Merry Christmas? *shot*
Disclaimer: Me: I can never get a break, can I?
Kishi: Boot to the head!
And another thing… um… *holds shield in front of body* Don't hurt me!!!!
If you were to stand across the street of this house, you would see a blond haired man staring longingly out of it.
"It's been three weeks already," Naruto thought sullenly. He puffed out a bit of smoke from his lungs before stabbing the cigarette butt into the tray. Now, Naruto rarely ever smoked; only doing so when he was feeling anxious and antsy, which was how he was feeling right now. But had he no right?
Sasuke had kept his promise and had written to him as soon as he got to his station abroad. Naruto immediately replied and they wrote to each other back and fourth ever sense for five months.
The blonde had received his greatest surprise on Christmas when he opened his door to see his raven love in all his camouflaged glory. The two didn't exchange gifts because Naruto had no inkling that Sasuke was coming home for the holidays, but they had exchanged something much greater; something Naruto would never have given up for the world and would never allow himself to receive willingly from anyone else.
But Naruto had been waiting much longer than he was comfortable with, and while he didn't want his mind to stray to that conclusion, he couldn't help but think the worst.
He suddenly perked his head at hearing the hum of an engine and stared out the window in hopeful excitement. Upon seeing that the misleading noise was one of a normal –and disappointing- car driving down the street, Naruto placed his head back into his left hand while the right twitched toward the box of cigarettes beside him.
Where is the God damn mailman?!
A wave of exhaustion suddenly slapped him in the face as he fought to keep his eyes glued to the mailbox, so hard if fact that he hadn't even realized that he had already lost the battle as he slumped onto the couch.
Fuck!
Normally when he first woke up, Naruto's thoughts would consist of confusion, exhaustion, need for bodily functions, frustration, or a jumbled mixture of the four. Today, upon waking up to see the sky a light navy with a mild dusting of stars signifying that he had fallen asleep much longer than intended, his mind was a bit clearer than usual, if not a bit more rash.
Snapping upwards, Naruto stood and ran out the door, ignoring the sense of vertigo and blood rushing out of his head. The blonde sprinted down the drive way until he skidded in front of the mailbox. As he yanked open the lid almost breaking it off its hinges in his haste, he pulled out an assortment of envelopes and other papers before charging back into the house.
When Naruto made it to the kitchen, he tossed the mail onto the table and began his blind search for one envelope in particular. He threw aside bills and magazines only to find that that was all that was there. Starring at the table with ice running threw his veins, Naruto's eyes started to sting with unshed tears before quickly wiping them away and collecting the fallen mail. He placed them back onto the table before heading back up to his room.
Opening the door, he was greeted but a sudden burst of chilling air. Naruto quickly ran to the open window and slammed it shut before running his hands up and down his arms in hopes of gaining even a slight amount of friction.
Of course I'd be much warmer if Sas-
Shaking his head to clear that thought, Naruto walked slowly into the bathroom. He stripped himself of his clothes before hopping into the inviting heat of the water spraying from the shower head, letting the water caress his skin.
After spending about in hour under the steaming water, he put on his sweat pants and walked back into his room and pulled back the sheets. Before he settled down, he glanced at his nightstand and stared and the picture that rested on top of it. Naruto felt a sharp tug at his heart.
Behind a sheet of glass held a picture of him and Sasuke that Tsunade had taken before the raven left; Naruto had his arms around Sasuke's neck with his head on his chest, a soft, solemn expression. Sasuke had one arm around the blonde's waist and the other on the back of his head, his expression torn, yet peaceful as well.
Naruto picked up the picture and sat down on his bed. He simply stared at it for what seemed like hours but could very well have just been a few minutes, before breaking down. Clutching the picture to his chest, Naruto fell onto his bed with a strangled cry, tears streaming down his face.
"Sasuke, where are you!?"
After a while, Naruto took a deep breath, but didn't relinquish his hold on the picture. It was the best Naruto had to his Sasuke.
Sasuke would want me to be strong. I want to be strong…
Naruto knew this was what came with falling in love with a soldier, but the idea of losing him every day left a large amount of weight on his shoulders. He worried about Sasuke every day, even crying himself to sleep because of it. But even though he was always thinking about him, he still lived his life the way he should. He went out with his friends, he still worked at the diner, just with less hours.
But still, he missed him. Can you blame him?
"Yes, Tsunade, I can still come in. I'm fine."
Tsunade sighed on the other end of the phone. "I'm just worried about you, Naruto. I can tell you haven't really been the same sense… Yeah."
Naruto quirked his eyebrow a bit, even though she couldn't see it, before sighing. I thought I hid it well enough…
"I know, Tsunade, but I can't let that keep me from doing everything and basically giving up my life for worry. I don't want that. He won't either."
The other line was silent for a few seconds. "Okay, Naruto. But tell me if you need time, okay?" she said with a concerning edge in her voice.
Naruto laughed heartily. "You're just a real worry-wart, ya' old hag! I'll be in tomorrow bright and early."
"Alright, Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow."
Naruto hung up the phone before taking a seat back by the window, pulling another cigarette out.
Lighting the stick, he turned on the T.V. to the channel that it was on almost everyday now: The news. He would watch it for hours as they talked about the war and the soldiers. Everyday he would clutch something, anything, when they listed off those who were now lost. Everyday he would be relieved to know that Sasuke's name was left unmentioned. But everyday he would fret that he would; there was a very likely chance of that, anyway.
Glancing back at the window, his eyes suddenly became saucers as he saw a large, square truck pull up by his house. Snuffing out the cigarette, he rushed outside to greet the mailman. After the truck left, Naruto did what he did everyday and threw it all onto the table.
His hand froze as he saw that the first letter in the stack was from the U.S. army. Swiping it away from the rest of the stack, he rushed into the living room and sat on the couch. Naruto clutched the envelope in his hand, which held the contents telling him what fate had in store.
Letting out a deep breath, Naruto tore open the paper before spilling the contents onto his lap.
And out tumbled an army dog-tag.
Naruto only stared at the necklace before a sinking feeling settled in his stomach. He didn't know what this meant, so he swiftly yanked the letter from his lap.
Upon reading the letter, Naruto stared. He didn't know what to think. His brain froze.
And he cried.
"A soldiers coming home."
And this is why ADHD is Satan.
*dodges thrown knives and boots*
HEY! Before you start throwing things at me, make up your own conclusion to Sasuke's fate and Naruto's tears about whether they were happy or sad!!!
Now don't you feel silly? Tsk tsk, silly readers. XD *gets hit with a tomato*
I wasn't sure how I wanted to end this, kill him off or keep him alive. So I decided to end it on a "The Giver" note to make things simple. (You'd have to have read the book "The Giver" to understand what that means.) Even I don't know what Sasuke's fate was. *shrugs*
Now back to the evils of ADHD.
I see a bit of a downfall from the first chapter to this one. When I was in my grandma's car, I had nothing else to do, so I was FOCUSED!!
Now I'm home with Internet… That speaks for itself. *nervous laughter* It also seems to be a bit more angsty… I'm no good at angst… Am I? *ponders*
So I'm sorry if this took a major U-turn than what you thought was going to happen. I was distracted by finals and such…
Naruto: You were on the Internet more than half the time!
Me: MUST I cut you off again?
Naruto: I'll be quiet.
Thanks everyone and I hope you like it!! Reviews will be nice. ;3
-TGOMO