Whoo, I'm actually writing stuff I owe you people! :O (Irunaru, FujiOshi, NejiNaru)
for tinted_glass
They find you near death.
You wake up in the hospital. You have candy and cards on the table by your bed, but no one is waiting for you.
Later, you learn that the people you would have liked to see were either also in the hospital or dead.
They ask you to talk to Sasuke (question, really). You say no. You have stopped caring. Sakura-chan begs you, but you don't do anything.
You will never forgive him. You don't want to, either.
The person you most want to see is also one of the worst injured. You visit him often, but he is never awake when you are there. You think of what you have always wanted, and you want it more than ever now.
He looks unchanged, although Tsunade-baachan says that he'll never be able to use his body to the same extent again. You are just glad that he's alive because you don't know what you would do without him.
You are the first person he sees when he leaves the hospital. Iruka comes to you, and you launch yourself into his arms. This is the only side you have left to show.
+++
for meemobunny
It will not be surprising.
###
You will meet him again at something or other hosted by Atobe. Neither of you will be different, but you will see something different in his smile.
You will not realize that your own expression is different. You will not even know why until later.
###
He will taste sweet and bitter at the same time, like he's been slighted. You will not be surprised.
You will wonder if you taste the same. You will not really want to know.
###
His smile will melt underneath your fingertips, and his eyes will grow hard. It will be hard and fast and rough, but neither of you will mind. It will still not matter then.
###
You will realize you are thinking of him one day, and you will wonder when you started to care.
You will not know that he feels the same.
###
The two of you will fit in some curious way, edges into edges because you are both tensai, much stranger than everyone else.
He will laugh, and when they walk past, it will not matter.
+++
for khaas
A little girl came up to them and asked, "Would you like an orange?" Neji could not say no, and Naruto would not have, anyway.
***
It was different now. Neji always needed Naruto, and now, Naruto only had Neji left.
***
Post-war reconstruction was grim. They both helped, but Naruto could never stay too long, not when the silence around him suffocated him.
Neji had become accustomed to it a long time ago.
***
They did not speak much to each other. There was no point, anyway.
That didn't mean that Naruto didn't hold on to Neji tightly at night, as if he were afraid Neji would disappear from him as well if his hold wasn't tight enough.
***
They shared the orange. Naruto got orange juice all over his face, and Neji watched him laugh as he licked around his mouth.
Neji kissed him. The sweet taste of the orange stayed in their mouths through the day.
They find you near death.
You wake up in the hospital. You have candy and cards on the table by your bed, but no one is waiting for you.
Later, you learn that the people you would have liked to see were either also in the hospital or dead.
They ask you to talk to Sasuke (question, really). You say no. You have stopped caring. Sakura-chan begs you, but you don't do anything.
You will never forgive him. You don't want to, either.
The person you most want to see is also one of the worst injured. You visit him often, but he is never awake when you are there. You think of what you have always wanted, and you want it more than ever now.
He looks unchanged, although Tsunade-baachan says that he'll never be able to use his body to the same extent again. You are just glad that he's alive because you don't know what you would do without him.
You are the first person he sees when he leaves the hospital. Iruka comes to you, and you launch yourself into his arms. This is the only side you have left to show.
+++
for meemobunny
It will not be surprising.
###
You will meet him again at something or other hosted by Atobe. Neither of you will be different, but you will see something different in his smile.
You will not realize that your own expression is different. You will not even know why until later.
###
He will taste sweet and bitter at the same time, like he's been slighted. You will not be surprised.
You will wonder if you taste the same. You will not really want to know.
###
His smile will melt underneath your fingertips, and his eyes will grow hard. It will be hard and fast and rough, but neither of you will mind. It will still not matter then.
###
You will realize you are thinking of him one day, and you will wonder when you started to care.
You will not know that he feels the same.
###
The two of you will fit in some curious way, edges into edges because you are both tensai, much stranger than everyone else.
He will laugh, and when they walk past, it will not matter.
+++
for khaas
A little girl came up to them and asked, "Would you like an orange?" Neji could not say no, and Naruto would not have, anyway.
***
It was different now. Neji always needed Naruto, and now, Naruto only had Neji left.
***
Post-war reconstruction was grim. They both helped, but Naruto could never stay too long, not when the silence around him suffocated him.
Neji had become accustomed to it a long time ago.
***
They did not speak much to each other. There was no point, anyway.
That didn't mean that Naruto didn't hold on to Neji tightly at night, as if he were afraid Neji would disappear from him as well if his hold wasn't tight enough.
***
They shared the orange. Naruto got orange juice all over his face, and Neji watched him laugh as he licked around his mouth.
Neji kissed him. The sweet taste of the orange stayed in their mouths through the day.