Butter Pecan (SasuNaru)

Old Fashioned

TW: This chapter contains suicidal thoughts and displays of homophobia.

"Naruto, honey! It's time for bed!"

I cross my arms and pout, dropping my toys onto the colorful carpet below me.

"I don't wanna go to bed, Mommy!" I whine, scrunching my little blond eyebrows.

My mother laughs at my stubbornness and picks me up off the floor, "C'mon, Naruto, it's late. You have school tomorrow."

"No! No! No! Noooo!" I wail, squirming in her hold and pulling her long red hair. My mother carries me to my bedroom and drops me into my bed, restraining me in position as I continue to wriggle around endlessly.

"Settle down! Settle down! What will get you to sleep, Naruto?" She wagers with me.

I halt my struggle and lay flat on the bed, pondering her preposition. I purse my pink lips and squint my eyes, racking my six year old brain for anything to demand.

"Hmmm... I want... a bedtime story!" I declare, sitting up on my bed.

"Are you sure? Didn't your father just tell you one last night?"

"Yup!" I nod, "But I want another one, Mommy! Pleeeeaaaseee?"

She smiles at me sheepishly, "Okay. Okay. Fine. It can't be too long, silly. This is gonna be a short story, mkay?"

"Mmmmkayyy!" I hum, dragging the thick sheets over my short body and snuggling into bed. My mother sits on the edge of my bed and clears her throat, coming up with a random bedtime story on the fly.

"...O-Once there was a princess... and... and..." She stutters with her lack of creativity, "...she... she was looking for someone to wed.. and... she came across three men. One was... really tall. Super tall."

"Taller than Dad?" I jump in with a question.

"Yeah. Way taller. So tall, that she couldn't see the top of his head." She gestures with her hands, "But he wasn't just tall, he was also really mean. The princess didn't like him. So she moved onto the second guy. The second guy... well... he was much too short."

"Shorter than you, Mommy?"

"Hey! I'm not short!" She scolds me playfully, ruffling my blond hair, "But... But this guy sure was. The princess could look over his head with ease. She needed to bend down to talk to him. Plus, he was a cowardly man with cheesy jokes, so the princess didn't like him either."

"This princess is too picky!" I turn up my nose, "She prolly hurt those poor guys' feelings! They deserve better!"

My mother rubs the back of her head, "Maybe... well, then the princess went onto the last guy. This guy was tall— but not too tall— and funny— but not in a cheesy way. He was perfect for her and the princess loved him dearly... However, the king and queen didn't approve of their relationship!"

I gasp dramatically, "Why?!"

"Because, it turned out, that the guy the princess fell in love with was actually a criminal!" My mother speaks in a comedic dramatic voice, "So, to respect her parents' wishes, the princess did not stay with the criminal she fell in love with. Instead, she was engaged to the tall rude guy."

"Oh... Oh! Did the criminal come back to run away with the princess at their wedding?"

"Nope. He was executed. So, the princess married the tall man and eventually grew to love him till death do they part!"