Chapter Text
Cool sea breeze fluttered as the ship sailed in the vast ocean and towards its destination.
Standing on the quarter deck of the ship, watching the waves roll by, a tall raven haired male looked down, eyes carrying a far away look in them.
As the onyx eyes adorning a fair face bore into the sea, the man shook his head, sighed and walked down from the deck, long raven hair pulled into a low ponytail fluttering along the breeze, and into his cabin.
Inside his cabin, the man saw his friend (and cousin) standing by the window also looked at the sea.
“We'll be there soon,” the other man hummed, slowly turning his head to face the him with a small smile. “Don't be so down, Itachi. If nothing else, think of the new sights we will get to see in the new land.“
Itachi shook his head, with a gentle press of his lips, he answered with a sigh. “Where I shall relinquish my freedom and sit on throne made of regrets?“
“Woah, there!“ Shisui waved his hands in front of him. “No need to make it sound so miserable. Think of it as more of a business trip since we are hardly going to reach an agreement soon.“
Itachi let a wry smile slip on his face as he glanced out of the window. “I suppose,” he murmured softly. “I'd hate to disappoint though.“
Shisui shook his head, a feeble chuckle dying at the back of his throat. “Maybe you'll end up finding the right one?“
“Let's hope so,” Itachi answered, folding his hands behind his back.
The waves continued to crash against the hull, their destination still far enough.
“Are you sure, Your Highness?“ A girl — dark-skinned and beautiful as the morning dew — asked nervously as she tailed after her companion alongside another girl.
“I mean, come on, Your Highness,” said the other girl in a soft voice — a healthy tan and bright green-eyed beauty — as she walked to follow the person in question. “You agreed, but what if it was on impulse? What if things aren't as good as you hope?“
“Yes, I'm sure. Now come on, Miranda, stop being such a pessimist. And you too, Annaliesse, show some joy, I'm getting married soon.“ The boy — nineteen perhaps, sun-kissed skin, long, silky blond hair and mesmerizing cerulean eyes — answered, quickly striding to duck behind a tree.
His two friends followed, worry evident on their faces. Their friend preferred to mask his apprehension and fear under the faux show of optimism.
They were afraid for him. What if he was scarred after what has happened last time?
They had sworn to never let the history repeat itself. But now, things had spiralled out of their control.
There was nothing they could do except offering support and trying to distract him.
Their friend walked to the wall and tugged on the rope hanging on it, leading to the other side.
Annaliesse was the first one to snap to action, quickly walking over and standing behind him as Miranda swiftly followed suit.
“Careful, Your Highness,” Miranda fretted as she looked up, watching her best friend scale the wall.
“Go on, no one's around,” Annaliesse remarked, looking around for anyone else.
Their blond friend scaled the wall and stood up on it, squatting as he waited for Miranda and Annaliesse to follow.
“Come on, guys. Evening is upon us!“ He urged as they climbed, making them scowl.
“Well, Your Highness,” Miranda answered with no bite in her voice. “Forgive us for not being as swift on our feet as you!“
The blond laughed, throwing his head back, nearly making the hood covering him slip a little. “Sorry, sorry. Now come up,” he smiled, reaching out to pull them up.
Turning around on the wall, he looked down, his black cloak fluttering with the wind as Miranda and Annaliesse stood beside him.
“Let's go!“ He sounding way too cheerful for it to be natural. Miranda and Annaliesse exchanged concerned glances with each other.
By the time they looked back at the prince, the latter was long gone having jumped down from the wall while they weren't looking.
“Your Highness!“ Annaliesse exclaimed, jumping down.
Beyond the wall, on the ground, the blond finally took off the hood covering his face and looked up at them. Raising a hand while wiggling his index finger, the nineteen years old grinned.
“No ‘Your Highness’ beyond the walls, Anna and Mira.“ He spoke. “I do have a name that I love, you know!“
Miranda rolled her eyes hard. Crossing her arms on her chest, she straightened herself up and walked upto him before answering.
“I am a bit forgetful, do forgive me, Naruto.“
Naruto huffed. “You are a jerk.“
“And yet,” Annaliesse jumped to him, taking a hold of his forearm gently as she barrelled into him. “You love her and me.“
“I regret that,” Naruto answered, playfully rolling his eyes. “But yes, I don't deny that.“
Annaliesse laughed, a bright sound that made Naruto smile, shaking his head as he walked towards the town, dragging Annaliesse with him who dragged an extremely disgruntled Miranda with herself.
Naruto shook his head, pulling half of his hair into a low ponytail as he walked after Annaliesse and Miranda.
His father had told him that the Uchiha envoy would arrive either today or tomorrow. He did hope that it was tomorrow. He wanted to celebrate the last bit of his freedom, the last night of his freedom with his people.
Before he would be married, bound to a man he didn't even know the name of.
Shaking his head to rid himself of his gloomy thoughts, the prince quickened his steps to reach his destination.
Naruto flashed all the vendors who looked his way a smile as he made his way to the dancing square near the port.
It was pretty much a tradition by now.
As the evening approached, Naruto was bodily dragged around by his two best friends and made to roam the entire market.
Posing as a commoner, Naruto preferred to call himself Renard*. With his little pet fox resting in his robes' pocket, the prince let himself be taken around.
Stopping right at the edge of the sea, where the ships halted and businessmen and sailors alike entered their country, Annaliesse — very cheerfully shot him a meaningful look — and signalled at a robust man walking down a ship.
“So, Naruto, how does he look?“ She asked teasingly, having known Naruto's romantic and sexual inclination for as long as the boy himself did.
Playing along, the prince hummed, assessing the man she pointed out. “Not too bad, I must say. But I'd prefer someone more elegant.“
With a huff, Miranda muttered under her breath. “The last time it didn't end well. That reminds me that I still have to find that guy and teach him a lesson.“
Naruto stilled, looking away from the ships in the port and walking away from the dock.
“Miranda,” he sighed, slumping in Annaliesse's hold. “Let it be. We broke up, for good I like to believe. We weren't a good match, I think.“
Annaliesse let out an incredulous snort, scoffing. “Please, Naruto. You are an angel, too good for that bastard. I bet he would have latched onto you had he found out your true identity.“
“Yes,” Miranda agreed with a scowl. “Good thing you insisted on keeping it a secret.“
Naruto shook his head, a smile covering his lips. “Come on girls, let's not spoil our mood by talking about him, yes? Let's go. I'd love to dance my night away before I end up going away.“ Holding Miranda's hand and squeezing Annaliesse's, he continued. “Let's dance like it's the last time.“
Miranda pursed her lips and Annaliesse looked away.
“We told you that you didn't have to agree,” they said in a frightening synchronisation. “His Majesty would never force you.“
Naruto shook his head, biting back a sigh. He was finding it hard to maintain his smile.
“You don't get it, you two,” he drawled, walking faster to leave them behind. “This alliance is extremely important for both the countries, mine and theirs. So, I don't see anything wrong with marrying their crown prince.“
“Yes,” Miranda nodded, a sarcastic lilt in her words. “There's nothing wrong being stuck in a potentially love less, political marriage.“
“Absolutely nothing!“ Annaliesse chimed in, looking less than pleased.
Naruto looked up, sending a silent plea of help at the darkening sky.
“Would you look at that?“ He changed the topic cheerfully. “It's time for the dance!“ He continued, walking back. Taking a hold of his two friends' hands, he added. “I don't want to be late. Let's go!“
Miranda and Annaliesse spoke no more, there was no changing his mind, was there?
They let out twin sighs before promptly following the prince.
As soon as the three of them were away from the docks and the port, a huge, beautiful ship sailed to the port and slowly came to a stop at the dock.
From the ship, first came down a man with short hair and handsome visage. Then he was followed by a line of other people from the crew before finally, came along another long raven haired man who slowly and gracefully got down from the main deck.
Itachi looked at the country beyond the dock, onyx eyes taking in the sight of the beautiful place set alight by the light of thousands of lanterns.
He sighed.
It was going to be a tiring stay.
Miranda suddenly pulled Naruto into a stop, making the blond halt and look back at her doubtfully.
Pointing at one of the familiar man among the rush of people, Miranda abruptly grinned in a very impish manner which suddenly rang multiple bells in the blond's mind.
The next moment, he was made to stand in front of the familiar man who looked at him questioningly.
“Renard?“ The man asked quietly.
“Einar,” Naruto smiled, turning so that his side was facing the man as the continued to walk. “How have you been?“ He asked softly, a smile still on his face.
Einar frowned. “Doing quite all right. Though I still find it hard to believe that the bastard did what he did.“
Naruto stilled, turning to look at the man. He bit his lips, stopping the smile that threatened to break out.
“Why do you guys keep reminding me of the bitter break up from a year ago?“ He complained.
“Because that is one of the only ways to remind you that you gotta do something..?“ Einar suggested with a raise of his eyebrow. “Honestly, I don't get how he decided that he could just end things one-sidedly without giving any valid reason! Like look at you! You are everything anyone would ever ask for.“
Naruto looked down, folding his hands in front of his, right hand clasping the left wrist. “Truth be told,” he started. “It'd be a lie if I said that it didn't hurt me when he decided to end things.“
It did. It had been a boulder on his heart. It was like his entire world came crashing down. Leaving him something more than just pain and sadness.
It left him with self-doubt.
And since then, he has never even entertained the thought of a relationship. He wasn't sure how he would handle it in case the ending was just as bad.
“And lying to make people believe that you are okay is like a second nature.“
Naruto looked up, blue eyes looking at the warm brown ones. With a chuckle he replied.
“I suppose that true. I find no need to make other people to worry over my things.“
“I hear that you are getting married,” Einar suddenly brought up the subject he had been trying to avoid, making him freeze.
That's it. It was either Miranda or Annaliesse. Those two rats!
He looked around from the corner of his eyes, trying to find those two rats— no, friends.
“Who told you that?“ He challenged, raising an eyebrow.
Einar grinned at him. “Take a guess.“
“Forget it,” Naruto waved his hand. “I already have a good answer to that. “Let's go. I bet music is about to start. I don't want to be late on my last night of freedom.“ He quickened his pace.
Behind him, Einar smiled, one filled with regret. He shook his head and sighed as he watch the blond walk farther and farther away from him.
It was symbolic perhaps.
Itachi walked around the port with his hands in his trouser's pockets as he waited for Shisui to finish instructing people.
The black fringes framing his face fluttered gently as the wind howled in his ears. Inadvertently, his eyes were drawn to the brightness outside the port.
It made him wonder. Why was it so bright at this time of the day?
Behind him, Shisui suddenly put a hand on his shoulder, making him jump a little. Turning back, he raised an eyebrow at his best friend.
“What was that?“ He asked in a low voice.
“You seemed taken by the sight,” Shisui shrugged. “So, let's go and see this place. I've heard a lot about their tradition of dancing at the fall of dusk.“
“Dancing?“ Itachi echoed, a little intrigued.
“Yes,” Shisui nodded, taking him by arms as he pulled the crown prince out. “Apparently, at the fall of dusk, everyone in the town gather at the dancing square and live music is played, a joyous practice it seems.“
“Indeed,” Itachi found himself agreeing as they walked out of the port and followed the crowd of people. “It seems so.“
The people before them chattered happily. Things he could hear were.
“—dancing—”
“—music is really good—”
“—Mr. Renard plays good tunes—”
“—his dance is better—”
Itachi pursed his lips, watching all the lanterns hanging on outside of the shops lining the street. He wanted to be somewhere else, crowd was giving him anxiety. He glanced at Shisui and saw the other man taking in the new sight curiously.
He held back a sigh.
Unlike him, Shisui had always been able to blend right in. While Itachi was always apprehensive about crowd, Shisui was not affected all that much.
His best friend looked at him and raised his eyebrows in question.
Itachi shook his head, indicating that he was fine when he was far from that, really.
Shisui closed in on him, placing a comforting hand on his lower arm. He whispered. “Relax, Itachi. Try to take joy in this. Maybe watching people dance will help? But if it doesn't, tell me right away. We will leave.“
Itachi shrugged. “Maybe,” he muttered slowly. “Okay,” he nodded in relief. Pulling his hands out of his pockets, the prince started fiddling with his sleeves, allowing Shisui to lead him.
The sky darkened completely as the lanterns shone brighter. The crowd moved to the place he presumed to be the dancing square, keeping his eyes trained on the cobblestoned path under his feet as he walked, Itachi abruptly looked up as a sweet melody fell into his ears.
Turning to look at his cousin, the Uchihas shared a look before Shisui nodded and walked to the source of the music.
The dancing square.
As soon as the crowd of men, women and children alike went to join the musician at the centre, Itachi caught the sight of the person playing the melody and felt his breath hitch.
At the centre of — now growing — circle of people dancing to the tune, stood a young man — nineteen perhaps? — a violin poised in his elegant hands as the bow clasped between his slender fingers danced on the strings.
The man was a beauty. With his eyes closed and a ghost of smile on his lips, he held joy in playing the music as he stood tall, rocking gently to the music he was playing.
His long blond hair swayed, as if shimmering under the light, his entire form was breathtaking.
It almost made Itachi want to search for his figure from between the people who were dancing a harmonious combination of Reel and Céilidh.
The festive music flowing in his ears suddenly stopped, making the prince look for the blond beauty.
He saw two women and a man take away the violin from him. The man took over playing the music and a few sang alongside him, a joyous activity it was.
The two women — girls — on the seized the musician by the both of his arms and dragged him off to dance with others.
Quickly, the boy danced with the people, his smile easy and so bright it seemed to lighten up the entire place. His cerulean eyes shone with delight as he followed along the dance of people around him.
Itachi found himself enthralled by the sheer sight of him. Tuning out everything els, he focused solely on the blond violinist.
Beside him, Shisui observed his cousin and followed his line of sight, only to discover that his best friend was in fact — very stoicly — ogling a beautiful man.
Shisui's eyes darted from his best friend to the happily dancing blond. For a moment, he was tempted to ask him to join the dance but held back.
Standing on the sidelines while observing the way everyone behaved — danced — Itachi raised an elegant eyebrow. Finding his eyes drawn to a particular blond time and time again.
Beside him, Shisui immediately went into a food stall and order himself food while asking Itachi if he wanted some. The latter shook his head, arms crossed on his chest as he watched the dance continue.
Rhythmic tapping and harmonious claps echoed all around, accentuated by laughter every so often.
Meanwhile, the blond violinist was spinning around, hooking his arm with a middle-aged woman. He threw his head back, a laughter on his face stark.
Miranda and Annaliesse were dancing together, judging people as they twirled around, feet tapping on the ground, clapping once in a while.
Annaliesse was the first one to notice.
“Uhm, hey, Mira,” she whispered in her ears. “Doesn't that man look new here?“ She asked. “And handsome too, very handsome.“ She added as an after thought.
Miranda looked at the direction she was signalling and found herself looking at an extremely handsome man with long raven hair and a noble and elegant aura around him.
With a nod, she turned her eyes back to her best friend. With a knowing look, they looked towards their dancing best friend and shared a smirk.
“Annaliesse,” Miranda drawled. “Are you thinking the same thing as I am?“
“I don't know Miranda, am I?“ Annaliesse flashed a toothy grin at her. Her expression meant she was upto something.
And oh boy, who was Miranda to stop her?
Springing into action Miranda took off towards the man standing on the sidelines looking at someone while Annaliesse quickly brought Naruto in a dance with herself, slowly making their way to the centre where only four people could dance together.
Miranda pulled into a halt in front of the man.
“Hello, gentleman!“ She curtseyed. “Would you honour me a dance with you?“ She asked, not waiting for an answer, she held his hand and walked into the circles of dancers.
The man — thankfully — was cooperative, respectful even, and took no offense of her actions and allowed her to take him with herself.
With her arm hooked into his, Miranda taught him the steps and glanced at Annaliesse over his shoulder. Giving her a miniscule nod, she slowly danced her way to where Annaliesse was dancing with Naruto.
As the danced around each other, Annaliesse clapped twice signalling her to do it.
The two men had their backs to each other when the four of them danced alongside each other.
Smoothly twirling in a perfect sync, Annaliesse and her held each other's hands, moving just in time for the other two men to spin such that they became partners.
In one fluid motion, the two of them had managed to matchmake their best friend and the suave man who was nothing if not a gentleman.
Annaliesse gave her a discreet thumbs up, Miranda let out a sigh of relief and looked at the two men from her peripheral vision.
They better not fuck it up.
Naruto was enjoying himself, letting go off his worries for the night as he danced with Annaliesse, eyes shining as they reflected the hundreds of lanterns around them.
It was all merry, matching steps, thumping feets, claps and choruses of the song that was played by Einar.
All until Annaliesse and Miranda decided to dance together, leaving him and Miranda's partner in an awkward state.
As Naruto spun on his toes, long hair flying gracefully along with the low lift of his robes, he suddenly found himself face to face with a stranger.
Mind you a very handsome, breathtaking even, stranger.
Most importantly, neither Miranda nor Annaliesse were in their vicinity.
Naruto bit his lips, slightly raising his head to meet the gaze of the raven male in front of him.
The man was looking at him. Feeling his cheeks warm up at the intensity of his gaze, Naruto offered him a gentle smile, his golden locks, falling on the sides of his face.
Time seemed to draw on for too long.
“Uhm,” he cleared his throat. “Abandoned?“ In a soft voice, he asked, tilting his head slightly.
“Hn,” the raven haired man answered, looking at him with hooded eyes. “I presume you were too?“
“Well,” Naruto chuckled, looking down. “Embarrassingly enough, those two are my best friends. Sorry, got you stuck here.“
“It's quite all right,” the man replied in a baritone voice, his onyx eyes shining slightly. “I don't mind, I'll go back.“
With that, he turned to leave the circle. Entirely on impulsive, Naruto's hand darted to hold the man's before the blond could think it through.
Halting on his tracks, the raven turned to look at him, confusion on his face and a slight flush on his cheeks.
Naruto — of course — ignored it, being too flustered at his own actions.
“Uhm, oh, sorry,” he apologized, quickly letting go of his hand. “I didn't mean— well, now that we are here,” he paused, biting his lips while looking up at the raven through his eyes lashes. Holding out his hand, fair palm unfurling, he offered. “Why not have one last dance with me.“ A slight blush dusting his cheeks pink.
Oh god, what was he doing? Why was he embarrassing himself?!
On the verge of backtracking at the other man's silence, Naruto was about to speak when another hand, calloused, colder and larger than his own, gently held his outstretched one.
Uh, oh.
The raven's fingers intertwined with Naruto's own, filling the spaces between his fingers like puzzle pieces, as if their hands belonged.
Together.
Oh the irony.
The music changed to something warmer, almost romantic if he dared to say.
The raven haired male tenderly pulled him closer, a gentle hand rested on his waist as the man lead the dance.
Absently, Naruto noted that it was Waltz now.
The two of them danced chest to chest, foreheads very close to each other, and fingers intertwined in a perfect grip.
The man was bent forward slightly as he looked at Naruto. The latter, not fairing off all that better, found himself drawn into the raven's gaze.
The music took a dive, the man dipped Naruto expertly and then rose, a while later the blond twirled elegantly, a smile dancing on his face.
The man gave him a small smile of his own.
“I'm glad,” he murmured into Naruto's ears. “Having met you tonight. May I know your name, gentleman?“
Naruto looked down at him, hands in his shoulders, hair curtaining forward as the man effortlessly picked him by his waist, spun a little and put him down.
“I don't know, may you?“ He asked teasingly. The man's eyes widened slightly, ducking his head a little, he grinned.
“This is the first.“ He admitted. “Then, allow me to go first?“
“Please.“
With a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, the man tipped forward, lowering Naruto once more, their noses touched as the blond locks nearly brushed against the floor.
“I'm Weasel, delighted to meet you.“
“In that case,” Naruto smiled, his back against the man's chest with the raven's arms wrapped around his waist. “You may call me Fox and the sentiment is returned, Mr. Weasel.“
“I'm glad,” as the Mr. Weasel spoke, Naruto felt his chest rumble at the sound.
As the musical tempo increased, their dance sped up, and so did their heartbeats.
When finally came to an end, Naruto closed his eyes allowing himself to lean into the stranger's arms to catch his breath and calm his racing heart.
Swaying gently, Naruto hummed. “This is our last dance, perhaps. But I'm glad to have met you, Mr. Weasel,” he looked up, cerulean eyes colliding with onyx irises that suddenly flashed red. “I'm glad. But now, I must leave.“
As they separated, the regret in Naruto's heart was painful, turning to look over his shoulder, he saw Weasel's gaze following him.
Upon catching Naruto's eyes on him, he gently raised his hand and waved slowly.
Naruto turned back, looking at his feet as he walked away with a racing heart, smile hanging on his lips.
Brushing a stray lock of hair behind his ear, Naruto pressed a hand against his heart.
Oh, the sweet suffering.