The Ardor of Every Day

23.

this chapter is kinda (?) nsfw after the second  ⊹  so read with caution if you aren't comfortable with that

Two months had passed by, more quickly than they wanted them to.

"Be my boyfriend," Sasuke told Naruto one of their fancier dates.

To which Naruto replied, "yes". Just one simple word, no hesitation this time. No second thoughts about it. He was so sure that this was what Sasuke wanted. And what Naruto wanted since the second he got to know him. That night was so special to Sasuke. He kept the bill from the new restaurant they tried. He would remember it forever anyway as they liked the cheesecake so much that they ordered it three times and shared it each time. And Sasuke isn't a fan of sweet things, so he was surprised. And of course, he would remember it as he got a brand new boyfriend that night. Naruto always thought that he'd be the first one to ask the question, but he was pleasantly surprised.

This was after a month of them not defining their relationship, but they were practically in one. They hung out so much, even when there was no reason to. Just being beside each other or being in the same space was enough. In school, they were careful, but not enough. The 'forbidden' aspect of it made it harder for Naruto to act like they were just friends. The exchange of glances when they would be standing together in a group, facial expressions suggesting things and crooked smiles trying to hide the irony of it all. They would text to let each other know when to ask to go to the washroom, so they could secretly meet somewhere and kiss for a bit or even just talk. Sasuke was too shy to talk too much to Naruto in front of others. He thought he would break character. Although he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't enjoying this. Naruto would purposefully say things or make facial expressions in front of others to make Sasuke react, but it never worked. Some days, Naruto would have the time to walk Sasuke to work, but after a couple of weeks into school, he just had too much homework. The only time they would get to interact was on these walks and Saturdays. They had made Saturday their hangout day, they only went on a date once, the other times they would study together, and Sasuke would help Naruto with things he had a hard time with. On the date night, Naruto dressed better than he usually is when he went to study. He told his mom, "just going to study, be back by ten". To which Kushina replied, "mhm".

It had been another month since they were official. Another month of secret kisses, glances, dates. Itachi was the only family member who knew about them. He was protective of Sasuke, but he knew that Naruto was nothing like Aki. Itachi even covered for Sasuke when he went out with Naruto. They couldn't see each other as much as they wanted to. Even on Saturdays, they would spend most of their time studying. Naruto would beg to do something else and start planting kisses on Sasuke's face and neck when he would explain something, earning a quick swat from him on his thigh. "So violent!" Naruto would react exaggeratedly, and see Sasuke smile a bit as he talked. Sasuke wants Naruto to succeed and get good grades, the reason why he didn't entertain Naruto's mischief, even when he was tempted to. Sasuke knew that when Naruto kissed him, it was only to kiss him. Naruto expected nothing more from it. The kiss was merely a physical gesture of his affection for Sasuke.

⊹

It was October already, and Naruto's birthday was in two days. Naruto was visiting his uncle's town along with his parents for his birthday. The town was about six hours by train. Naruto's parents had decided to stay a few days longer, whereas Naruto was returning the day after his birthday. He had no idea that his friends had planned a surprise party for him, and even his parents were in on it. Right at midnight on his birthday, the group chat blew up with birthday wishes from all of his friends. Sasuke's notification got lost in the midst. Naruto was cutting the cake anyway, as it was a tradition in his family to cut a cake at midnight. The cake was not too big and was vanilla flavoured. It said ' Happy Birthday Naruto ' in cursive. His mom had placed and lit the candle right above the lettering. Before heading to bed, he checked his phone for all the messages he received from his friends. He decided to reply to his friends in the morning. Sasuke had wished him separately.