiha," she said, straightening her headband and blowing a strand of hair out of her face. When he didn't make a move towards her, she stared at him in confusion. "What's the matter? Why aren't you attacking me? Didn't your master tell you to fight for him?" She was trying to taunt him, but for some reason her comments didn't seem to affect him much. He was staring at her face, his black eyes boring into her hazel ones.
It was almost as if he were contemplating something. Was he having second thoughts about joining Konoha?
But then, for the briefest of moments, time around them almost stopped. For that small millisecond in time, the expression of utmost love flashed over Sasuke's eyes, and Kaede couldn't stop staring in them, knowing the same look was freely showing on her face. And then…it was gone. The love was gone, and Sasuke was rushing at her, drawing out his sword.
She was barely able to block his furious and sudden attack, still stunned by what she'd seen in his eyes. She blocked or dodged everything he threw at her, and hardly noticed that his Sharingan was not activated. His eyes were still black, and they were purposefully avoiding hers. Using a kunai, she pushed back against the sword trying to slice off her arm. Why was he attacking so quickly and with so much hatred in his movements? Did she do something? Was it her comments that had egged him on, and why had she seen him looking at her in such a way?
"Sasuke, why are you doing this?!" Kaede managed to grunt out, still pressing against the sword. For using only one hand, Sasuke was extremely strong, and she did not know how much longer she could hold out against him like this. She'd never seen him fight with such precision and determination, not even against Naruto. What had gotten into him?
He pushed harder, adding his other hand to the hilt of the sword.
"Just let go, Kaede," he hissed, voice as calm and monotonous as ever. "You can't keep on like this. Just stop and it'll all be over."
"No!" With a burst of energy she hadn't known she'd possessed, she shoved Sasuke backwards down the hallway. He skidded but managed to stay on his feet, looking slightly surprised at her strength. She rushed at him, momentarily disappearing and appearing right in front of him, pressing a well-aimed fist into his jaw. He was sent backwards and crashed into the wall.
Kaede came at him again, refusing to let him get the upper hand again. She knocked his face sideways with the handle of her kunai, kicking him in the stomach at the same time and punching him in the jaw again. He slammed up against the wall, and she continued to pound him there, knowing just where his weak spots were.
She jumped back, finally satisfied with having bruised him up pretty good, and landed right on the outstretched let of the same Uchiha she thought she'd just beaten. His foot connected sharply with her back, sending her forward with a sickening jolt. She felt her back crack under the pressure and landed on her hands and knees, rolling over several times before coming to a stop.
Not even waiting to gain back the breath that had been knocked out of her, Kaede was up on her feet again and charging at Sasuke with eyes screaming her intent to kill. They met in a match of Taijutsu moves, punching and kicking and blocking and dodging with the great skills they both possessed. He aimed at her shoulder, she knocked it away and went for his stomach; he caught her knee and she side-kicked him to that he would release him; she tried to jab him in one of his pressure points, he caught her hand and twisted it around.
She leapt away from him again, trying to regain her composure before launching any more attacks on him. He was standing a distance from her, none the worse for wear, watching her with a mixture of emotions on her face. Not having the time to decipher those emotions, Kaede whipped out three kunai, throwing them out at the Uchiha. He blocked all three of them easy, but did not expect the three shadowed beneath them. He was only just able to stop them before she plunged at him, fist reared back. She let out a might yell, and her fist slammed into the side of his face.
The bones cracked and shattered under the force of her punch, she felt it. He flew backwards and hit the door to the Hokage's office, his head banging back against it. She rushed at him again, already planning on using him to bust through the heavy wooden doors that Orochimaru was hiding behind. The damn coward.
But then Sasuke wasn't there. Kaede stopped her mad dash and glanced cautiously around her. There was no sign of the Uchiha, except for the slight crack he'd made in the wood after flying into it.
And then, he was in front of her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a kiss she did not want. She struggled back, pushing against his chest and trying to get away from him. But in another second, she found herself falling into the kiss like she did every time, kissing him back and draping her arms around his neck. She did not feel him move his hand and draw his sword. She did not sense him raise it above her, nor did she notice that it was coming down at her fast.
The only thing she knew was that the kiss had ended, and Sasuke was flying down the hallway for the third time, his sword clattering to the ground.
Standing behind her, with his eyes set down in an angry scowl, was Naruto, watching as Neji padded down the hall after Sasuke. Kaede looked at the Hokage in confusion, but he shook his head and grabbed her shoulder roughly. They began walking rather calmly towards the two mahogany doors, Naruto's hand still on her shoulder, steering her.
She was in sort of a daze as they walked slowly down the hallway, almost mesmerized by the double doors she'd passed through so often. She knew the office inside like the back of her hand, with its wall of windows, wall of shelves filled with books and scrolls, comfy chairs and big wooden desk sitting right in the middle of it all. She'd always kept her desk neat and orderly, except for the week of her anniversary, the week that really mattered the most.
Walking down the hallway, she realized that it could just be a normal day, striding along with Miki at her side, laughing and cutting up as always, heading towards the office to do a bit of work and sign some scrolls. She could be coming back from a good sparring match, or a long stay on the roof, thinking things over.
But she wasn't.
She was in the middle of a war, walking down with Naruto to the Hokage's office to run the man who had taken the village over out and bring peace back to once used to be a humble place to live. She was walking to what might be her own death, or the death of her friends. She was leaving behind a quarreling Sasuke and Neji, who would probably fight to the death themselves. She worried that Sasuke might be killed, and was surprised to find that she held no feelings on the subject of Neji dying.
Naruto pushed the door open, Kaede next to him, standing as his guard, though Orochimaru might see it as the exact opposite. Either way, it was the Hokage of Konoha coming to see him accompanied by a protector. Kaede matched Naruto's pace as they approached the desk that Orochimaru sat behind, surveying them over his hands.
In a fury, Naruto grabbed the edge of the desk and shoved it to the side, the red eyes of the demon gleaming where his blue ones normally would've been. The desk skidded across the floor and smashed into the window, teetering precariously on the ledge. Orochimaru sat up immediately, startled and angry. Kaede moved automatically a little ways in front of Naruto, reached up to her face, and pulled her hair out of it.
The reaction from Orochimaru was instantaneous; he gasped and stepped backwards, knocking his chair out of the way and clenching his hands into fists. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
"How can you be alive?" he snarled, and Naruto braced himself. "I watched you die! I killed you! I dropped you off of the roof of this very building! You are dead, I saw it!"
Kaede found herself laughing haughtily, and was taken aback by it. "No, Orochimaru, you didn't kill me. I'm here, aren't I? Alive and well."
"B-but…no, the Hokage of the Leaf Village is dead!" Orochimaru just didn't want to accept it, it seemed, and Kaede rolled her eyes.
"Orochimaru, stop being stupid. The Hokage is alive and well. In fact, the Hokage is in this very room."
"Yes, I am Hokage!" Orochimaru announced, laughing maniacally as his snake tongue flicked out and licked the corners of his mouth. "And there is nothing you can do about it! As of right now, Kimimaro is taking care of all your troops outside, and Kabuto has probably already apprehended the Hyuga girl. You have no chance of making it out of this office alive." This seemed to please him even more, and he threw his head back and laughed loudly, his insane giggles echoing off the walls.
Naruto chuckled, too, and Orochimaru glared at him, not enjoying his celebration being interrupted by a dumb Konoha ninja.
"Yes, Orochimaru, I don't' think I'll be leaving this office for a long time," Naruto said, smiling. "Seeing as I am the Hokage of the Leaf Village."
This started the fight.
It was Kaede and Naruto versus Orochimaru, two Sannin-level ninja from the Leaf village against the Sannin that had created the Sound, fighting for the village they both claimed to own. Kaede threw her best Taijutsu moves at Orochimaru, who blocked and dodged them with ease. Naruto used his Shadow Clones to distract him while Kaede punched him in the back of the head. The shadow clones returned the stand next to Naruto, who Kaede saw focusing his chakra into his two hands. With the assistance of the clones, he began building up a Rasengan in each hand, simultaneously having three of his other clones do the same thing, one Rasengan ball per clone.
Kaede chose this time to distract Orochimaru from Naruto. It was almost too late—the Sannin was about to turn his head and see. Kaede flung herself at the wretched man, tackling him to the ground and punching him as fast as she could. She kept one eye, her good eye, on Naruto to make sure he was still going, and that no one had interrupted him. Orochimaru grabbed her throat, but she kept her body in front of him, blocking his sight. Her curse seal burned under his touch, and she fought back the screams threatening to come out. She needed to keep going, no matter what pain she was in.
She heard a crash and a scream from down the hallway, and hoped that her friends were alright. She grabbed onto Orochimaru's wrist, clenching it in her strong hands and crushing the bone. He cried out, dropped her, and the moment she went to stand back up, snakes wrapped around her, emitting from Orochimaru's sleeved arm. They twisted around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides, and squeezed. She felt them constricting her airway and felt her bones grinding against each other.
By now, she was running out of oomph. The adrenaline rush from earlier had begun to dwindle during her fight with Sasuke, and now, struggling in Orochimaru's snakes, she felt her chakra coming down to its last.
She hadn't thought it would end like this, not so easily, not after such a quick fight that she'd needed assistance in. She'd imagined it going down to the very last, she and Orochimaru both running out of chakra and resolve, to the last move they both would make. Not with Orochimaru crushing her to death, still retaining massive amounts of fight while she fought to stay conscious. If only she could reach her little pouch holding her chakra pills…
"Hrrrruuuuaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!"
Naruto's battle cry reached her ears coming from multiple directions, and she hardly heard Orochimaru's screams as the Rasengan hit him from all sides. Kaede felt the snakes slip off of her as Orochimaru was flung into the air, then out the window. She and Naruto both rushed over to the window to see him crashing down onto the hard earth below. His mangled body lay there, twisted in an odd position, and then…it faded.
Kaede gasped, and Naruto had to restrain her from jumping out the window herself. The man that had been flung out of the window was not Orochimaru, but a simple civilian used as a shadow clone, controlled unwillingly by the snake Sannin. Kaede knew this jutsu—whenever the man begged for them to stop, some snide comment would come out of his mouth instead, or a jutsu, and his cries would be lost. He wouldn't have understood why they didn't stop attacking him, nor why he was fighting back. He would merely be forced to do whatever Orochimaru pleased him to.
"It was Orochimaru," Kaede gasped, popping a chakra pill into her mouth, "in the beginning. I should've seen it and recognized what he was doing. Right when he grabbed onto my throat, I jerked my head and he saw you building up your Rasengan. And that's when he did it. I don't know where he found the man to do it, but he did, and he got away."
"But doesn't that mean he left the village?" Naruto said, staring down at the man they'd believed to be Orochimaru. "And that would mean his solemn vow to protect it would be broken. He has given up, in other words."
Kaede felt a grin spread across her face for the first time that day, and she looked up at Naruto's stone face. "Does that mean we have Konoha back?"
"We'll have to see," he whispered, and took off out the two double doors again. Kaede shot after him, feeling a new, unexpected burst of energy. Was this really it? Had it really been all that easy, to fight back and have Orochimaru run? Please, please let it be true!
Kaede and Naruto found, as they ran down the hallway, several of the Konoha ninja, both injured and unharmed. But, to their glee, they saw more and more fallen Sound shinobi. Kaede caught glimpses of Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai (whom she hadn't even known was still alive), a few other Konoha ninja she recognized, and Jiraiya. They pounded down the stairs, and into the bottom floor hallway. There Tsunade was punching the last of the Sound ninja into the wall, cracking it in several places. She waved to them as they passed, and Kaede searched frantically for Miki in the main hall. She saw her friend bleeding from the mouth and a wound on her head, but alive. The Hyuga managed a small smile as Kaede passed, and Kaede knelt for a word.
They embraced.
"Are you alright? Did Kabuto hurt you too bad?" Kaede asked, worried. Miki chuckled weakly and scooted up into a better sitting position instead of slumping on the wall.
"Yeah, I'm fine. And if you're looking for Kabuto, he's over there," she pointed, and Kaede could barely make out the figure of the young medical ninja in a rather large crater in the wall.
"Tsunade?"
"Tsunade."
They laughed, and Kaede stood up. "I think we've won, Miki."
"Hey, Kaede, you were right," Miki said as Kaede started to move after Naruto. "I did feel it when we got here. I knew we were going to win."
Kaede smiled, her heart warming, and took off after the Hokage. She'd barely caught up to him when she saw Shikamaru tending to a small wound on his arm. He lifted his hand in a lazy wave, and she grinned back. A few feet away from Shikamaru was Sakura, helping the wounded Konoha shinobi. Her hands glowed with chakra, and she looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps, her green eyes hopeful.
Sakura's eyes caught Naruto's, and she jumped up from the ninja she was healing, dashed over to him, and flung her arms around his neck, obviously sobbing. Kaede watched the little reunion with a small bit of envy, until her gaze moved to the bone spikes jutting out of the ground.
Kimimaro was not in sight anywhere, no matter how hard she looked. She'd known about his long battle with leukemia, and his loyalty to Orochimaru that went as far as putting his life on the line. She wondered if this had finally ended it for the brave ninja.
"Kaede!"
Turning her head, Kaede looked to see who had called her name, and cried out in joy. Walking over to her, his deep red robes flying around him, the Kazekage smiled. She ran at him, pulling him into a hug the moment she reached him. Gaara hugged her back tightly, picking her up and twirling her around. She laughed as he set her back on her feet and she stared up into those green-blue eyes.
"You're okay," he said softly, brushing her hair back. She smiled at his touch.
"Yes, and so are you. I didn't expect you to come and fight."
Gaara looked insulted. "So you thought that I would not have come out and risked my own life to protect my village and yours? You must remember, I am Kazekage."
"Sorry," she mumbled, ashamed. "I didn't mean to imply…"
Gaara chuckled, and she looked up, aghast. Did he just laugh? "Don't worry, I was joking. And apparently I was pretty convincing."
Kaede managed a small smile back, still a little shocked, and asked, "Were you the one who finished of Kimimaro?"
Gaara frowned. "Not necessarily. The effects of his leukemia came with his bone spike right at the tip of my nose. He died of his own disease, I had nothing to do with it."
Nodding, Kaede took a step away from him. "I've got to head out and check on everyone else, okay?" Gaara smiled and waved her off, and she hurried over to where Naruto was waiting for her. Sakura had gone back to helping the ninja.
"I don't see any sign of Orochimaru coming back," he said as they jogged lightly out of the courtyard into the streets.
"Neither do I," she agreed, and they slowed to a walk. Naruto turned around and looked back at the Hokage temple. He sighed, and put an arm around her shoulder. They began to walk towards the building, where Naruto had an announcement for the village. Kaede knew what he was going to see, and it made her feel absolutely wonderful inside. This war was finally over, it seemed. Maybe her faraway wishes weren't so far away now.
That was when it occurred to her—she had not seen neither Neji or Sasuke on their way out of the temple. Where were they? What had happened to them? Oh, please, let them be alive!
Kaede shrugged out of Naruto's arm and ran at the temple, all thoughts centered on reaching the building and finding Sasuke. He couldn't have gone off with Orochimaru, no, that was impossible. He was on their side, he'd helped them take back the village. Even though he'd attacked her, she knew he would have a good reason for it !
She did not know how she made it back to the staircase, but she did, and she was pounding up it with everything she had. She made it to the top of the stairs, pushed open the door, and took a deep breath. The scene was the same as she remembered it, Konoha ninja milling about, Sound ninja lying lifeless on the ground.
But where was Sasuke?
She frantically ran up and down the hallway, trying to think of the last time she'd seen him. Neji had thrown him back, right near the corner to another hallway…She darted towards that turn in the long strip of carpeted hall, skidding along and pushing off the opposite wall as she turned.
And there they were.
Neji was standing next to Sasuke, who was bleeding lightly out of the corner of his mouth, but up and alive nonetheless. At the sound of her approach, Neji looked round, his eyes hopeful and inquiring.
"Downstairs, in the main hall. She's alive," Kaede answered his silent question, and Neji nodded, taking off for the stairs. Kaede watched him go for a moment, then turned to look back at Sasuke.
The Uchiha was wiping the blood off of his chin and rubbing his jaw where she knew he'd be bruised. She smiled sheepishly and took a step towards him. He took a step back. She stopped, insulted, and looked down at her feet. She shoved her hands in the pockets of the outfit he'd given her so many years ago and kicked at the carpet with her toe.
She didn't hear him approach her, but she felt him brush against her shoulder as he walked by, and she looked up. She watched him walk down the hallway and round the corner, and he stopped for a moment. The second that his eyes met hers she saw that same loving look in them, and then it was over, and he kept walking. She ran after him, a cry of "Sasuke!" on her lips, but he was already gone.
Naruto stood on the roof of the Hokage temple, the red and white Hokage hat on his head, billowing around his face. He was grinning from ear to ear as the citizens of Konoha cheered for him. Men, women, children of all ages thrust their fists into the air and shouted their joy. Kaede watched all this silently, standing just behind the Hokage with a smile on her face.
It was later that day, after the citizens had been let up from the underground into the first rays of sunshine they'd seen in five years. All of those who had remained in Konoha had rejoiced in their return and the victory. Families were back together, friends were embracing, and homes were starting to be restored.
"Today, the Village Hidden in the Leaves conquered over the shinobi from the Sound village! We have won back our home, and we will never let it go!"
Even louder cheers, if that were possible, erupted from the crowd as Naruto waved and punched the air. Kaede stepped backwards, turned, and walked back into the temple, feeling elated but still a little disappointed. She'd imagined after the fight, after Konoha had been won back, she and Sasuke just getting back together and starting all over. But apparently that was not the way it was meant to work out. She sighed heavily as she walked down the stairs towards the outside. Right now, all she wanted was to go home and crawl into the bed she hadn't slept in for years.
Her feet carried her the long way around the crowd, heading towards the Uchiha district. She wanted nothing more than the only real home she'd ever known. The streets were oddly empty, as everyone was at Naruto's speech giving. That made traveling to the abandoned Uchiha district easier, and when she reached the rusty gates, she pushed them open, already feeling better.
Once again, she noticed the similarity between all the houses and watched the Uchiha fans until she came to the one with the crack in it across from her home. She walked up the steps, kicked off her shoes, and pushed open the door. It was still extremely dusty, and she made a note to get to work cleaning it whenever she had a spare moment, for she planned to help rebuild the village.
No one else was there, as she expected, and she sat down on the old couch, putting her feet up and leaning back against the pillows. The surface was a little rough feeling from the thin layer of dust coating the fabric, and she brushed most of it off to make it more comfortable.
She nestled into the pillows, relishing the feel of being home on her own couch again. The cushions warmed almost immediately from her body, and she felt herself growing wearier and wearier, until her eyelids were so heavy….
Whoo! That was a load of writing and song-listening and procrastinating and backspacing and rewriting...well, you get it. Anyway, thank you for the suggestions on titles, I'm thinking on a few, next chapter I'll give em to you for you to choose. Of course, my personal opinion will play a part, too.
Luv ya, and review!
Nicola