[Fic] "Maboroshi" -- Naruto
Jan. 6th, 2017 11:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edenfallingNote: This took me slightly over five months to write, because reasons, but I got there in the end. :D (1,075 words)
[ETA: The AO3 crosspost is now up!]
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Maboroshi
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"We trust you," Sakura says, and Naruto nods in agreement.
Sasuke is still half-convinced they're insane. Or no, that's imprecise. He's been absolutely sure they're insane for a long time now; anyone sane would have given up on him back when he abandoned Konoha for Orochimaru's poisoned promises, not spent years chasing after him like he was still worth salvaging. But he's had time to get used to that. Asking him to use Sharingan on them, willingly giving themselves over to its enhanced illusions, is a new and unsettling brand of madness.
"Are you sure?" he asks one last time.
"What part of yes did you not understand?" Naruto says, annoyance shading the edges of his voice. "Seriously, I'm starting to think you're just fronting 'cause you actually don't know shit about genjutsu and you're too embarrassed to admit you wasted all those years in Sound playing dress-up with your stupid bows instead of figuring out your own stupid bloodline and--"
Sasuke catches Naruto's eyes with his own and yanks him under before he can finish the sentence.
Which was the intended effect, of course -- Naruto's learned to weaponize his big mouth over the years and uses his weird mix of charisma and irritation to devastating effect -- but at least this way Sasuke gets the small satisfaction of shutting him up, and down in a private corner of his heart he'll even admit that he's kind of grateful that his partners know how to kick him past his own hang-ups when needed.
"Don't leave the job half-finished," Sakura says as she lowers Naruto's unresponsive body to their bed and lies down beside him, lacing her fingers between his. "I want to see what you think of as a happy place." She smiles as she meets Sasuke's eyes, and wraps her own chakra around his to bind the illusion more securely into place.
(Her control never ceases to amaze him.)
Sasuke can't precisely cast genjutsu on himself, but there are other ways to play mental games, so he sits cross-legged on the bed, rests his one palm gently on his partners' linked hands, and lets himself sink into the non-place where tailed beasts live in their hosts, or the Yamanaka pick their way into other people's brains. He finds the little bubble he built, and opens the door.
Naruto is lying draped across the bridge railing looking boneless as a cat; Sasuke almost expects him to start purring in the late morning sunlight. Sakura is crouched on the water beneath him, trailing her fingers through its swift, bright flow. The indistinct sounds of Konoha at peace drift past Sasuke's ears, though no other human is visible in this tiny slice of memory: just the warm summer sun and a sense of possibility.
"You're a sap," Sakura says fondly as Sasuke steps onto the planks of the bridge.
"Also way kinkier than I expected," Naruto chimes in, adding to his cat-like impression by only opening his eyes to the narrowest possible slits. "I mean, sex in public, where anyone could wander past? Not to mention the splinters. Have you ever gotten splinters down there? Because it is not fun, let me tell you."
"I have removed splinters from other people's genitals," Sakura says, as she sends a tiny waterspout whirling upward to drench Naruto's face, "and if you don't quit being deliberately provoking for an hour or so, I'll use you as my practice dummy for reversing the process. Trust and emotional closeness don't automatically imply sex."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I got Sasuke to turn as red as one of his stupid tomatoes! Tell me that's not worth some innuendo."
Sasuke remembers he's supposed to be in control of this illusion and wipes the flush of embarrassment off his skin. "Idiot," he grumbles.
Naruto grins. "Quit pretending, you know you love me. And get over here and start enjoying the beautiful day you made for us before somebody's subconscious gets paranoid and we get jumped by missing-nin out of nowhere."
"Or Kakashi," Sakura adds. "It's a team-based scenario, right? I think he'd be a more likely interruption than random invaders."
"Not Kakashi. Sai," Sasuke says, and bites back a smile as the others jointly twitch. (Serves them right for trying to replace him with shoddy imitations.) He leans over the railing and holds his right hand down toward Sakura. She doesn't need his help to jump this minor distance, of course, but something warm curls and settles in his gut, both surprised and satisfied, when she wraps her fingers around his palm and trusts him to support and balance her weight as she flips up onto the bridge.
"We should come here for real," she says as she settles against the railing and runs her free hand through Naruto's hair. (Her other hand is still holding Sasuke's. He both wishes she'd let go immediately and wants to hold on forever.) "Maybe tomorrow, or the day after -- just ditch our responsibilities, take a walk through all our old training grounds, and then hit up Ichiraku for lunch."
"And then sex, somewhere without splinters," Naruto says.
"One track mind," Sakura says fondly, but she doesn't remove her hand from his hair anymore than she lets go of Sasuke.
In the waking world, that would be the end of it. Here, in this illusion, Sasuke reaches out with his left arm and rests his palm and fingers against the side of Naruto's neck, skin to skin. Naruto shivers -- the position could turn deadly in a heartbeat, and they've come so close to killing each other that his instincts must be protesting -- but he only tips his head further back, gives Sasuke access to even more of his throat.
In the corner of his eye, Sasuke can see Sakura biting her lip. He's not sure if she's trying to hold back laughter or desire. Maybe both; people are complicated, as he's learned (slowly, painfully, reluctantly) over the years.
"It's your illusion," Naruto says, challenge in his voice despite the implied surrender of his body. He catches Sasuke's eyes, his own open all the way at last. "Make us a bedroom. Or are your fancy eyes not up to that?"
"Idiot," Sasuke says, and gently closes his hand to feel Naruto's pulse jump under his touch. Sakura's fingers clench around his own and she steps sideways into his true line of sight.
The world blurs and reforms around them.
What happens after that belongs to them alone.
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End of Fic
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Victory! \o/
I have two more prompts to fill from that particular mini-ficlet prompt meme, after which I will get to work on some other projects that have also been languishing while I took a mental health break from writing.
