Bruises & Bitemarks (SasuNaru)

82.

We wake up late the next morning, feeling distinctly put out. Students will trickle into the school for the next day or so, so we're in no particular hurry; but we've already decided that today's the day we'll be returning and we've already packed everything and booked the cab. We make one last round of the house, checking for forgotten possessions.

"This feels almost like déjà-vu," I say with a bit of a smile. "When we left our dorm at the end of the summer, I felt the same way. Like I'll be leaving the only home I've really ever had."

Sasuke takes my hand and kisses me sweetly, so sweetly. "Home is where the heart is," he whispers into my ear. "Wherever you are, I'm home."

—

We run into some people on our way from the front gates to the dorm building. We're in the third years' building this year, the farthest from the main buildings. Most of the people we see are just familiar faces, no good friends or classmates. A few girls, both recognizable and not, chirp and giggle amongst themselves as we pass hand in hand. A couple of guys wave. Despite the amazing summer we've had, it does feel good to be back. Well, after all, I've lived here all my life. I'm comfortable here.

When we enter the dorm building, we consult the lists posted by the door to see what room we're in.

"117," I read, then do a double take, because the other name next to 117 isn't Sasuke's. "Wait... we're not together?"

I blink, then realize how stupid I've been. Of course we wouldn't be together. That would just be too much of a coincidence to happen again; and we all have the sneaking suspicion that they don't make the dorm arrangements totally randomly. The teachers have a pretty good idea of who knows whom, who gets along and who doesn't. It's not exactly a secret that Sasuke and I are together. They wouldn't dare put us in the same room.

"Don't worry too much about it," Sasuke says quietly, although the disappointment is evident in his voice too. "We'll still be able to visit each other and such."

"Yeah," I say with a sigh of resignation.

"Look at it this way," he says with a wry smile, "it'll help us wean ourselves away from each other so that we don't get separation anxiety come next year."

"You say it like it's a good thing that I won't be constantly wishing you were with me."

"You can wish without having a breakdown. Come on, we should get to our rooms."

My room is on the first floor and Sasuke's is on the second, so I kiss him goodbye at the stairwell. "Come down when you're done," I tell him, then add jokingly, "if you start panicking, just come to me, okay?"

He smiles. "I'll remember that if I feel the need to hyperventilate."

It makes me feel better that we're making jokes like this, because it means Sasuke is aware of the problem and is trying to minimize it. And I know that I have the same problem, although possibly to a lesser extent. I've gotten used to being with Sasuke literally twenty-four hours a day. Life just doesn't work like that.

When I get to the dorm, someone is already inside. In my despair over not rooming with Sasuke, I didn't stop to pay attention to exactly who I'm with. So, curious, I step inside.

It's Kondo Aoi. He's a tall guy, over six feet, one of the few people who can make super skinny jeans look good. (Sasuke looks good in anything, but then I'm biased.) He's got shortish black hair that sort of forms a peak at the front like an almost-faux-hawk, warm brown eyes, and an omnipresent friendly smile. He's never judged me for being Kyuubi's container, and I always liked him for that.

"Oh, hey, Naruto," he says. "Long time no see. Had a good summer?"

I smile broadly at this. "Yeah, it was great. I hung out with Sasuke the whole time."