#ryū is v able to appreciate the sasuke aesthetic mkay x3

[kusunokihimea]

★ five times Ryuu thought Sasuke looked breath-taking, and the one time she voices it (in their senjutsu/traveling verse.. if Sasuke can even be breath-taking lol XD)

[send me a symbol for ][ @kyuuzuchiha ][ Accepting ]

     Hm…he said he’d be back by now…I hope they didn’t get carried away… After all, the last time Naruto and Sasuke really had a chance to do anything by way of battle, it nearly resulted in catastrophic geographical destruction.

     But given she hasn’t heard any explosions - at least, from this range - Ryū’s going to hope for the best.

     Seated outside a small cafe, she’s got her chin in her hand, mostly tuning out as she waits. Her lunch is half-eaten and now mostly forgotten, free hand absently twirling her cup of tea. Sasuke said he wouldn’t be long. Something about catching up with Naruto…which evidently translated into a spar. One that’s lasted far longer than she’d thought it would…

     Watching the few last dregs of amber liquid spin, there’s a pause before looking up at the approaching signatures. The pair of them are…certainly worse for wear, scuffed up and dirty. But Naruto has a companionable arm around Sasuke’s shoulders, laughing at…goodness knows what. Eyes closed, Sasuke manages a small scoff and an upturn of his lips. His normally-mussed hair is all the more untamed, clothes dusty and half-shed, skin both flushed and sweaty.

     It’s not anything unusual, or even entirely notable. But for some reason, the sight makes her heart skip a beat.

     “Yo, Ryū!” Naruto drags himself off his former teammate, still grinning ear to ear. “Look what I dragged back to ya in one piece! Though - heh! - just barely!”

     “You’re the one who was leaning on me, dobe.”

     “I wasn’t leanin’! I was just -!”

     Snapped from her stupor, Ryū gives her head a little shake and smiles reflexively, stubbornly ignoring the extra few beats pounding in her chest as her heart works overtime to make up for its stutter. “D…do either you need any patching up?”

     “Nah, we’re fine! Nothin’ a shower and a nap won’t fix, eh teme?”

     Sasuke doesn’t reply, staring at the healer with a furrowed brow. Greys glance bashfully aside at his scrutiny.

     “…teme?”

     “…yeah. I’m fine. C’mon, Ryū - Naruto’s late for his Hokage lessons. We’d best leave him to it.”

     "Oi! You’re just jealous!”

     “Of course I am. Now, I’m going to go shower, and you’re going to go let Kakashi lecture you for a few hours. Have fun.” With that, Sasuke gives a jerk of his head that clearly says, “Let’s go.”

     Scrambling to her feet, Ryū leaves her paid bill on the table. “C…coming!”

     Sitting up in bed with a sigh, Ryū takes a moment to rub palms at her face. It’s a little late…she’d best get up and get going. Dressing second naturedly, she indulges only in a cup of tea before heading out.

     …he must have gotten up before her.

     Taking the path from the manor toward the largest peak, Ryū eventually makes her way up the many stairs and switchbacks that lead to the plateau where her master waits. Each torī gate standing over the turns gets a familiar pat, until she reaches the one that crests the top where Suigin’s cave and the shrine sit.

     And, this particular morning…Sasuke, too.

     He’s about ten paces from the threshold of the stone staircase, perfectly still and positioned in a meditative pose. If not for the subtle swells and shrinks of his chest, Ryū would almost swear he was a statue carved up from the rock. Eyes are closed, expression neutral.

     He looks so…at peace. Ryū can’t help but stare a moment, a funny feeling beneath her sternum.

     Then one dark eye peels open, startling her. For a moment she’d forgotten he could move. “…Ryū,” he greets, a small hint of question in his tone.

     “Sorry, I…o-overslept.”

     “I haven’t been here long if you want to join.”

     “…sure.”

     A few sunsets later, Ryū comes in through the manor’s front door, leaning against it with a sigh once it snaps closed. What a day. Maintaining the valley and its self -sufficiency isn’t easy by any means, but some days are harder than others. And this was one of them.

     Add in the fact that, despite the late hour, she has yet to make dinner…and she’s only all the more disheartened. Partially at her own loss, but also because of Sasuke’s.

     Removing her shoes, she pads silently, barefoot, into the main room. Most of the lights are off, and it takes a sweep of her senses rather than her eyes to find him.

     He’s laid himself atop a settee, head propped up on a decorative pillow and more than obviously asleep. If not judging by his calmed chakra, then by his slack features and deep breathing.

     The guilt gets a little worse. Getting close with intent to wake him before she starts supper, Ryū stills as she takes in his features while vulnerable with sleep.

     He looks so…different. No suspicious crease to his brow, no hardness to his eyes, or set to his jaw. Everything softens as he slumbers, breath whispering past parted lips and a few stray locks cast over his face.

     Ever so carefully, heart quickening in her chest, Ryū brushes inky strands from his skin. His face tilts ever so slightly with just a breath of sound…but he doesn’t wake.

     Looking him over, Ryū sets her jaw against…whatever that was before retreating to the kitchen. For now…she’ll let him rest.

     More time passes. For a while, she can let herself forget. But after readying for bed one night, she goes to bid him goodnight…only to find him missing.

     …where…?

     Spreading her senses, she picks up his signature down at the first bridge from the manor. It’s well past sunset - what’s he doing out there? Heaving a small sigh, Ryū adjusts her yukata and slips on her sandals before heading out to chide him to sleep.

     The moon is high in the sky, bathing the valley in sharp contrast of black and white. It’s almost as though all the color has bleached from the world. Picking her way carefully along the still-overgrown paths, the healer comes up behind him, trying to lean and catch sight of his face.

     Sasuke leans folded arms across the crossing’s railing, one hip cocked and gaze staring out north up the valley toward its entrance. His usually-sharp features are thrown into even harsher relief. It’s almost like an old painting of ink on white paper rather than a living, breathing body.

     A bit breathless at the sight, Ryū eventually recovers and steps up beside him. “…are you all right?”

     “Hn. Just…thinking.”

     She lays dainty hands atop the same wooden railing, feeling the smoothed wood from generations of hands before hers. “…anything you want to voice?”

     “…not yet.”

     “Well…you should head to bed soon. It’s late.”

     “I will. Just not quite tired yet. You go rest.” He turns to face her, visage equal parts light and dark.

     “…goodnight, Sasuke.”

     “Night.”

     Sitting on the front step and sewing up a torn shirt of her companion’s, Ryū’s gaze drills into the task. A needle passes to and fro through the fabric, slowly but surely pulling the rift closed. He really needs to stop managing to tear such gaping holes in his garments! At this rate she might as well just make him new ones, he seems to damage them so often!

     Sighing, she brings it upright between her hands, eyeing her handiwork. Her last few stitches are a bit off…she’ll have to pull them out and try again.

     All the while, in the front garden, the soft sound of footfalls and measured, huffed breaths carry through the still, misty air. Going through his morning kata regimen, Sasuke moves himself through a series of stances, strikes, and held positions before letting himself relax between each set.

     Subtly, Ryū peeks over the shirt at him.

     He currently lacks one, hence her work. Instead, he works in nothing but typical trousers, feet bare with wrapped forearms and hands. Though not as intense as sparring, the rigorous work still leaves him gleaming with a thin sheen of sweat, a look of absolute concentration upon his features.

     …not to mention the tension in his muscles leaves them well-defined.

     A bit lost as eyes traces over his musculature, Ryū snaps back to attention as he finishes another set, losing rigidity and glancing her way. She makes a show of keeping the shirt aloft, staring at her stitching and trying to will away her blush and racing heart.

     “…are you done with it yet?”

     “A…almost!”

     She’s never been one much for fancy parties. But given this is the first anniversary of the shinobi alliance peace treaty that Sasuke has actually been present for…Ryū decides they should go. He was, after all, a major instrument of said peace.

     At least…in the end.

     Finishing up adjusting her kimono, Ryū carefully picks up the hem before approaching the bathroom door of their room. Knocking, she asks, “Um…are you done yet?”

     “Just about. You can come out.”

     After a slight pause, she does just that, opening the portal to the rest of their room. Sasuke has his back to her, adjusting a new set of hakama and haori. All of his top garments are a midnight blue, the hakama a soft grey, lightly patterned. Apparently done fiddling, he turns and gives a small gesture of critique.

     Along the front of both shoulders of his haori, bright white and crimson, are twin Uchiha crests.

     As before, her chest seems to still for a moment.

     Crossing the room, she releases her hold of her garment, fidgeting his ever so slightly. In truth, there’s nothing wrong with it. She just…needs a moment, head tilted down to stare at the fabric to avoid his gaze. A subtle blush dusts her cheeks.

     “…you look perfect,” is her murmured reply, daring to lift her eyes to his face as palms rest against his chest, greys flickering between onyx and amethyst. By now, both the sight and proximity have her heart racing - surely more than noticeable by someone of his ability. There’s little doubting it by now: why she reacts the way she does. Only her bashful nature seems to stand stubbornly in the way of admitting it. How much she’s grown to care about him.

     …how much…she loves him.

     Eventually her nerve crumbles again, and she ducks her face to avert her gaze. “Should…should we go, then? Surely everyone’s waiting on us by now, n-ne?” Ryū retreats half a step, folding her hands at her front.

     The tactic largely fails, however, as Sasuke insists on taking one as his own, fingers weaving. Looking up in surprise, she jolts as he lowers his brow to hers.

     “…let them wait,” he rumbles in reply, stare pinning her in place. “…we’re taking this night at our own pace…Ryū.”

     She stares back, barely daring to breathe as her heart beats overtime. 

                                                   “O…okay.”