I Will Always Love You

Sirens broke the still of the night, red and blue blue lights took turns bathing them in vivid color. To Sasuke, everything seemed way too quiet, but was still somehow echoing in his head. His heart pounded in his ears, his breath coming in sharp gasps. He was in a daze as he looked down at his own bloody hands, before turning to face Naruto. His face was splattered with blood. He too appeared to be in the some kind of daze. When he met Sasuke’s panicked stare, the brightness had left his eyes, the crystal blue pools that had always held reassurance and comfort for Sasuke had become hollow. That scared Sasuke more than anything the had done that night. Darkness engulfed them both.

Sasuke awoke with a start. Panting and sweating, he was staring up at the dark ceiling of their bedroom. His heart was racing. He hated that dream and he’d been having it more frequently. 

No, not a dream, memories. 

He brought his hand up to rub his face, wincing at forgotten injuries, before turning to look at his sleeping lover. Naruto rarely woke up to his nightmares, for which he grateful. His arms were loosely wrapped around him, which made it easy to slip out and move to the bathroom, trying to avoid tripping over loose articles of clothing scattered around floor as he went. He closed the bathroom door slowly and quietly, before turning on the light. Sanding over the the sink, gripping it tightly both hands, willing his panic attack to go way before it truly started. Looking up he caught sight of him self in the mirror and stopped. A stranger stared back at him. He looked pale and clammy. Dark hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. Bandages covering his left arm and leg. Bruises coving a good portion of the rest of his naked body. ‘I look absolutely pathetic.’ He thought. Where was the handsome, strong willed, defiant young man that had sacrificed everything to restore his family name?

He sighed. These wounds would heal and he would look like himself again. Looking again, he smiled. Some of these marks he didn’t mind, eyeing the bite mark on his neck. He was sure he had more. Naruto didn’t know the meaning of the word “gentle” when I came to love making, but Sasuke didn’t mind. Naruto would try for tenderness if he had asked, but he enjoyed the rough sex, and left his own marks on the other man. Somehow it reminded him of when they used to fight as kids. Those were good memories.

Sasuke reached forward and turned the handle on the cold water, and place his uninjured hand under the low, steady stream of water, allowing it to fill before splashing it on his face. Looking down he could still see the blood of the past on his hands... could still see it on Naruto’s face sometimes. 

It had only been two years, and he wondered if these memories would haunt his dreams forever. 

Shivering in the cold, Sasuke searched the bathroom floor for a suitable covering, finding a pair of his own shorts and a shirt of Naruto’s that smelled to be mostly clean. Their apartment was in desperate need of a cleaning day. Sasuke returned to the sink and splashed water on face one more time before hitting the light and opening the door. He stood in the door way for a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness so that he could cross the room without colliding with the bed and waking Naruto. Feeling for the edge of the comforter, he pulled it back, but the cold air entering the warmth underneath cause Naruto to stir. He made a noise of discontented, not truly awake, and assisted Sasuke with holding up the blanket to crawl back into the lull of his lovers embrace. Resting his head on Naruto’s chest, just under his chin, Sasuke was almost instantly brought back into the would of dreams.