Winter... some people think of it as a woman with an ice of a heart, which doesn't feel the pain coming from the people's hearts when she spreads her coldness and blast. But some think of it as a kind queen which takes the rule over the country and covers it with her white cloak making everything seem more pure... more smooth and more delicate.
Silence takes over everything as small stars of snow start to fall from the sunless grey sky, then bigger forming a downy cover. The snow embraces the houses, the trees and the earth transforming this little world into a fairy charmed land. Everything seems made of sugar.
The forest, like always, is alive, only a little stiffened. A wood cracker, like the ones with red cap stopped her beatings and, bearing against her tail, remained silent into an obediently expectation.
Feet pressed against the smooth surface of the untouched cloak of snow leaving small holes behind. The walk was heavy and small red spots could be seen behind. Hazes escaped the person's lips and rose up towards the sky.
He slowly limped and grasped his shoulder as pain traced his body continuously. The injuries were bleeding hard and the need to be at shelter away from the snow and cold increased dramatically. Blonde locks entered his view and blind in with the sweat which was already pouring down his face.
But nevertheless, a smile crossed his lips as he saw the house which he desired to see after three months of absence. His home.
A warm spot near the fireplace, food, a bath and also... his lover were expecting him. Somehow he felt how energy came up to him just thinking at those things. Letting out a deep sigh and ignoring the pain which was coming from each part of his body he sped up his pace.
The mission which he took had to end next month but he thought that he couldn't miss Christmas. It was after all his favorite holiday and he couldn't just let his girlfriend alone at this time of year. So he made everything he could just to end it earlier and he did it. He was home on Christmas Eve.
With that thought he entered through the gate into the garden which was all covered in snow. God, how much he wished that the pink haired would be at home. He needed her so much in these three months. Only thinking at her kept him alive and helped him with the fights which he went through.
He let go of his shoulder and brushed his hand against the pocket at his chest. He smiled, the gift was still there, hidden carefully. Even if it was small, he knew that it had very much meaning. After he finished the mission, he used even his last piece of energy just to find a perfect present for his lover and after a long search he finally found it.
Naruto took out the key and thrust it in the lock soundlessly. He thought that surprising her wouldn't be such a bad idea, she was, after all, expecting him next month. For his surprise, the door was already unlocked.
Blinking twice, he opened the door with a small creak and peeked inside. For some unknown reason he had the feeling that something could be wrong. After looking around and seeing that nothing was wrong, for now, he entered inside fully and closed the door behind him.
Grimacing in pain because of the injuries, he entered the living room but his lover wasn't there.
"Sakura-chan? The door was open and-" his voice echoed between the four walls of the room but no reply reached his ears. Slightly disappointed, he turned around and started to walk towards the kitchen when something caught his attention. Jerking his head towards the staircase, he noticed a sound coming from upstairs.
"Sakura-chan?" he called again but still nothing.
Frowning a little he took a kunai from his backpack and went towards the staircase. When he reached there, the sound of something hitting the ground made itself heard. With his heart beating fast, he started to climb up the stairs.
He just climbed a few steps that he noticed something on the banister. His hand reached at it and took the fabric which was hanging on it. He saw that it was a piece of Sakura's clothing. Moving his gaze up, he saw that many pieces of clothes had been thrown on the stairs. Some of them were even unknown.
Then another sound made itself heard, and without a second thought that something bad was going on, he sped up his pace and climbed the stairs quickly.
Gripping the arm which was holding the kunai he walked silently towards the bedroom where the sound was coming from. Muffled voices could be heard and the constant bumping sound filled the area. With each step he made, he felt how his heart was beating fast as if it would escape his chest. If something happened to Sakura he would never forgive himself.
When he reached finally there, he pressed the handle of the door gently and opened it enough only to peek inside.
The image which he saw, it broke his heart into millions of pieces.
There, in their room, in their bed, a certain naked black haired man was on top of an also naked woman, Sakura.
"Sa-Sai!" Sakura moaned loudly as Sai was entering with deep thrusts inside her.
The hand which was holding the kunai fell beside him and Naruto couldn't only watch how his lover was sharing the bed, their bed, with someone else. In fact, with his own teammate, with one of his friends.
"Aah! Sai! More, more! Right there. AAh!" Sakura kept on moaning his name and the man did as she told him. He continued to thrust powerful and deeply inside her.
"Ah, Sakura. So good." Sai moaned.
Naruto started to tremble at the sight in front of him. He thought that everything was right between him and the pink haired but the image in front of him showed clearly what it was the most undeniable truth. It amazed him how Sakura kept calling Sai's name, with such passion and desire, how she moaned, how Naruto could never make her moan in their intimacy.
The next thing which happened shocked him the most.
Sai got out of Sakura and turned her with her back at him. Then, in a fast move, he entered her ass fully making her scream of pleasure. He dug deep his fingers in her hips, pulling her more towards his member. The blonde watched how Sai was slowly exiting Sakura, making her moan like an animal and how he was entering still slowly. Sakura started to tremble because of all the deep sensations which traced her body. She pushed her ass backwards so he would enter more inside her.
"More. Sai! More!" she screamed.
Without another word, in just one thrust he entered fast and whole inside her. Smirking, he leaned forward and planted kisses on her back. Then he reached her neck and bit there, leaving her a mark that she was his property.
"Sakura..." Naruto's mind kept repeating her name, calling her, wanting her to stop right then.
Soon enough, the room filled with their yells as they reached the maximum point of pleasure. Both of them collapsed on bed exhausted with Sai on top of her. Their hard breath echoed in the room and inside Naruto's head continuously.
He watched how Sakura's red sweaty face was dominated by the widest smile he had ever seen. She never gave him that kind of smile, she never looked at him the way she was looking at Sai right now. Lovingly and lustful in the same time.
Then those words which escaped her lips, the words which she never told him, the words which she never meant to say to him, reached his ears.
"I love you." she whispered with so passion that it made him tremble and made him collapse on his knees in front of the door and with his fists clenched to maximum.
Naruto let out a whimper not believing what he just heard, he grabbed his blonde locks in his fists wishing that he would die there. He just lost the reason to live. His lover never loved him, always thinking at someone else. Suppressing the urge to cry, he rose hardly on his feet and thought only to get the hell out of there. Away from this house, away from his home which he wanted to see so badly a few minutes ago. With one last look given at the entwined hands of the two lovers, he took the small box from his pocket.
"I love you too." The reply came from the black haired and Naruto stopped breathing for a while. Then, leaning his head down and still holding his breath, he put the box down. The gift which he wanted to give it to her, to show his love for her, had been left on the cupboard which was next to the door to the bedroom.
With his heart broken, he closed the door and turned around starting to walk towards the staircase with blank movements. He felt lightheaded and sick, he felt how he would throw up in any moment. It was just too much pain to bear.
Outside the house, his skin made contact with the cold air of the winter. It was still snowing but that it didn't matter to him. He could only hear the heart beats which would never give him peace at all. The injuries hurt him more than a few minutes ago, but none of them would compare with the one which was coming from his heart.
Left without a home where he would go, he started to walk down the street towards nowhere. He didn't have any idea where he would go, where would he be wanted or... loved. Huffing in the cold air he continued his walk limping with his blood trickling down from his flesh wounds and falling on the white cloak of snow giving it the color of crimson.
Walking blindly along the crowded streets which were thicken with people trying to buy presents on the last minute or with children playing by throwing snow balls at each other, he reached finally a neighborhood where he had never been in a long time.
This neighborhood was silent, the echoes of children couldn't be heard and the sensation of emptiness filled the whole area. He didn't even know how he got here, but something made him walk towards this place. His feet started to walk ahead of him and soon he found himself in front of the biggest house. His hand rose shakily and started to knock on the door made of dark wood.
There was no reply, and he felt how he would lose his conscious in anytime. Breathing heavily he leaned against the door and waited darkness to come and take over him.
Instead, a noise had been heard through the wood, inside the house, and the door opened. Blue eyes opened a little and met dark ones. He noticed surprise written in the obsidian gaze and the sensation of sickness took over him again.
"No place...to go." He whispered and lost his balance falling towards the ground with no support. Something grabbed him but he lost already his conscious to realize what it was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tick Tock! Tick Tock! Tick Tock!
The sound of ticking reached his ears waking him up. He blinked twice to adjust his sight and rays of sun lighted his tired mind. He stared blankly for a few moments at the white ceiling trying to remember his last fragments of memory.
Sorrow took over his heart again as he remembered what he saw back at his house. He sighed, happiness had never been a sentiment which he would feel at least for a little time. Every time he thought that he found it, it had been taken away from him.
"Awaken, dobe?" a voice said and the blonde startled. Of course, he remembered the last part now. After leaving his house he went at the Uchiha Compound. Naruto rose his gaze and stared weakly at the raven which was sitting at his feet. He tried to get up, but he felt how pain traced his body at the movement."Oi, sit down. You have yet to recover." He said and brushed his hand against the blonde's shoulder pushing him backwards. Naruto growled a little at the sight of the bandages around his chest but complied and leaned on the bed still staring at the Uchiha in front of him.
"What happened?" he asked in a hoarse voice, which didn't seem to belong to him at all.
"You fainted at my doorstep. Never thought that you'll do that just from some injuries, dobe." Sasuke smirked and handed him a cup of steaming hot tea.
Naruto took it silently and gave him a glare. He wanted to argue with him, he wanted to give him a reply as bad as his but for some reason, he couldn't. The pain which was coming from inside wouldn't let him. Instead, he nodded and rose the cup to his lips in order to take a sip of the hot liquor. He felt how the tea worked and how energy was coming back to him but nevertheless, he remained silent.
The raven noticed that something was wrong with Naruto, usually the blonde wouldn't let him go away without giving an insult. He would ask him, but somehow it felt strange to do that. It wouldn't be good for him if he would show that it concerned him what happened to the demon container.
"Sasuke... thanks." suddenly the blonde said making his trail of thoughts stop. Slowly he turned to him, and saw that Naruto was staring at him with big blue eyes which held so much pain and sorrow in them, eyes which Sasuke had never seen at the dobe. "And I'm sorry for popping up like that at your door and fainting and-"
"Hn. Don't mention it." came the reply.
"Oh, but I shouldn't be like this!" Naruto said with a goofy grin. "It's even Christmas and-"he stopped watching the Uchiha's face. "Merry Christmas!" he wished the raven, then seeing that no reply was coming from him, his face straightened. "It's still Christmas isn't it?" he asked willingly to know. Sasuke after a few moments, nodded and Naruto gave a small smile which in Sasuke's consideration, it was a fake one. "Glad to hear that." he whispered and took another sip.
Sasuke kept watching Naruto's" face filled with so many emotions. For some moments, the blonde would ignore him and look out the window deep in thought or somewhere else in the room beside him. The blonde was in pain, he could admit it.
Naruto sighed for the nth time, he couldn't believe that he was in Sasuke's house, in his bedroom and in his bed. It just felt awkward, usually they would send only insults or glares at each other even if they accepted their friendship between them. But this time was different. Somehow this silent company did god to him, with Sasuke watching over him, with the warmness coming from central heating, it gave him a nice feeling. This is how his home should have been yesterday.
Just standing close to the man who he fought for so much, his best friend, made those memories of the past coming to him. Past which was also sorrow and unbearable for him.
It had taken Naruto so much time and all the strength in the world to bring Sasuke back from Orochimaru. Of course, when they arrived in the village, they were more dead than alive but the most important thing was that Naruto kept his promise to Sakura. He brought the raven back to his rightful home.
Even now he could remember Sakura's face contortioned with joy when she met the raven. She didn't even pay anymore attention to the blonde, she just said thanks considering that it would be enough for him. Back then, it was more than enough for Naruto. His crush saying this for the first time to him meant a lot more than life itself. Even if after that, she continued to ignore him and continued her pursuit after the raven.
But Naruto was kind, he didn't complain about it. He thought that if that made Sakura happy then so be it. He would bear to see her going after the raven. But it didn't last long as the raven rejected her so harshly that it didn't seem for the others that the pink haired would recover.
It took a while to Sakura to get along with the idea that the raven didn't want her and finally accepted Naruto's pleadings and started to go out of him. But Naruto knew the truth.
She got out with him just to make the raven jealous but it was in vain because Sasuke didn't do anything to break them apart. They continued their relationship even if it was a lie. The blonde lied to himself that everything was alright, he lied himself that she loved him back, he lied to himself that she had at least one feeling for him. He told her that he loved her for the both of them, not even once she told him that she loved him without an obvious lie into it. He knew. He knew from the very beginning that it was all wrong.
With one last sip, Naruto drank the whole tea and after that he put it on the nightstand. That's when he saw that Sasuke kept looking at him the whole time. Suddenly embarrassed he turned to him fully and gave him the same stare.
He felt how the glare was penetrating him and his soul, searching all his insides for the source of everything which was troubling him. Sasuke always read him like an open book and he never could explain how he could do this.
"Why did you say those things?" Sasuke asked out of suddenly and he leaned against the back of the chair.
"What things?" Naruto asked dumbfounded.
"Before you fainted, you said that you had no place to go" Sasuke said giving him a serious look, searching his face for the truth.
Naruto turned his gaze away from the raven and leaned his head down. Should he tell Sasuke what he feels? Would he be able to understand, he, the coldest anti-social person? But he knew that everything he would say, Sasuke would keep it a secret, after all Naruto couldn't think of a person to which Sasuke would say.
"Because... I don't have a home anymore." Naruto murmured weakly.
"Why? Weren't you living with Sakura?"
Naruto sighed, it hurt to hear that name.
"That's until she cheated on me." He said and turned finally to the raven to see his face. Surprisingly, his face didn't show surprise or bewilderment, it was like always, calm and emotionless. But his eyes showed that he was still listening, so the blonde continued. "I mean, I knew that it wouldn't work since the beginning and that sooner or later she... she would do this. I knew she would try to find someone else." He said and gave him another look but only to receive another look back. "But it hurts to know this, it hurts that even if I expected this, it happened." He rose his head and smiled widely. "It's strange how fate works. Yesterday I wanted to ask her marry me and I discovered the truth instead. The painful truth..." he whispered.
"Do you still love her?" the other one asked suddenly.
"I don't know, half of my heart I lost yesterday, but it feels as if I would still love her." Naruto whispered.
Sasuke leaned in his chair more and crossed his arms staring at the blonde.
"But I don't know, it hurts too much to think what I feel about her now." He continued.
"So you think that you can still have a chance?"
Naruto blinked twice. How did he know that this was what he felt? Even after all of this he wished that he would still have a chance with the girl. He wished that he would still be with her, after all her... loved her. Very much. But the betrayal, the suffering were saying exactly the opposite. Even he, deep inside him, knew that there wasn't any chance to get with her again.
"No." the voice said before his heart would allow it. His words sting badly deep inside him.
"Hn." The raven said and for the first time he moved his gaze away from the blonde towards the window, looking through it.
Naruto sensed that he wasn't being watched anymore and looked at Sasuke who was still looking outside. His face was so emotionless, he couldn't read anything from it. Naruto always tried to find out what the raven was thinking, but it seemed too hard, too impossible for him to do that. Even after their teamwork against Itachi, after his defeat, and after his death, Sasuke remained the same. He remained in that cold state of his always pushing people away from him not wanting to get attached to anybody. It took Naruto 2 years just to make the raven accept him as a friend again.
"Sasuke, do you like Christams?" Naruto asked suddenly wanting to change the subject and when the raven pierced him with a glare, he realized that he made a mistake asking him that kind of thing but he continued. "I'm sure you get a lot of presents and-"
"No." he interrupted.
"What?"
"I don't get presents at this time of year, so I don't celebrate it." Sasuke said after a pause.
"What? But it's Christmas, the most beautiful time of year. The food, the presents, the mistletoe, everything!" he said but the raven just shrugged at his words.
"Even with those, I don't celebrate it." he said.
Naruto gave him a look as if he was someone incredible to look at, what did he mean that he doesn't celebrate Christmas?
"Not at all?" he asked leaning forward to see him better.
"Not at all." He answered.
"Why didn't you tell me? I'm sure that if you would have done this then.."
"Then what?"
Naruto leaned backwards, a little embarrassed but continued to look at him.
"I would have come to spend it with you." he said with a small smile.
The raven analyzed every word which escaped the blonde lips. It surprised him how Naruto would care about the others more than he would usually care about himself. Naruto always had been a selfless person, everyone knew that.
"We should do that now!" the blonde said cheerfully and rose up again. "Yeah, it would be fun!" he said as if every problem in the world disappeared from the blonde's mind. He straightened and tried to pull the covers off of him so he would get out of bed but a hand pushed him back. He turned to Sasuke which had his hand still on Naruto's shoulder pushing him backwards.
"Dobe, you cannot get out of bed. The injuries are still pretty bad." He said in calm voice which tried to fake his worry.
"But it's Christmas and-"
"No. Besides it's better this way without it." He said.
Naruto stared at him with shock not believing what he just said.
"How can you say that? Christmas isn't just a holiday. It's the most important event of the year, people gather at one's place, give presents to show how much they care about the other and...family reunion and... it's the only event when people can show the way they are, the way they feel." He added silently.
He certainly did saw the true face of Sakura's on Christmas this year.
Then, for the first time after he heard those things, after he found out the painful truth, he broke. Tears filled his eyes and they started to pour down his cheeks. It hurt to be abandoned, to be betrayed by the loved one. He couldn't care if Sasuke would laugh at him because he was acting like a sentimental woman. It just...hurt and it was unbearable.
He leaned his head down and let them fall, he wanted to release himself of that pain coming from his chest. He just wanted to cry, he was human after all.
Suddenly, he felt a swift of weight on the bed and the next thing he knew was that something warm was hitting his face. He rose his gaze and saw that raven wrapped his hands around him and pulled him at his chest. Sasuke didn't say anything, he just patted him on the back and Naruto, feeling safe, he let the tears fall down, not stopping them.
He grabbed Sasuke's shirt in a fist and clenched it tight sobbing at his chest, while listening to the raven's heartbeats which now were very fast. He wanted to let go of that tension, of that distress, of everything. He wanted just to stay there, where for the first time in years he felt really safe and without the fear that something harsh will happen to him any moment.
Sasuke understood him. Like no one did.
He cried a few more minutes at his chest until he felt that there were no more tears and tried to back away but Sasuke's hands were still holding him there. Confused by this movement he rose his gaze and saw the raven's black eyes. They stared at each other, blue eyes locked on black as night ones. Trying to decipher what the other was thinking, feeling.
Naruto watched them carefully and for the first time in his life, he read something in them. It was compassion. And probably something more but he couldn't figure it out. There were too many feelings mixed inside them.
"Sasuke. I-"he was cut off as the raven rose his hand and wiped the tears away with his thumb. Then probably in accident, the hand brushed against his trembling lips and salty taste reached his senses.
"Hn." He just said but continued to look at him still holding his body close to his. Naruto felt the warmness which was emanated from the raven's body and felt more safety. Slowly, he wrapped his hands around Sasuke as well, making him tense at the sudden action.
He knew that he was needed now, here. He felt somehow that Sasuke needed the hug more than him. He couldn't explain it but he knew that he was right.
"I finally understand now." He whispered.
"What?" Sasuke asked and Naruto could sense a small hint of embarrassment in his voice because of this situation. He didn't care and continued to hug him while a big smile crossed his lips.
"I never loved her." He said. "Never felt safe with her. Never felt... needed with her." He continued. "I know now." he lifted his gaze at the raven.
"It sure took you long, dobe." Sasuke said smirking and traced his hands through the blonde's hair.
Naruto smiled weakly, it really did took him long to realize that his most important person was always close to him. Always with him. Always there for him when he needed someone. His only best friend, Sasuke. The only person with made him feel truly safe.
"I might reconsider your option of celebrating Christmas." Sasuke smirked in a way which mesmerized Naruto.
"H-How?" he asked, then, without expecting it Sasuke leaned forward until their faces were only inches apart and their breaths were hitting each other's faces.
"First...by giving the wishing- Merry Christmas, dobe- and in the second, by giving a present." He said and the next thing which happened it surprised Naruto very much. The raven pressed his lips against his and started to move them in a kiss. Naruto widened his eyes open but second by second passing, he closed his eyes slowly and responded to the kiss. He only thought how soft Sasuke's lips were, how perfect, and how they burnt against his. He opened his mouth wider and their kiss became more passionate and hotly.
Naruto gave himself fully to Sasuke. He knew that he wouldn't regret it, he knew that Sasuke would take care of him and never let him go.
Their long kiss ended as the need of air increased and they departed their lips still looking at each other. Or better said, smiling at each other.
"Well, Merry Christmas to you too, bastard!" Naruto said and planted his head on the raven's shoulder.
Everything would change now because believing it or not he had deeper feelings that he had ever shared with someone before.
How oblivious the mind of a human can be. Not realizing from the beginning what greatness lies in front of him.
But Christmas, forever will show his right feelings and he will go after the source of happiness. Not by mind or by legs, but by heart. Because true love is happiness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Light candles burning in their lamp ads, are spreading a golden trembling light, over the covered table with small porcelain cups of tea, not white, not green, but with barely guessed drawings.
In the corner of the room with red carpets and heavy curtains, a tall cone tree lies magnificently adorned and shining beautifully in the small light sending rays over the room.
The smell of cinnamon, green tea, silk and velvet, of winter and memories, vanilla and forest filled his nostrils.
He raised his head gently, as much as his injuries allowed it, from the couch in which he was staying, and looked around bewildered by the great image in front of him. He knew how it looked like but he wanted to stare at it again, to feel his heart at peace by sending another look at the splendid settlement before him. Only someone was missing from that picture.
Finally, he appeared. His dark gaze shone in the light of the candles and a smile played on his lips. The dobe changed the arrangement of his living room again. Naruto stared at his face with hints of red from the cold winter outside, fragile and covered in some places with small snow flakes which already started to melt from the warmness which was coming from the radiator. The raven's fingers were playing with the small seeds of the mistletoe which he was holding.
They looked at each other in silence, but it was a silence like a sound and like a beautiful smell. Green, of the holiday. In just one look, many thoughts and many words had been sent to each other. Then, in a second the raven reached to the couch where the blonde was staying and raised the plant above of them. They sent each other mischievous looks and their lips collide into a wonderful, unforgettable kiss. Time seemed to stay in place for them, both of them giving the other one piece of their own soul to hold and to take care of it forever.
And the magic of that long second which lasted as a Christmas night, stirs around Naruto and Sasuke, tying more their lives to each other. Each one of them giving himself as a gift to the other.
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Story notes: Just another one-shot which had to be done yesterday. I'm so lazy *sighs*
Anyway enjoy,I hope that you'll like it and also don't forget to review!
And also: Merry Christmas!
Chapter end notes: Hope you enjoyed it!