Winter

(Creative Cruelty)

–

Naruto dislikes winter.

The cold that makes him hurt and keeps him trapped beneath the layers of clothes that he needs to keep piling on, in order to control the constant shivering.

He’s cold most of the time anyway, and the dropping temperature does nothing to help him. He dislikes the long, dark nights that last for much too long, stretching well into what should have been a new day.

The world seems bigger somehow in winter. Looking up at the sky and all it’s stars reminds Naruto of places he wants to forget. The icy wind is sharp and sometimes Naruto’s heart skips a beat, because is that the wind or someone’s – his – fingertips? Will there be a sea of tulips waiting for him behind the next corner?

“You’re never really warm, are you?” Sasuke asks, pressing his palm against Naruto’s chest. They’re in Naruto’s bed once again, with thick blankets covering them, lying side by side.

“Not in winter,” Naruto replies, and Sasuke snorts.

“It’s like the blood inside you doesn’t flow,” Sasuke continues. “It’s like you’re dead. Cold and dead. A fucking corpse.”

“So necrophilia is your kink?” Naruto smirks. Outside, snow keeps falling and Naruto hates it. Doesn’t want to notice it. Tries to not focus on it.

So he focuses on Sasuke, who’s not as cold as Naruto, and very willing to share the warmth he has.

Summer

(Creative Cruelty)

–

Sasuke dislikes summer.

The heat that makes him sweat. The ever-decreasing layers of clothing on other people that ends up showing more than he wants to see. The lethargy. The insects. The sun that keeps shining so brightly. The long days, the short nights.

And the thought of getting a tan. It irritates him. He’s not like Naruto, whose tan suits him. Naruto, who’s always cold. Naruto, who seems somehow more alive during the summer, surrounded by sunlight and everything even remotely summery.

“I hate you,” Sasuke says, pressing his cheek against Naruto’s shoulder. He’s sitting behind the other boy, leaning against his back, and the coldness of the blond’s skin sweeps easily through the thin fabric of his T-shirt, and Sasuke can feel the chuckle before he hears it.

“Sure you do,” Naruto says. “Come sit in front of me.”

“Why?”

“It’s hot and you’re pink and sweaty and your hair is a mess. I want to stare at you.”

“Fuck you.” Maybe that’d actually be a good idea, considering how cold Naruto’s body is.

“Do you ever think of anything else?”

“Do you ever want to do anything else?” Sasuke asks, wrapping his arms around Naruto. “I hate summer.”

“We can go to the beach,” Naruto suggests. “And you can drown your whiny ass in the sea and leave me alone.”

“Fucking asshole,” Sasuke says, and stands up. “Fine, let’s go.”

Thanks

(Creative Cruelty)

This drabble contains mild spoilers.

–

“I never got around to saying it, did I?” Naruto starts, touching lightly the blindfold he was wearing. “Thanks.”

“I don’t really see the point in you thanking me,” Kyuubi tells him. “Unless you’re trying to be sarcastic.”

“My life is so different from what I thought it would be,” Naruto says. “And I just… I owe you a lot. So in case I get killed sometime soon, I just want to say thank you. For, you know… being useful and shit.”

“Useful and shit,” Kyuubi repeats. “How flattering.”

“And even though you got me into trouble quite a few times–”

“You got into trouble all on your own.”

“–sometimes gave fucking lousy advice–”

“You failed to understand what I meant and acted according to what you wanted.”

“–but overall I’m really happy with how everything turned out–”

“At least someone is.”

“–and that’s why I wanted to say thank you,” Naruto says, and smiles. “I just wanted to get this off my chest, you know. Since some people seem to prefer me dead. Mainly because of you.”

“People want you dead because you’ve become the walking definition of trouble,” Kyuubi points out. “You have never been subtle about your activities. Especially after… getting that Uchiha Sasuke thing that you’re keeping.”

“It’s pretty well-trained.”

“Careful, or it might be the one to kill you in the end.”

“Maybe,” Naruto says, and stands up to leave. “Wouldn’t that be interesting?”

Wind

(Creative Cruelty)

This drabble contains mild spoilers.

–

“I hate the fucking wind,” Sasuke whispers. They’re side by side on Naruto’s bed, in a room too dark for them to see each other. It’s fine, though. Sasuke doesn’t feel the desire to see the idiot blond right now anyway. It’s enough to hear him breathing and feel his heartbeat.

“It’s not the wind that makes all the noise in this house, you know,” Naruto says quietly, and his hand finds Sasuke’s own. They hold hands in the darkness, like a secret neither wants to admit to knowing. It’s easy to ignore this other, better, side of them at moments like these.

“I know that,” Sasuke replies, just as quietly. “The wind doesn’t sing. I blame it anyway.” The haunting humming that floats from the world outside the room makes Naruto feel cold – colder than he has in a while, and he rolls to lie on Sasuke, who lets go of Naruto’s hand in order to wrap his arms around the other boy’s shoulders.

He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but this is nice. It’s nice to have Naruto’s weight on him, pressing him into the mattress.

“My brother keeps asking about you,” Sasuke finally says, and Naruto lets out a sleepy sound.

“I have no interest in him.”

Good, Sasuke thinks. Finally someone who sees Itachi for what he is – an uninteresting person, whose intelligence adds little dimension and no depth into his character. Of course if someone could see Itachi the way Sasuke does, it would be Naruto.

“The wind’s getting noisy,” Sasuke mutters when the humming turns from peaceful into frightened, rushed. “It’s disturbing me.”

“Hm,” is Naruto’s input. He’s nearly asleep, and Sasuke sighs.

“If I had any more energy right now,” he says, “I’d fuck you. Just to make you moan louder than that infernal wind.”

“Like I’d let you,” Naruto slurs, not moving an inch. “Fuck me? Like you have the fucking dick for it.”

“If you’re not going to feel it anyway, might as well fuck when you’re asleep,” Sasuke replies. “Spares me the trouble of dealing with you.”

“I’d fucking kill you. Skin you alive and set you on fire.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Naruto says, sounding more awake now. “I’d cut you to pieces and eat you.”

“Fuck you,” Sasuke says breathlessly. He’s turned on, and it makes him feel even warmer. “Like you could. Like you have a knife sharp enough.”

“Don’t need a knife,” Naruto murmurs, and kisses the corner of Sasuke’s mouth lightly. “Got the wind, remember?”

Formal

(Creative Cruelty)

This drabble contains spoilers.

–

The black cocktail dress fits her perfectly, and her make-up is elegant and perfectly done. She walks on the high heels easily – a feat that does not surprise Naruto.

“Are you ready?” she asks, taking in the sight of him in his black suit. She’s pale, but not nervous. Naruto remembers fondly the days when she’d shake in his presence.

“I am,” he replies. “Remember your part, darling.”

“You needn’t worry about me,” she tells him, and the smile on her face does not suit it at all. “You’re not the only special snowflake here anymore, remember?”

“I liked you more before you died,” Naruto reveals, and she lets her cold hand rest on his forearm.

“Is the car ready?”

“It has been for quite a while now.”

“Naruto,” she says then, looking troubled for the first time that day. “Sasuke will be there, won’t he?”

“Yes,” Naruto replies and smiles. “Yes. He will be there.”

“He knows I’m dead.”

Naruto’s grin widens at that – it is his reason for attending this boring, pointless party, decked in an uncomfortable suit of all things. He cannot wait to see Sasuke’s face once he arrives, accompanied by the first woman Sasuke ever killed.