#chdri

LATE NIGHTS / not accepting

                 he was skeptical at first. surely this was some sort of joke, like the big dunce, the loser, some other insult that he’d one day find hidden in the stars. but there was nothing, he seemed to mean it. “ it wasn’t just me. ” he wanted to say that for so long, to someone who would listen, and not just call him modest. he hadn’t fought that war alone, he never did anything alone. of course he wanted to be the greatest shinobi, to have so many know he existed, but that didn’t mean he’d ever let another go unnoticed, unheard. “ you, sakura-chan, kakashi-sensei.. the rookie nine, the jounin, the other villages, the bijuu, the jinchuuriki, the kage.. obito.. we all did it. ” he takes in a deep breath, to settle himself. just thinking of that war, of everything that was lost, of how the desires of one ruined the lives of so many. his hand, bandaged, clenches at his side.                 “ if they do, it won’t be after just me.. it’ll be after everyone; the warriors, the braves, whatever ya wanna call it. but i want it to represent everyone ‘ttebayo. ”

LATE NIGHTS / not accepting

              he hated sasuke talking about death, just as much as he hated hearing him talk about killing. from that first day of announcing their ambitions to the day they stood side by side he worried, always, about sasuke and everything he was doing. now here he went on about what he considered peaceful. no. that wasn’t allowed. if the blond wasn’t already comfortable, he’d have reached over and slapped him.             “ peaceful, huh? ” he begun, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. as if. “ ya think ya get to put me through hell and back, trying to make you see sense.. and you want peaceful? nah ” he couldn’t help the grin that begun to grow on his features, whiskers amplifying the expression like look here, he’s amused! “ ain’t nothin gonna be peaceful for ya now, teme. not while i’m around. until i think we’re even, not even death is gonna be peaceful for ya ‘ttebayo. ”

LATE NIGHTS / accepting

               he knows. he also knows he shouldn’t be, that he’s only ever been him and none of it has been a farce. but there’s something about sitting in an empty room with just the two of them, lying on a bed and staring at the ceiling, that lets him just RELAX. “ mm ” he briefly hums and closes his eyes, taking in the silence that followed. he knew how others saw him, this hyperactive shinobi, and yeah, that’s who he was. but sometimes, just sometimes, he wanted to sit back and let himself breathe. no fighting, no wars, no one getting hurt.               he turns onto his side and looks at the raven, nuzzling his head against the sheets to get comfortable. “ you’re different too ‘ttebayo. ” he counters, but it isn’t bad. it’s comforting that they both have other sides that only come out behind closed doors. they get to sit back and just be people again, not the child of prophecy and the heir of the uchiha. just naruto and sasuke, simple as. “ it’s not a bad thing, right? ” he turns to stare back at the ceiling, following the pattern with his eyes. “ ‘cos if you don’t want us like this i’m kicking ya off my bed. ”

LATE NIGHTS / accepting 

                 there was a lot of things naruto WISHED, even though he knew wishing on air wouldn’t change a thing. he often saw no point in looking at the world like that, as if some all knowing being would decide today was the day his wish was granted. he worked hard for his dreams, achieved them his way. everything he wished for was obtained through hard-work and sometimes painful sacrifice. 

                  he’d admit that sometimes the cost was too great, but he never gave up, and that’s what got him to where he was today, standing beside his rival as equals. “ you know, i think about that day sometimes.. by the river. ” it doesn’t narrow it down, but he doesn’t have to be specific. any of those days would have worked, but back then he NEVER thought that another could be as lonely or sad as he was. back then he never thought to befriend the uchiha who lost everything, not when he was the uzumaki who started with nothing. but maybe, maybe if he had said something. maybe if he tried harder. would things have been different?                “ even then i saw us as rivals. i saw you as my enemy before i even knew your name.. but that day, that day i felt that we were friends. we were both so caught up in our loneliness that we didn’t think about anyone else, but there was a moment when that didn’t matter and we were just kids. that’s all we should have ever been.. and sometimes i wish that we could have had that nice, simple life.. but you know.. ” he finds himself staring at the sky, a sunset similar to all those days of walking past the peer, seeing the raven staring into the water, of watching him and wondering why he was so alone and if that was normal. but then they locked eyes, and it was almost INSTINCT to glare, to scowl and pick fights. yet that was the moment. that was when he felt that sasuke was his friend. he never looked at him like he was broken or a monster. he saw him for who he was and accepted him as a rival without hesitation, even if his skill wasn’t up to par. sasuke did what no one else could, and if they had met sooner, maybe that wouldn’t have happened.                  he takes in a breath, stretching his arms above his head before linking his fingers behind his head, glancing sideways at the other. “ even if i had all the wishes in the world, i wouldn’t change a damn thing ‘ttebayo. ”