AN: I don't own Naruto, and with that cleared I hope you all enjoy and like it so far, and if you find any errors etc, please tell me so I can fix them :)
.A.B.C.D.E.F.G.H.I.J.K.L.M.N.O.P.Q.R.S.T.V.W.X.Z.Å .Ä.Ö. ***
Naruto stretched out his body, yawned without opening his eyes and then crawled further back into bed again. He felt completely exhausted, he realized when he started to wake up, but it wasn't very surprising considering his horrible nightmares. How could he even imagine such awful people? The priest, his evil sister, and their unimaginable plans for him… Well, at least his fantasy had brought out Sasuke to rescue him. Sweet.
A sudden wave of cold nausea welled over him and formed a lump in his stomach as he became wide-awake and remembered the day before. Everything had been true, it hadn't been a nightmare.
"Sasuke!" Naruto scooted up against the pillows and looked around the room with large, frightened eyes, but it wasn't the shabby, dark room with barred windows. This was an airy, beautiful chamber with white curtains that softly billowed in front of an open window that had a vase filled with roses on the windowsill. The door opened and a smiling lady peeked in.
"Are you feeling well? I am Mrs. Gedding and this is my home. You are safe here." She stepped into the room and Naruto saw that she seemed like a sweet and reliable mother figure. He relaxed against the pillows as the panic left him. "My husband is a magistrate, and he and your man left to deal with those dreadful human beings," she said in a soothing voice.
"My man? Oh, you mean Sasuke? No, he isn't… I mean…" Naruto feared that he started to blush, and by the glitter in Mrs. Gedding's eyes, he knew he did. "He is a friend of the family," he added hastily, and realized in shock that he didn't have a clue to why Sasuke had showed up and saved him. How on earth could he have got there? It had felt so right, so perfect that the man he loved had saved him from that nightmare, that it hadn't even occurred to him to question the whole thing.
He remembered, as if the whole thing had happened a long time ago, his fulminant rage against his captors and Sasuke's calm way of handling Naruto's fear.
"Are they…? I mean the siblings, Orochimaru and Anko, are they…?" Naruto struggled to find the right words.
"They went to the prison in Peterborough last night," His hostess told him. "Two armed officers went with them in a locked carriage. They can't do any harm now, and they are going to stay there until a judge gets there. The colonel and my husband went back to the house to look for more evidence, and to see if they could arrange an ambush for Yakushi Kabuto, who you told the colonel about."
She smoothed the bedspread and looked at Naruto for a moment, her head tilted to one side like an inquisitive bird. "I can tell that it is the best for you to know everything that's going on. Some wouldn't want to know, others need to. You have a too vivid imagination to be protected by half-truths. The colonel told me how brave you were." She paused and gave him an encouraging smile. "Would you like to take a bath and eat some breakfast? Or is there something you would like to talk to me about?"
Naruto smiled. Without Sasuke's arms around him he couldn't feel more safe than with this straight-forward, kind lady. He absorbed the comment about Sasuke's opinion about him with warmth and pondered over her question.
"Not for the moment, thank you. I remember that I asked Sasuke why things like that could happen. That was the thing I just couldn't understand. Why. And how it could be that people like that existed. But he explained it all to me."
"Really?" Mrs. Gedding's eyebrows flew up in surprise. "He sure is a remarkable man if he could do that without skipping a heartbeat."
"I think that I can talk to Sasuke about anything," Naruto said, a little lost in thoughts, before he remembered what they had discussed and smiled weakly. "I think he would rather be at war than to answer my questions about that."
Mrs. Gedding answered the smile with one of her own. "So, a bath and then breakfast? I don't know what happened to your luggage, it's probably still at the siblings house. Even the most refined and brave men can forget such important stuff as clean clothes and a toothbrush in emergencies. But my youngest sons stuff is here. He is out of town for a while and doesn't mind lending you what you need."
Goth~Goth~Loli~Loli~.Goth~Goth~Loli~Loli~.Goth~Goth~Loli~Loli~Goth~Goth~Loli~Loli~ Goth~Goth~Loli~Loli~.Goth~Goth~Loli~Loli~
A long bath and some clean new clothes recovered Naruto's spirits and he seated himself at the breakfast-table, feeling starved.
"I'm sorry," he said when he realized that he had eaten all of the toasted bread, "But I have barely eaten anything since I left home, except for some meatloaf that made me sick."
"That's right, your home." Mrs. Gedding refilled her cup with tea. "The colonel has written to your parents and I have also left them a note. I left the letter open, if you wanted to add or write something yourself, so we can seal it and post it as soon as possible."
"Oh, thank you." Naruto bit his lower lip. He had meant to arrive at Haku and Zabusa two days ago, and send a reassuring letter to his family in London as soon as he arrived, without any information about his whereabouts, of course. "I should never have done this," Naruto said in remorse, and suddenly became aware of the anxiety he must have caused. "I was so miserable and confused. Can't even imagine what you must think about me."
"That you were very distressed, my dear Naruto, and that you didn't think straight," Mrs. Gedding easily pointed out. "We all do stupid and thoughtless stuff at least once in our lives. The colonel wrote in his letter about what happened, but of course not the worst parts. He wrote to your parents that he had to stay for another day or two until the evidence has been collected and you rested. I have promised your mother that I will take care of you and that we will find a good companion who you can travel home back to London with. All that remains for you to do is rest and recover your strength. But make sure to write your letter first."
"yes of course, Mrs. Gedding," Naruto answered, not wanting to flat out refuse straight to her face.
The letter was hard to write. At last he managed to write a few lines about that he was sorry and completely safe, and that Mrs. Gedding was very kind. But he couldn't force himself to apologize for running away before lord Sai came to propose. The ink got smudged out here and there from some tears, but he felt embarrassed about crying and didn't want to ask for more paper, and hoped that his mother would at least recognize the sincerity in those bloody tears.
His hostess ran all around the place with notes when she came with her own letter. When the letter had been sealed and sent off with one of their stablemen Naruto asked if he could help her out with anything.
"You can't just sit around doing nothing, can you? No, I didn't think you would. But you mustn't tire yourself out, I promised your parent that." Mrs. Gedding stopped and contemplated for a while. "I know, - Potpourri. Follow me."
Naruto was guided out to the garden with a basket in one hand, and a scissor in the other. The garden had a lot of roses, hibiscus, old fashioned flowers, weeping willows and meandering paths through the grass. The scent from the fresh air and all the flowers almost took his breath away for a second.
"I love it," Mrs. Gedding explained. "It has taken me twenty years to make it look like it has become like this by itself. Not many appreciate it's beauty."
"It looks like the sleeping beauty's garden," Naruto said. "Is there a hidden tower somwhere in the middle?"
"No, but that's an excellent idea! I must ask my husband to build a gazebo who looks like it for me… hmm, well, the dew from the roses should have vapored away from the sun by now, so you can pluck the flowers that that just bloomed. Those are perfect to dry."
Naruto spent an idyllic morning exploring the garden. The maid came out with a chair, a carpet and a larger basket, and Naruto went back and forth and cut off roses into the basket while he thought of the perfect spot for sleeping beauty's tower. He emptied his basket into the larger one after a while before he sat down in the chair and just relaxed for a moment.
Mrs. Gedding came out with lemonade and they talked about their families and the contrast between the city and the countryside for a while. Mrs. Gedding then had to walk back in and Naruto stayed, surrounded by the baskets that were filled to the brim with roses and allowed himself to think about the previous day.
He searched in his memory very gently and with caution, and grimaced when he realized how thoughtless, gullible and naïve he had been, and what a horrendous danger he had managed to escape from. Sasuke's laudatory words were like balm to his hurt self-esteem, but his conscience continued to actuate him when he thought of his parents' concern. `And how had Sasuke found me?´ Just as he thought escaped him, the man showed up with another chair and a folding table, accompanied by a maid with a fully loaded tray.
"Hello."
Nauto's heart skipped a beat and he noticed that he only could smile back at him.
"Mrs. Gedding thought that you would like to have a small picnic out here. Her husband, the magistrate, has returned to arrange some things with his assistance this afternoon. We found so much paperwork that we have to sort them out before we can even begin to understand it all and present a full case." He put down the chair and unfolded the table. "may I join you?"
"Yes, of course. I'm sorry, my mind were somewhere else."
He looked exactly like he remembered him from London. He had been afraid that he imagined the whole thing and that it hadn't been Sasuke who rescued him. Now when he sat next to him, and saw how the sunrays cast blue patterns in his black hair and his dark eyes, he knew that this was real, and a silly, hopeless wave of love swept through him.
"Sasu… I mean Colonel Uchiha…"
"Sasuke is fine, Naruto." He leaned forward and filled two glasses with lemonade. "How are you feeling today?"
"Better than I deserve," He answered, a little bit remorseful. "I can't thank you enough. I kind of prayed for a miracle, and then you showed up! But can't understand how and why it was you who found me."
"Your father has gout and your mother hurried in an upset state to Neji and Tenten, in hope of finding and get help from Neji. But she didn't stop and think about the condition Tenten are in. Luckily for them, I was there, and knew that Neji didn't want to leave his wife. So I offered to go and find you, and it wasn't easy." He lifted up a plate and handed it towards him. "Do you want anything?"
"Just a sandwich, thanks." Naruto cut the bread while he thought about Sasuke's words. "Is everything going well with Tenten? Is she okay?"
"She is just fine, but she isn't resting as much as she should and I got Neji to consider the possibility of them having twins, so you can imagine what stupid state they are in now, Neji trying to act cool and Lady Kushina running around wildly, not wanting to take it easy. I would think that he and your mother tries Tenten's patience and ability to stay calm to the extreme."
Naruto absorbed the information, and came to the conclusion that he could not possibly ask why Sasuke thought he knew that Tenten was expecting twins. "Well, that's very lucky for me that you were still in London. Thought I heard someone say that you had left to visit your father. How are the general, by the way?"
Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and Naruto saw the glimpse of anxiety in his eyes despite his tone being light. "Not completely. He works too hard, doesn't want to admit that he isn't completely fine yet from his stroke, making my mother sleepless off worry."
"But you still returned to London?" Naruto bit his lip and wondered if he'd gone too far with his intrusive curiosity, but it didn't seem like Sasuke thought so.
"We had a big fight and he disinherited me," Sasuke answered with a looped smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"W-what? That's terrible!" Naruto's sandwich fell down on the plate while he stared at him in shock. "But why on earth would he do that?"
"I told him that I wanted to sell my title of Colonel. And then of course there was that absurd fight about my marriage."
"Sasuke, you can't joke about stuff like that…" Naruto said in a somewhat shaky voice. "Of course you won't sell it. You are going to be a General someday…"
"Oh come on, not you as well!" Sasuke stood up and left the table as he walked away over the yard, before he stopped and came back. "I'm sorry, Naruto, I didn't mean to snap at you. My father is sick and will not exactly get younger again. He needs my help and my support at the property even if he doesn't want to admit it. And we are in peace now. I don't want to spend the rest of my career as a soldier in peaceful times, who always have to arrange security against stupid things like parades, or be forced to quell some uproar from industrial-workers and things like that. And I sure as hell didn't join the army to just sit by a desk, doing paperwork all day long."
Naruto put his hand on Sasuke's arm when he sat down again with a deep frown. "No, I'm sorry. It was stupid and thoughtless of me to say. Of course you have to do what's best for yourself and your family. But has your father really disinherited you?"
Sasuke gave out a small smile, this one reaching his eyes. "Hmpf, no he didn't really mean it. He is regretting it by now, but I seriously doubt he regrets the lecture about my duties and settle down with a respectable, fitting spouse."
Naruto took a few sips of his lemonade to hide his reaction. `So, the old general didn't think that lady Sakura was a suitable wife. But, why not?´Naruto thought that she was suitable, but maybe the general thought that she was too elusive to fit his son. A small glimpse of hope appeared in his chest. Would Sasuke obey his father? Would the Generals opinions make him reconsider?
But if he loved Sakura he wouldn't leave her, No matter how much it pained Naruto, he wouldn't want Sasuke to do it. He wouldn't venerate and respect him in the same way if he turned out to be the kind of man who abandoned his true love because of pressure.
"You seem to be in serious thoughts," Sasuke pointed out after a moment. "Are you ok?"
"Significantly better," Naruto ensured him. "I was just worrying about the situation with you and your father. Now you are even further away from him because of me. What if he wants to contact you and reconcile?"
Sasuke laughed. "Lady Mikoto, my mother, who sent me back to London to live a carefully calculated dissolute life, assured me that it would take at least two weeks before he could admit that he regretted the whole thing, and another two to digest the rumors about my behavior as my well-meaning relatives would gossip about."
"W-what? I don't get it. But…?"
"The plan is that he will force me back to put me in hard work, and then get used to having his son around, and thus come to terms with the idea that I should help out on the property."
"Wow," Naruto said, impressed. "Do you think that's going to work?"
"My mother has him wrapped around her little finger for thirty-five years now, and so far she has never been wrong."
"No, but you hardly live a dissolute life, am I right? What kind of debauchery would it be about?"
"Gambling, cards, horses and…"
"And?"
Sasuke smirked and shook his head. "It seems like I constantly have improper conversations with you, Mr. Uzumaki. It would of course be naughty widows and light-footed men and women that my shocking mother had in mind for me."
"What, more than one lover or mistress at the same time?" Naruto asked shocked, and tried to imagine that his own mother would recommend that to him, but didn't succeed with it at all. "But wouldn't that just be very expensive and complicated?"
"Since I've never had two lovers at the same time, I wouldn't know that. I'm sure that it will be expensive, but complicated?"
"I can't imagine that they would be happy over sharing you," Naruto said and frowned. "You would probably have to keep them apart and remember what you said to each of them without screwing up… Have you had many lovers?"
Sasuke wanted to smack his hands over his face and groan, but settled with only arching one of his eyebrows. "What have I let myself been dragged into? Your mother would probably faint if she knew what you're asking. Yes Naruto, I've had lovers, only one at a time and we parted as friends, somewhat at least, before you ask. And no, I won't tell you about anyone of them."
"Hmpf, excuse me then," Naruto said and wanted to stretch out his tongue, but held the impulse back. "It just feels like I can ask you about things and stuff that no one else wants to explain to me. I mean, it's obvious that many men in society have lovers and mistresses, and even I can guess that some of the women aren't completely faithful towards their spouses either. But no one is saying anything about it, and in my eyes, it seems a little bit too late to find out about it when you're already married."
"I can't imagine that your spouse would even consider an affair with someone else," Sasuke assured him. "Especially not your mysterious suitor, who you so carelessly try to run away from. He seems to be completely dedicated to you." Sasuke smirked.
Naruto ignored the comment on Lord Sai, he was too busy fighting off his love-struck emotions from Sasuke's comment on that no one would want to cheat on him.
For some strange reason, it didn't cause him pain him to know that Sasuke had had other men and women in his life, Naruto had expected that, because Sasuke was a man, not some hermit monk. But when they sat so close together, and Naruto felt Sasuke's presence next to him, he could feel how he nearly lost his composure.
"I don't think I will get married." Naruto said and tried to laugh off the whole thing and reached his hand after an apple. "So it doesn't matter. I meant that it was a bit late for men and women in general to find out stuff like that."
"Not get married? Why not?" Sasuke took the apple from Naruto's hand, lifted a knife and started to peel it so it looked like a red ribbon coiled down over his hand.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders and tried not to ogle Sasuke's hands that handled the knife with ease. He had very beautiful hands with long, slender fingers and short finger-nails. `How would it feel like to be caressed by them?´ Naruto shivered. "My mysterious suitor, as you call him, isn't anyone I like. The fact is that I dislike him, A lot. My feelings belong to someone else. But the person I love is in love with someone else."
"Is that what got you so upset at the Duchess prom?" He handed Naruto the now peeled apple. "Was it there you found it out?"
"Mmm." `How the hell had they gotten in on this subject?!´
"But just because one man have disappointed you doesn't mean that you should lose hope in all of them," Sasuke pointed out and eyed the frown between Naruto's eyebrows. "There are plenty of other men, or women, for example that man who is trying to ask you to marry him. Are you sure you know that man enough to say that you don't like him?"
"Oh, I'm completely sure! I don't like the way he looks at me, and he tried to blackmail me when I got in a bad situation." He noticed Sasuke's questioning looks and nodded. "Yes, that night in Vauxhall. And yes again, it is Lord Sai, the earl of Clifton, who wants to marry me. But I guess you already guessed it. And regarding marrying someone I do not love, how can you say that?" Naruto felt hurt and was surprised that he did not understand. "If the person you love would reject you, could you just shrug your shoulders, walk away and think that you will find someone else? Of course you wouldn't. Not if it's true love! I will never feel this way for anyone else, and I'm not going to marry someone I doesn't love." Naruto paused and looked into Sasuke's beautiful deep dark eyes with his own, bright orbs that seemed to spark with electricity. "Imagine that you are bound to someone that you don't love. I know some unfortunate men and women who have to accept unsavory suitors in marriage, or must be in a marriage of convenience in order to restore the family fortune, and I feel sincerely sorry for all of them. I would rather stay unmarried than marry someone else then… Him." Naruto was relieved he had time to stop himself from saying Sasuke's name, and continued. "And I can't understand, like or trust Lord Clifton." Naruto said in a sharp voice.
Sasuke seemed surprised by Naruto's outburst, and despite that he had raised his eyebrows when he heard who Naruto's anonymous admirer and suitor were, he didn't say anything about it.
"Are you going to obey your father when it comes to your marriage?" Naruto asked to make his point.
"No," Sasuke said in a grave tone and with a serious expression. "Of course I won't."
"There you have it. When it comes to love, the feelings surprisingly very strong."
Sasuke observed Naruto, deep in thoughts, over the edge of his glass.
"Are you sure that this awful experience you had didn't make the thought of marriage abominable to you?"
"Oh no, not at all." Naruto looked straight in Sasuke's worried, dark onyx eyes and smiled sadly. "Not if I could marry the man I love."
Goth~Goth~Loli~Loli~
AN: Wow, another chapter done! I hope you all like my ideas and interpretations!
So,.. What do you all think of it? The story, the plot, the characters? ^^ I'm so curious of what you guys think! x) Even constructive criticism is more than welcomed!
Oh well, on to the next chapter… ;)