Itachi was staring blankly ahead at his little brother in a hospital bed when Deidara arrived, worried expression plastered on his face. He relaxed a little when he saw that Sasuke was indeed breathing and not in a body bag or cold and motionless. When he looked at his boyfriend, he could see the barest hint of red in the man's eyes that no one but Deidara would have known to look for. He could see the slight sag in Itachi's normally erect posture and the slight disarray of his hair, although the last could have been from his fight with Snake. He had heard from Tsunade, who he passed in the hall on his way to Sasuke's room when she'd gone to get coffee, the bare minimum of what had happened.
Deidara remembered having arrived at the Uchiha residence just as Sasuke had left with Sai. Thinking that the two merely wanted to go somewhere to have a little fun, because they were two regular teenaged boys and they needed a little fun once in a while, the blonde didn't think much of it at the time. Instead he walked up to the house, intending to enter, but was stopped by a locked door. Still not thinking much of it, Deidara had shrugged and pilfered the spare key hidden by the door and used it to open the front door.
"Itachi!" he'd called out as he entered. When he received no answer, he finally noticed just how dark the house really was. He'd frowned and turned on the hall light, therein finding the note Sasuke had left. He quickly picked it up and read it. The paper had fluttered to the floor as Deidara realized what the words on it meant. Immediately he'd whipped out his cell phone and dialed Itachi's number, but instead of his beloved's voice greeting him, there was the annoying voicemail telling him to leave a message. Itachi hadn't told him that he was going anywhere, and if he couldn't reach Itachi on his cell, then he would have to figure out where he'd gone.
He dialed the police offices first, asking for Itachi. He was told the older Uchiha had been called by Tsunade earlier to help her in re-evaluating where Yumi had been murdered, just in case they had missed any vital clues. Deidara had thanked the person on the other end and quickly dialed Tsunade's number. She picked up after only three rings with an anxious, "Yes?"
She had been eager for any information regarding Snake or Naruto. He knew that Itachi would tell her, so he asked her to pass the phone to Itachi, which she did quickly when she heard the breathlessness in his voice.
"Deidara," Itachi had said in his ever calm and collected voice that the blonde had no patience for at that moment. So he blurted everything out that he had read in Sasuke's note. All Itachi had said when Deidara was done explaining was a soft, "Shit," and then he asked the blonde to call the police to tell them to send two cars and an ambulance to his old address before he hung up. Deidara had done as he was told and then waited anxiously for Itachi to call him and tell him what had happened. When his lover had finally called him, it was only to ask him to come to the hospital in the next town over and without any explanation.
Now, as he saw Sasuke lying there, he wanted nothing more than explanations, but held back with the sight of Itachi's silent, withheld worry. So instead, Deidara merely pulled a chair next to Itachi, sat down, and held his lover with the tender care one would give to something made of glass. But he knew Itachi was stronger than glass. He wasn't fragile. He was sturdy and could support himself and his little brother, had supported himself and his little brother. So Deidara struck out the idea that Itachi was fragile from his mind and squeezed the other to him tightly with all his heart, and then he cried. He cried because he was glad that Sasuke was safe even though he didn't know exactly what had happened. He cried because he knew Sasuke had just survived being shot. He cried because Itachi was safe after his encounter with Snake, even though he knew Itachi wasn't one to go down easily. But most importantly, he cried because he knew that Itachi wouldn't. Because Itachi was strong, and tears only rusted the metal armor he had gathered over the years to become the man he was at that moment. So Deidara cried and Itachi held his lover back as his lover held him, while thanking whatever gods were out there that his foolish little brother was still alive and that he had a wonderful man who loved him and stood by him to cry in his stead.
Sasuke had woken up early the next morning to a dark hospital room. His body felt heavy with sleep and even as he blinked slowly, he felt the urge to just go back to sleep. His mind was too muddled to be bothered with the fact that he had almost died and simply urged him back to sleep. Of course, he had wanted to talk to that yellow shape he'd seen before he went to sleep last, but it was nowhere in sight. The only one he saw was his brother, whom he smiled at when he saw the elder asleep, uncomfortably on the chair. But he disregarded his brother. He wanted the yellow one, not the black one. So he allowed his eyelids to droop once again and black oblivion to take him with the knowledge that he would wake up, when before there had been uncertainty.
The next time he woke up a nurse was in the room. She had smiled and blushed at him before quickly checking his vitals and running out. Sasuke just stayed still, limp. He didn't have the energy to get up to follow her and ask her where Naruto was, because he knew that Naruto had to be at the hospital too. Instead he decided to wait until someone came and he could ask them. So he just lay there waiting until he got bored at looking around an empty room and closed his eyes, only meaning to rest them. He fell asleep again.
The final time he woke up was to voices. The voices of Tsunade, his brother, Sai, and Deidara. He kept his eyes closed, deciding to listen a little.
"Is he supposed to sleep this long?" Deidara asked, ever worried over little things.
"He's lost a lot of blood. He needs sleep to regain his energy. Besides, the nurses said he woke up once when Itachi-san had gone home to change," Tsunade offered.
"They didn't tell me until I had come back," Itachi said flatly.
"Sasukeeee," Sai whined. Sasuke could feel Sai's finger poking his cheek.
"Well that's because your stupid cell phone is dead," Deidara scolded.
Sasuke cracked open an eye to glare at his annoying friend who only grinned widely at him, relief flooding his eyes.
"If you had charged it, maybe you would have gotten the call that Sasuke was awake," Deidara continued.
Sasuke smiled reassuringly up at his friend.
"It still would have been too late. They told me that he just went back to sleep a little while later anyway," Itachi explained.
Sai stuck his tongue out at the other and Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Still—" Deidara started.
"Sasuke's up," Sai finally said in a nonchalant voice.
Immediately everyone was around him. Deidara had flown to him and hugged the young Uchiha, being careful not to disturb his wound, while Itachi stood off to the side with the same look of relief in his eyes as Sai had had while a tiny smile graced his lips that was reserved only for the people closest to him. Tsunade stood behind them with a smile also on her face and Sai stayed where he was, sitting on the bed beside Sasuke. Deidara was asking how he felt and if he was still tired and if he wanted anything to eat, but Sasuke shook the questions off as he attempted to sit up. Tsunade immediately went into nurse mode, shoving Deidara off of the younger Uchiha to help him sit up and fluff his pillow up behind him.
"You shouldn't move too much. We don't want you to open up your stitches do we?" she told him in a firm yet gentle voice. He nodded, being much more gracious about receiving help than his pride would normally allow him to be. He had more pressing matters.
"Uzumaki…is he okay? Where is he?" he asked. Itachi looked to Tsunade who glanced back at him, and Sasuke stared expectantly at the woman. She sighed and walked around his bed to a curtain that he hadn't noticed before. She pulled it aside and there, asleep in another bed, was Naruto. Sasuke could see a thin sheen of sweat of the blonde's forehead in the glow of the late afternoon sun and the disturbed look he had in his sleep.
"He collapsed when we got here. Snake cut up his stomach, from the look of it days ago, and it's gotten infected. They're giving him antibiotics to help him fight it, but he has a high fever right now," Tsunade explained. She gave him a reassuring smile when she saw a troubled look cross his face. "You shouldn't worry though. This brat's got an amazing immune system so he should be up and about as soon as his fever breaks."
She started to close the curtain again.
"Could you—?" Sasuke started to ask, but stopped himself as he remembered who all were in the room. Tsunade just smiled knowingly and left the curtain where it was, allowing him to look over and see the blonde whenever he wanted. He couldn't really believe that they had all made it out alive, but somehow it had happened. He was just glad the blonde was finally safe even if he wasn't well.
"How are you feeling otouto?" Itachi asked, taking back Sasuke's attention. Realizing he'd never really answered the question when being bombarded with Deidara's queries, he answered.
"Just a little tired," he replied honestly, and then winced as he shifted his weight a little and finally really noticing the throbbing in his stomach. "And it hurts a little."
"It should. You were shot through the stomach after all," Itachi said with a nod before sharpening his gaze. Sasuke looked away from his brother, knowing that the other was mad at him. Of course he'd be mad. Sasuke had gone after Snake knowing that Itachi would have never let him.
"Sasuke, look at me," Itachi said in the curt, scolding tone he'd acquired over the years when he had needed to discipline Sasuke while their parents were away. Reluctantly the younger did as he was told and turned his head to his brother. He was surprised at the contrast between his sharp face and softened eyes.
"I could say you shouldn't have done that. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be hurt right now. I could also say you were an idiot for not alerting either myself, Tsunade, or the police about what you figured out," Itachi started.
"In his defense, he probably called you, but you didn't get it because—" Sai began to point out as Sasuke stayed silent.
"Yes, I am aware. My phone wasn't on. But, you still should have been able to contact either Tsunade or the police," Itachi continued. And then his sharp look broke down and he was left looking weary from the toll the entire investigation had taken on him. "But none of that matters anymore because you're safe, you're still alive, and we managed to get Snake in the middle of it all. The only thing I ask is that you never do something like that again."
"I won't," Sasuke agreed and then pointed to Sai. "Blame my craziness on this one. He must have rubbed off on me somehow."
"Hey! I was just defending you, and that's how you treat me? I see how it is!" Sai exclaimed, crossing his arms with a pout.
"I believe you," Itachi agreed with his little brother. Sai put a hand to his chest and he had a wounded expression on as he looked at the elder Uchiha.
"Itachi-san! How could you! I thought you at least would vouch for my sanity," he said dramatically. He turned to Deidara with a pout and clasped hands, but Deidara just grinned.
"Nope, sorry. You lost that a while ago. Everyone who knows you would agree," the blonde replied.
"Damn," Sai muttered before brightening. "Naruto-kun will vouch for me! When he wakes up we can ask him, and he'll definitely say I'm not crazy!"
Sasuke lifted an eyebrow at him. "You've tried to molest him countless times and you always bother him with the weirdest things. You honestly believe he won't say you're crazy?"
"Yes," Sai said simply, his usual innocent smile of obliviousness in place. Sasuke found that he had missed that smile on his friend. The last time he had seen it had been before everything had spiraled out of control. But now everything was better. Snake was gone, no one had died, and most importantly, Naruto was back safe and sound. Now all they had to do was wait for Naruto to get better, and maybe things would be back to how they were. No, that wasn't right…things never go back to how they used to be, they always change someway or another. Sasuke changed his thought. Things wouldn't be like before, they would be better. He would make sure of it…somehow.
Sasuke woke in the middle of the night, confused and annoyed. He didn't know what had woken him up, but he wished it hadn't. Moonlight streamed through the window as he sighed and turned away from it, wanting only to go back to sleep. Sudden rustling reached his ears before the voice came.
"Nnng! Sto…nn! Haa!"
Sasuke turned back over as more rustling—much more frantically this time—came, and he saw Naruto in the bed across from him. He nearly started, having almost forgotten in his half-asleep state that he shared a room with the normally boisterous, now unconscious and feverish blonde. He could see the other panting and the glistening of the thin sheen of sweat across Naruto's tanned forehead. Every so often he would twitch a little or one of his limbs would shift quickly, immediately telling Sasuke that the other was having a dream. A nightmare of some sort actually, if the distressed look on the blonde's face was anything to go by.
Sasuke frowned. Fevers only ever served to make nightmares worse, and he was certain any nightmare Naruto could be having at the moment would be as far from pleasant as possible. Naruto grunted and made a few more distressed noises before Sasuke resolved to push himself into a sitting position and then out of bed. He winced as he felt his wound disturbed, but pushed thoughts of it to the back of his mind. He could deal with pain. It couldn't be anywhere near what Naruto had gone through, anyway. Besides, as long as his didn't move too recklessly, he wouldn't open the stitches in his stomach. Sure he could call a nurse or someone to deal with the blonde, but he felt he needed to do something. He wanted to do something.
Sasuke made his way to the small bathroom within his hospital room. He took some paper towels and wet them before walking back out and over to the blonde's bed, not caring that he was dripping all over himself and the floor. He set a few of the damp paper towels on a nearby table as he sat in a chair that he pulled over, and then used the rest of the paper towels to wipe at the blonde's forehead. Naruto whimpered as the cool water came in contact with his hot skin, but his twitching didn't stop, nor did his troubled expression leave.
"I don't…naah…please…don't hurt…" Naruto mumbled incoherently as Sasuke continued dabbing his forehead. Of course he was having a nightmare about Snake. It was a recent traumatic experience, so it would be fresh for his mind to use as ammunition for a nightmare. "Don't hurt…him…nnn…"
Sasuke was a bit surprised at the blonde's last fragmented sentence. Of course, he couldn't quite prove that it had been a sentence, but it still left him curious.
"Who don't you want hurt?" the young Uchiha asked quietly, not expecting any answer. He didn't receive one either. Naruto's twitching began to calm down as Sasuke kept on wiping his forehead with the cold, wet paper towels he had. Sasuke wondered what was happening in the blonde's dream world as even his expression began to relax. He guessed that it was most likely something peaceful as now only his eyes twitched under their lids, lazily compared the frantic pace they had been keeping before.
"This is how your dreams should be dobe," he muttered, pulling his hands back into his lap for the moment. He stared contemplatively at the blonde for a few moments, absently picking apart the soggy paper towel. What would he say to Naruto when he finally woke up?
He'd have to apologize probably, definitely, but saying sorry wasn't exactly something that Sasuke was used to doing. Still, he knew he had to. The pain in his stomach wasn't only from his wound. It had been there ever since he'd left Naruto at the lunch table, when Sai had called him childish, and it had been slowly eating away at him ever since. He felt guilty, and he wasn't used to dealing with something like that.
Then Naruto had been taken during all of that, and Sasuke had shown up to rescue him? How was Naruto supposed to take that? He was certain to be confused; Sasuke knew it. Sasuke may have seen that he was wrong, but that didn't mean Naruto knew that he'd come to that realization.
And maybe he wouldn't even know what had happened when he finally woke up. After all, Naruto hadn't exactly been the one he and Sai had met while on their rescue mission. It had been Kyuubi, Naruto's other personality. Tsunade had answered, albeit hesitantly, he and Sai's queries about why Naruto had called himself Kyuubi, and why he had just seemed all around different. Kyuubi, it seemed, had been made to help Naruto through his first encounter with Snake at such a young age, and he had been brought back out to help him in the second time around. Even Sai, who had known from the beginning that the blonde had been a boy and even heard his story within his first day of meeting the other, hadn't known about Kyuubi. Sasuke wondered whether Sakura, Ino, and the others knew about Kyuubi, but somehow he doubted that. Naruto may be close to the blonde and pink haired girls, but if he hadn't told them from the beginning that he was a boy, he wasn't likely to have revealed something like having another personality to them either.
Sasuke had a sudden urge to laugh, but he swallowed it behind a grin he rarely ever used, in the off chance that he would wake the blonde if he made any noise. The whole situation was starting to sound like a bad soap opera. Now all they needed was for Naruto to go into a two-year coma and then admit when he wakes up that he really is a girl, and was only joking about lying about his gender. Either that or Sasuke would have to fall in love with his 'sexy' nurse-that-he-didn't-actually-think-was-sexy, and the young Uchiha was quite certain that wouldn't happen. Soap opera's usually didn't feature two boys in love with each other anyway. Then again, Sasuke knew there was always the possibility of his affections that had somehow grown for the blonde boy to be completely one-sided, but Sai had seemed pretty sure that they weren't. Then again, Sasuke knew not to trust Sai's every word. He had a tendency to lie just when you thought he was telling the truth.
Sasuke sighed as Naruto shifted a little. The blonde seemed fine now. No more nightmares bothering him or making him cry out, and Sasuke was relieved. He had been able to help, and he was glad for that. He hated being helpless and useless.
A wave of tiredness swept over the young Uchiha, and he yawned as a result. Carefully, he laid his head down on the side of Naruto's bed, making himself comfortable on his arms. He would rest for a little and then go back to his own bed. He was too tired to gather the energy to do so now. It had nothing to do with his want to be near the blonde boy for just a little longer. Heavy eyelids dropped slowly until eventually Sasuke's breathing evened out and he fell into a restful sleep.
He was running. Snake was behind him, so close he could almost feel the deranged man's breath upon his neck, sending shivers up and down his spine. There was darkness all around. He didn't even know where he was. All he knew was that he needed to get out and get out fast. He didn't want to think of what he would be subjected to this time if he were caught. It only got worse each time, and he felt that he wouldn't have Kyuubi to take over for him either. He looked over his shoulder, certain that he would see Snake behind him in close pursuit, but all he saw was the inky blackness of wherever he was. He looked back in front of him, and immediately slid to a halt. Naruto was paralyzed with shock at the figure before him.
Snake stood there, only a foot away, with a maniacal grin plastered upon his deformed face. Naruto wanted to run, he wanted to move, he wanted to scream, anything but stand there vulnerable and able to be captured, but he couldn't. Everything in his body was frozen. His legs, his arms, his lungs. His lungs were frozen. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breath, damn it! Snake just smiled at the blonde's misfortune and closed the distance between them. His hands came up to cup the blonde's face as his lips moved to form words Naruto dreaded.
"Let's play Naru-chan."
And then suddenly he was sitting up rapidly, his throat swollen in post-nightmarish fear to keep his scream from coming out. There was a pain in his stomach and he gripped at it as his breath came out in pants. For a moment he was dazed, thinking that he was still in the old house and was now finally awake for Snake to play with once again just like in his dream, and he didn't notice the previously sleeping boy stirring beside him. Then things began to become clearer. He felt too warm, too comfortable, too…safe.
"Naruto…?" a low voice said sleepily from beside him, and Naruto jerked away from the source in fright. It was too close, way too close for comfort. But then the face that belonged to the voice registered and he was in disbelief.
"Sasuke…" he breathed, not really believing that Sasuke was actually sitting next to him in this dark room. Upon hearing his name said back to him, the younger Uchiha was suddenly more alert as he stared at Naruto with the same look of disbelief, although there was relief reflected there as well. They stayed like that for a while, Naruto attempting to comprehend the situation and Sasuke trying to decide what he should say now that the blonde was awake. He certainly hadn't had much time before Naruto woke up to really decide. Tsunade had told him that Naruto would be up before the doctors said he would, but Sasuke hadn't expected him to be up again this early. He had only woken up himself the day before!
"Where are—?" Naruto began to ask, breaking the silence. Sasuke cut in quickly.
"The hospital," he answered with an awkward cough. Honestly, what was he supposed to do now? He looked at the blonde's face, which seemed much more relaxed than before when it held an intense expression.
"Ah…so then he didn't get you," Naruto said with a shaky voice, although a bit of a smile had slipped onto his face. Sasuke marveled at the fact that the blonde could even produce such an expression after what he'd been through, but he was distracted as the comment he'd made registered.
"Get me? What are you talking about?" he asked, confusion lining his voice. Suddenly Naruto's expression turned to one of worry.
"Ah, wait, we're in a hospital and it's night time, right? Then why are you here? You're hurt aren't you?! He did get you, didn't he!" he exclaimed.
"It's nothing dobe, now what are you talking about?" Sasuke asked again. Naruto ignored his question again.
"It's not nothing if you're here! Where were you hurt? I want to know!" he insisted anxiously.
"It's nothing, leave it alone dobe," Sasuke responded with a glare.
"Teme! Just tell me!" Naruto nearly shouted, glaring right back. Sasuke was about to retort, but his voice died in his throat as he saw the desperate look in the blue eyes staring angrily at him. They were glossy and ready to spill tears, but he knew Naruto was holding them back with all he was worth.
"Tch." He looked away from the blonde to glare at the wall, maybe hoping to burn a hole through it. "I got shot in the stomach. Happy?"
Silence. Sasuke inwardly cringed at the tone nasty tone he'd used.
"Why would I be happy about that teme? You might hate me now, but you're still a precious person to me," Naruto told him quietly. Sasuke kept his gaze averted. He sighed heavily after a few minutes and ran a hand through his mussed hair distractedly.
"What was your dream about?" he asked finally. He didn't know what to say, but he could see that Naruto was still freaked about his dream. He might as well start there.
"My…dream?" Naruto responded slowly, as if not quite recalling that he had woken up nearly screaming from it. Sasuke turned back to the blonde with a bit of an exasperated look.
"Yes your dream. The one you just had that woke me up because you were making so much," he replied and then bit his tongue. Getting angry and annoyed wasn't helping anything. "Talking about it is supposed to help if you're scared," he mumbled.
"I'm not scared teme!" Naruto snapped, crossing his arms.
"Well then see if I care!" Sasuke snapped back, glaring at Naruto's frowning face as he felt his frustration boil over. He made to get up and walk back to his own bed, but he was stopped as a hand grasped his arm.
"What?" he spat. He just wanted to go to sleep now. He couldn't control his reactions as well as he wanted to now, and it was all because it was only four in the morning. The hand didn't let go and the owner dismissed his harsh tone.
"I just…don't go. I know you still hate me, but I didn't mean to snap at you and I really do want you to stay, I just don't want to talk about that…not yet…please…" Naruto said in a rushed voice. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Sasuke finally moved. He grasped Naruto's wrist that held him in place and removed it. For a second, Naruto thought that Sasuke was going to leave him again, but was pleasantly surprised when instead the young Uchiha sat down in the chair next to him once again.
"Sasuke…"
"What do you want to talk about then?" Sasuke asked with a bit of a scowl, but Naruto could see he wanted to stay. As the blonde thought of what he wanted to ask the other, he settled himself back into bed. From his pillow, he stared up at the raven-haired boy.
"How is everyone?" he asked, wanting to start with small things, even though he really did want to know how they all were. He didn't really even know how long he was gone for.
"They're fine. Worried about you obviously. No one really knew where you went until a few reporters caught onto the story and aired it," Sasuke replied.
"I'm gonna have loads of fun trying to avoid them, aren't I?" Naruto joked. He caught the barest twitch of Sasuke's lips before the smile was stopped.
"If anyone can do it, I'm sure you can," Sasuke said. The blonde boy giggled, and Sasuke felt somewhat relieved. At the very least, Naruto could still smile after what he'd been through. A comfortable silence passed through them, and for a moment, both were content. It had been a while since either had had that feeling. Naruto shifted a little as his expression became serious.
"Na Sasuke…how did you get shot? Did Snake really end up getting you too?" he finally asked. He needed to know if he had done enough to keep Snake away from Sasuke or not. He felt guilty as it was for just knowing that Sasuke had gotten hurt. Sasuke gave him a look of confusion.
"You should know…" he started and then mumbled to himself, "no, Tsunade-san said you wouldn't remember."
"Remember what?" Naruto asked, now confused himself. The only way he wouldn't be able to remember something would be if…color drained from Naruto's face as the realization dawned on him. Sasuke shook his head.
"I found out where you were taken, so I went to go get you, and Sai came with me," he told the blonde. This statement shocked the blonde more than the possibility that Sasuke knew about Kyuubi.
"You and Sai tried to…from Snake? Teme, are you an idiot?!" Naruto exclaimed. He propped himself up on his elbow on his side to properly glare at the other.
"I'm not an idiot, usuratonkatchi! If we hadn't come to get you then, you would have had to be there even longer until I could tell Itachi and the others! What if he had killed you in that time?!" Sasuke responded angrily.
"Baka! He wouldn't have killed me until he either had you or he killed your brother! I was trying to keep him from taking you too, but you just had to come on your own!" Naruto said.
"Because I was trying to save you dobe! Do you even know what was going to happen if Sai and I hadn't come then? He was going to throw you in a hole and bury you," Sasuke said, his voice lowering as he continued. "He was going to bury you alive, dobe. He was out there digging when Sai and I found you, and if we hadn't come, Itachi said he didn't know if we would have been able to find you."
Naruto swallowed the lump forming in his throat.
"So don't call me an idiot, dobe. I'd rather have you here than six feet under," Sasuke finished. He stared down at his lap, his energy drained from getting worked up, while Naruto watched him carefully. Finally the blonde shook his head and dropped himself back onto his pillow. He looked up at the ceiling, watching the shadows flicker over it as he spoke.
"For someone that doesn't like me much, you're pretty concerned about me," he stated. "Sai-kun I can understand, but you're just…weird, you know that?"
He felt the mattress of his bed sink a little to his left as Sasuke laid his head back down on it.
"I don't hate you dobe. I wouldn't have risked my life for someone I didn't like," the Uchiha explained. Naruto closed his eyes and let a warm feeling flow over him at those words. He smiled a little.
"After all of this? Yeah…I figured. I just wanted to hear you say it," he said quietly.
"Dobe," Sasuke replied with a smile of his own, knowing now that he was forgiven for leaving.
"Teme," Naruto said back playfully. It wasn't long before Sasuke heard the blonde's breathing even out, and he followed him into sleep soon after as well.
A/N: Umm…yeah, please don't kill me. I know I say this every chapter, but really, I mean it. I thought this chapter was just gonna flow out right after the last one, but instead it decided to be troublesome (in the immortal words of Shikamaru) and be as difficult as possible. This came out very slowly. Honestly every time I opened up the document I would only get about a sentence or two down before I just got frustrated and did something else. I actually ended up rewriting this several times, which is something I usually don't do. Normally it's just small sections of adding or deleting tiny details, but this time it was, like, the entire thing. So yeah. But here it is, about two months late. I was shooting for Valentine's Day at least, but alas, I am not good with deadlines. Especially ones I set for myself. There's just a little tidbit left of this, which I decided would be good as a short little epilogue I guess. Just tying up loose ends and leaving an open interpretation to what will happen after. So please read on because I decided to give you them both on the same day.
Diclaimer: don't own