The Ardor of Every Day

20.

tw- homophobia, emotional abuse + physical abuse mention

School was just a week away. Sasuke was frantic. He had already been admitted to the school and, all the paperwork was done. When he moved, he was nervous about changing schools for his last year. But it all became real now as he heard Naruto talk about school and what teachers he should look out for. They wouldn't find out until the day of if Sasuke would be in Naruto's class or not. After the movie, Temari talked to Sasuke about people and things he shouldn't engage with as a new student. Naruto and Shikamaru also gave him pointers about clubs and extracurriculars. He was overwhelmed with the information, but he had to know all this, so it didn't feel like a different dimension on his first day. He and Naruto had already made plans to shop for his school supplies and his uniform the weekend before school started.

At work, Sasuke thought about how their dynamic would work at school. If it would change, diminish, or become more intense. He couldn't deny himself anymore. After what happened at the movies and what Naruto said to him, he decided to let time take its course. He wanted to be more intuitive with their relationship and do what he felt in the moment. Naruto was someone completely different from him. He'd never met anyone like him, someone so truly motivated and cheerful to be. Being around him encouraged him to be the same way and come out of his shell. Back in Tokyo, Sasuke didn't enjoy going to school. He went through the motions throughout the day and never optimized his full potential. His grades were good enough without having to try too hard. It was in his nature to try, so he did the minimum amount, but he never went beyond his surface abilities. He felt a tingle of nervousness in his stomach when he thought of starting school again. It was a chance to reinvent himself, but again, he didn't want to be someone he wasn't.

Naruto was thrilled for Sasuke to start school with him. If Sasuke ended up in the same class as him, they would be together all day. Although, he hadn't thought about how he would explain their relationship to any of his friends. Shikamaru was the only one who knew. Naruto had witnessed several of Sasuke's personalities by now, and he was curious if a new one would show up at school. He sat at home, finishing the last of his summer homework. Pencil twirling between his fingers, as he stared at the ceiling out of boredom. He hadn't thought about what he would say to his friends and family if things progressed further with Sasuke. All of the people Naruto associated himself with had similar values to him. None of his friends had ever made homophobic comments or anything like that. But that wasn't his worry either. Naruto had no primary source of this but, he'd always seen people like him outcasted. He was scared that his friends and others from school as well his parents would distance themselves. His position was constantly on his mind. But what worried him the most is how Sasuke would settle in between all of this. He was essentially a city boy, and there was a difference in the lifestyle mindset of people here. Just in a span of a few weeks Naruto's world had done a one-eighty. He was so used to his mundane routines, and this unconventional boy had upheaved the ordinary in him. Naruto had matured and come to understand the beginning of a type of relationship that was new for him. Not that he wasn't happy before, but his existence felt a bit more complete now. He never looked for a romance deliberately, and he wasn't a hopeless romantic either. This was a surprise, but it was also so slow and smooth, just the thought it brought an upward curve to his lips. He felt stupid to be like this but also mind-numbingly warm.

⊹

Naruto was ecstatic for the day he had planned. He was going to take Sasuke shopping and then eat lunch at the riverbank near the flowing freshwater.

Sasuke got ready for his last day out before school. Dressed casually with a loose ponytail, he headed downstairs. Because it was the last Sunday before the end of summer, his dad and Itachi were both at home. Without saying a word to anyone, he went to the kitchen to drink some water and make a toast. Sasuke's dad had never been a fan of how Sasuke was brought up. He thought Sasuke was less of a man because of how he expressed himself. His mom's influence on him was very evident in how he carried himself and the way he was. And now, he was just a walking reminder to Fugaku that his wife was dead and that he hadn't done right by her when she wasn't. Everything that Sasuke did, ticked him off. Fugaku couldn't digest the fact that Sasuke's preference extended ahead of liking women. He couldn't accept that his son might not be straight. He had caught Sasuke kissing Aki back in Tokyo and tried to slap his sexuality out of him. Itachi wasn't home, his mom was in the hospital and Aki couldn't do anything but watch. Since then, things had changed for the worse between them. It'd almost been a year since that day, and no one had made an effort yet. Fugaku was leaning on the kitchen counter, watching Sasuke as he filled up a glass with water.