flypaw

Word Count: 2605
Summary: Wishes from an outsider may seem useless, but if you wish for happiness enough, it is often delivered.
World Status: Ninja-verse
Pairing: Itachi x Naruto

Bibelot.

(A Trinket)

21/01/10

I had been there forever. Or at least it feels like forever. I was there on the first night of his life, when he was a disgusting squealing things, and I was there at the end. Except I'd rather not talk about the end, for such a unpredictable person he went fairly predictable.

But I'd rather talk about the good things. Such as how I came to be with him in the first place.

It was curious, really. I was new, a young 'un to the trade. Everyone around me was muttering that I'd never get chosen because I wasn't exactly the prettiest. Just another pale one with dark eyes. What did I have that none of the others did? Nothing. In fact, there were others exactly like me, family I suppose you could call them.

Then they had come.

"No, I want one with character! You can't just pick any old teddy bear and give it to our child. The bear has to have meaning. I don't want a blue or pink one, in case they got it wrong."

I watched as the couple approached my shelf, the dark haired woman frowning at the frilly pink bears around me.

"Mikoto, I don't think that you can call a doctor's diagnosis wrong and-"

"Diagnosis!"

This woman was good.

"Diagnosis means there's something wrong with me. Having a baby does not qualify me to have a problem, Fugaku, and for that you have no say in what bear I choose. Do you understand?"

I watched as the man hung his head with a sigh. You get that a lot round here. Beastly mothers and fathers being whipped into shape. It was funny the first handful of times, but it slowly got predictable. Just once I'd like to see a man not back down.

(Which, according to my cousin Albert, happened a few years after my departure from the shop between the Hokage and his wife, and ended with the Hokage having to go to the hospital, his wife winning. More interesting at least.)

"Hello Mr. Ted!"

If I could have moved my head, I would have. The woman's hands were soft as she plucked me from the shelf. I could hear the whispering of the veteran bears and held myself proudly. The stuffing inside of me made me solid to hold and my eyes were shiny.

"He's perfect. This one Fugaku!"

The man nodded at once, not wishing to upset his wife. I was carried to the till and bundled up in a package, darkness overwhelming me until we reached my new home.

I remained in the empty cot for a few more weeks. The house was constantly noisy, busy, with people entering and exiting, well wishers and business affairs alike. Mikoto came in at least once a day to talk to me, introducing me to the bump that held my future friend. Warmness crept into my stuffing heart and I knew that I would forever be happy.

I take it back. I want the devil's spawn to go back inside of Mikoto and stay there. All he does is dribble, cry, dribble, eat, puke and cry. Maybe a little bit of sleep.

Though Mikoto says he's terribly well behaved for a baby, so maybe I don't have such a bad deal... regardless, I think I'd rather be on the shelf.

And now he can crawl, and he's making his way towards me. As much as I try I can never say the little monster's name, the price of having your mouth sewn up. It had never bothered me, but I felt the stuffing in my paw becoming loose as days passed.

At one year and three months since the devil had been born, I lost part of my paw. Thanks to Mikoto, though, I was saved. The kid cried for days after that, wrapping me up in a bandage, even though he had no idea what he was doing. He showed remarkable abilities for someone so young. I knew he'd grow up to be great.

I wish I was a person. Itachi's crying. I want to cuddle him. His parents should be here to cuddle him, protect him from the violence outside.

"I'll never kill anyone."

I wish for so many things and they never come true, but they're personal wishes. Now I wish with all my teddy bear might that Itachi lives and never has to kill anyone. There's a war and he's only four years old, I want him to be okay.

So tonight I don't mind his tears in my fur.

After the war is over, a patch of fur between my shoulder and neck has worn away where Itachi has cuddled me so much. It doesn't bother me. I only want to cuddle him back.

I can hear shouting. Something isn't right and I'm glad that Itachi's brother is away at school. He is the true definition of a devilish child. He bites, you see, and Itachi has had to rescue me one too many times from the evil clutches of doom.

An ear had to be sewed back on, you know! Only Mikoto was too busy so my lovely Itachi did it for me. It seems like that a lot lately; Itachi doing duties adults should be. He's too young and still scarred by the war. The adults forget this. Just because he's doing well at school doesn't mean anything.

He's scared.

I am too. I don't want him to kill anyone.

He deserves better than that.

He met a boy today. Down on the pier, we were having a picnic. I was hidden in a bag, of course, because Itachi would be teased for having a heart. I wish I was a dog. I'd bite anyone's leg who decided Itachi had a heart and teased him about it.

Anyway, there I was in the bag, trying to munch on a jam sandwich Itachi had made me. It didn't work, of course - my mouth was sewed up wasn't it! Well, this little kid comes over and he's probably Sasuke's age. Much nicer than the brat child though. For one he doesn't pull me and drag me away from Itachi.

"I like your teddy bear."

I really like this kid.

"Thank you," my Itachi says and passes the boy a jam sandwich. I would mind, except the boy likes me. That makes it okay to share my sandwiches.

"Thanks mister," the kid cries before running away, blond hair bobbing around like mad.

Itachi's smiling and I attempt to maul my sandwich again. Itachi's still smiling when I remember I'm made of wool.

"Shit."

Itachi never swears. I know something's wrong. He has a note in his hand and is in full ANBU gear. He's about to kill someone, I can feel it.

"Sorry, Ted," he whispers and kisses me goodbye.

The next I hear is him entering back into his room, crying. Instead of tears, there is blood.

I want to cry now. My Itachi broke our promise. What's more he hates himself for it, he tells me. Shisui died that night, and more has to come. I wish I was a real bear. I'd protect Itachi from harm, swiping away the people who wanted to hurt him.

But I'm not a real bear. I'm just a stitched hunk of fabric, with sewn paws and ears and a patch of fur missing on my neck. There's nothing I can do.

It's quiet. Too quiet. If I strain my ears I can hear silence. I don't want to hear that. This is how I know Itachi has done it. He's killed them, been forced to kill them, and he's gone.

My little bear heart wishes for someone else that night. I want Itachi to be okay. As long as Itachi is okay, happy and healthy, I'll be a happy bear. I'll never wish for anything, I'll go back to the shop and sit alongside Albert and the rest.

Just let Itachi be okay.

They decide not to box me up as evidence. I'm alone in the house. It's quiet. Sasuke lived, but he's moved out.

I miss him a little bit.

I miss Itachi a lot.

"It's a bad idea is what it is! Why the hell am I involved in this?"

I stir at the voices. How long have I been asleep? Probably years. Bears are lucky in that respect. Our real cousins get to hibernate for winter, the fluffball types can hibernate for years at a time.

"Because we have to know our enemy. To track Sasuke, we need to get a feel of his home life. I'm sick of running in circles Sakura-chan."

Sasuke's the enemy now?

"Let's split up. I'll do bedrooms down here, you take the living room and whatever. That way you won't freak out when you see Sasuke's old room."

I imagine the look on the intruders' faces, one annoyed and the other scared. The scared one wandered off and the door opened to Itachi's room. A blond haired teenager enters and looks around. I wonder how long it will take before he realises this is Itachi's room.

He spots me.

"Hey, you're that bear."

Well, I'd been introduced badly before, but this kid seemed out of the toddler stage.

"The jam sandwich bear!"

This was the little blondie! The one Itachi smiled a lot after meeting! What were the odds of me meeting him after all this time? Apparently high...

"But that wasn't Sasuke back then so..." I waited for the penny to drop. "You're Itachi's bear!"

The kid wasn't dumb, regardless to how he appeared. He tucked me into a bag he had brought along and I had a new home. His friend was none the wiser and I'm not too sure why exactly I had been secreted away, but I obviously meant something.

Perhaps he could lead me back to my Itachi.

The kid liked ramen a lot. All I heard was him moaning about the water taking too long to heat up and how he was hungry.

Though Naruto did offer me some ramen. He said that even if I couldn't open my mouth, I was a teddy bear and had feelings. I really like this kid. He has a good head on him.

"What I don't understand, though Mr. Ted," he even called me the right name! "Is that Itachi kept you. You're obviously cared for, the stiches on your ear look like they were done by a young person, but they've taken their time. And this little patch..." A finger swept over my bald patch on my neck.

"He cuddled you when he cried."

How the hell did this kid know?

"Here," a pretty, chocolate brown bear with a pink bow around her neck was placed in front of me. "This is my teddy and I've had her my whole life. She has a patch like yours."

That she did.

"She's perfect, and so are you, Mr. Ted."

What I wished I could tell Naruto was that so was Itachi. Even though I was a teddy bear (I said this a lot, didn't I?) I wanted them both to be happy. I didn't know if Itachi was even alive anymore, couldn't ask the one person who seemed to be happy discussing my owner, but I had a feeling happiness between them could be achieved.

I looked at my perfect match and gave a teddy bear smile. We spent that night cuddled up with Naruto, the pair of us discussing a possible future with Naruto and Itachi.

We both wished. Both with our teddy bear hearts.

Mrs. Ted and I were convinced Naruto was seeing someone. He would come home with a smile on his face, but behind that there was a pain. He usually left us to sleep together on one of the chairs, cushions around us, but whenever he came home from seeing whoever it was, we always ended up cuddled in his bed.

Whoever it was he was seeing, it hurt. It brought him undeniable happiness - yes - but he hurt because something couldn't be.

I wanted to make another wish, but Mrs. Ted told me I should stop wishing and try to do something. I told her it was impossible for me to do something, but as women do, she smiled and shook her head, telling me I hadn't put my mind to it yet.

Then I knew what I had to do.

Naruto came home down and tired. I could see the lines on his face and he was only twenty. Poor kid. Too much pressure. Any more and he'd crack like Itachi.

I waited for him to walk past me, and then come back. He was predictable in this sense, but everything mattered with what he'd do next. The sign I had made (with help from Mrs. Ted) lay in my paws and I was happy that we had been able to construct this last night.

Yes, teddy bears move at night. It's not like you didn't know, you've just forgotten you knew.

"Despite what he says, we all know he loves you, Naruto."

Naruto stared at the sign and picked it gently from my hands. I hope it had worked. After we made Naruto happy, Mrs. Ted and I would work on getting to Itachi.

The plan worked; Naruto sprinted from his room, leaving his jacket on the bed and half covering me. Today it didn't matter, Naruto was happy with the message and hopefully he would never come home alone and sad again.

I must have fallen asleep. Mrs. Ted is next to me on one of the sofa chairs and we have a full view of the bed. Naruto is curled up next to someone and Mrs. Ted nudges me so we can listen to what they're saying.

"I don't care anymore what people think. I want to be with you unconditionally. If that means leaving here... then I'll do it."

"I was being ridiculous, Naruto." The voice! That voice! could it be? After all these years and wishes, could it finaly be that they had found an end? "I was denying our happiness because I couldn't face things I had done. You've made me realise that there are things I care for other than not admitting certain situations."

It was.

"You were the one who made me say them though, with that note."

I could imagine the awkward situation before it happened. The note was written by teddy bears...

"What note? I was coming to talk to you... I thought it would be better."

Naruto sat up, hair messy and Mrs. Ted giggled. Yes I knew what they had been up to.

"But there was a note... with Mr. Ted..."

Now Itachi sat up and my heart leapt to see my Itachi. Mrs. Ted patted my arm gently, an all-knowing smile on her face. I was plucked from her side, under Naruto's care, before the pair of us were carried to the bed. Itachi's eyes widened as he carefully took me in his hands (I could remember when his hands were smaller than my paws, now they were bigger than my head!).

"It's you," he whispered, looking at Naruto.

"Of course it's him! I stole him from your house when... oh it doesn't matter. He's married to my bear, Mrs. Ted, but you knew this. You left the note after all."

"What note?"

I watched as the couple frowned at each other, Itachi stroking my fur gently. Naruto looked at me, a glint in his eyes.

"I think they're alive, Itachi."

I remained still, my stuffing soft and allowing me to bend now. Itachi and Naruto settled in for the night, us bears in between their arms. They loved each other and I decided that my last wish was going to be for their everlasting happiness. Mrs. Ted kissed my cheek as the snores began and Itachi whispered something in my ear.

"Thank you, Ted. Thank you for letting me love him."

I felt as embarrassed as a new bear on the shop shelf and resisted the urge to bat Itachi's nose away.

Couldn't give away our top secret, could I?