Summary: Everyday, he walks by the park on his way home from work. Every time, that boy is there, sitting silently on the swings and staring up at the sky. It had become a routine, but everything needs to change someday. //*light* SasuNaru in the making. AU//
Words: 3,035
Notes: All I wanted to do was completely ruin some poor guy's daily routine ^^ Sasuke happened to be available.
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Everyday
If there was one thing Sasuke Uchiha craved, it was routine. He liked to be able to know what would happen at all times. In the morning, he woke up at a precise time—6:39—to stretch, brush his teeth, have a shower, and then make breakfast. He left the house at 7:45, to arrive at work a minute before eight. He wasn't due in until 8:30, so, as the coffee man soon found out, he would buy a black and sit down to read the morning paper.
It went like that every morning, and he was never bored of it. Rather, he fell back on that schedule whenever other things weren't going according to plan. Like the day his older brother called to tell him that their father had finally succumbed to his illness and passed on. Or the day that the family business had gone bankrupt. Perhaps that was why he craved routine; there were no surprises.
Regardless of why, he was a man—if you could call seventeen years old a man—of habit. And so, just like every other night, Sasuke left his office building, strolling onto the street just as the sun was setting. Unlike the walk to work, his walk home followed a different path. It took him by a café, where he would grab another coffee and take it with him. Between the café and his home, there lay a park.
Like every night before, Sasuke fought to keep his eyes forward. The creak of the swings was constant, proof enough that, as usual, the boy was there. If he were to look over—something he adamantly refused to do—then he would see a dishevelled figure sitting on the swings, his bright blue eyes looking up at the clouds as he swayed gently. Blond hair sat erratically atop his head, as untamed as the boy looked himself. But Sasuke would not look over, just like every other night.
In moments, the park was behind him, and he felt his breath come easily once again. Yes, Sasuke Uchiha was a man of habit, but everything needs to change someday.
***
"You've been a great employee, Mr. Uchiha, but we're afraid we just can't afford to keep you."
Sasuke let his cold, hard eyes skim over his boss before he nodded, "Understood."
In an effort to explain himself, the business man waved frantically, "It's really got very little to do with you. In fact, if you had more seniority, you would've—"
"Thank you," Sasuke cut in suddenly, his black eyes emotionless, "I'll come by tomorrow morning to pick my things up."
With those words he turned and calmly left, pushing open the double doors and letting the sudden blast of cold air wash over him. As usual, the sun was just at the horizon, on its journey down to give the moon its time to shine. Feeling his habits kicking in, the now unemployed man set off toward the Sassafras Café.
When the shop came into sight, Sasuke let out an involuntary shudder. Suddenly, it didn't seem the same. It wasn't just a stop on his way home. He didn't need to go home and work on reports for hours, so why get coffee?
Still, his body knew the routine so well that it acted on its own accord, and soon Sasuke found himself seated at a booth in the warm café. The same booth he'd sat at every weekday for the past six months. As he expected, a blond woman casually made her way over, a menu in her hand and a charming smile on her face.
"The usual, Sasuke-kun?" Her voice was sensual, but Sasuke knew it was just an act. The girl had—hopefully—long ago realised that he wasn't interested.
Unconsciously, Sasuke nodded. The girl's smile brightened as she turned away, undoubtedly off to get the hot drink. Once again, the man found himself wondering why everything felt so different. It was the same booth, the same waitress, the same questions, so why did he feel so... lost?
"Here you are, Sasuke-kun," the blonde's voice cut into his thoughts, her aquamarine eyes as large and doleful as she could make them. Looking up, Sasuke said his thanks before taking the coffee. The girl nearly let out a squeal before going off to serve another costumer.
Even as he took a sip of the black coffee, he knew it wouldn't be normal. It wasn't even the fact that he was out of a job—indeed, he had enough money to live off of for years, and plenty of qualifications—but more so that his routine was broken. Now he would have to rearrange everything, until he could get a new job and settle in once more.
With a depressed sigh, he put the partially drained coffee down and stood. Digging in his pockets for the change leftover from his first coffee of the day, he placed it down on the table. It was more than enough for a single cup of coffee, but he just counted that as the tip. Making his way out of the café once more, he ignored the woman's calls. She wasn't used to seeing him leave without finishing.
His mind was swirling with thoughts as he walked, the dull city surroundings being of no importance. He could hear the far off creak of the swings, proof that he would soon be passing the park and, like every other night, the boy who inhabited it. Just as the playground came into sight, he felt a sudden, insatiable urge.
He didn't want to go home to an empty house with nothing to do. What was the point? It was such a strong feeling that he couldn't ignore it. Thinking it over, he slowed down, standing with the park in his peripheral vision. The creak of the swing ceased, and that was what made Sasuke turn and face the boy.
Unlike every other day, he wasn't staring up at the sky, gently swaying. Instead, he had his bright blue eyes facing forward, looking straight at Sasuke in a curious manner. Their eyes met; the first time they really saw each other.
After a moment, the boy grinned, breaking their staring contest and making Sasuke blink in surprise. With an energetic twist, the boy was out of the swing, casually making his way over. As he drew nearer, Sasuke marvelled at how he looked both young and old, and not just the boy he seemed like before.
"Hi!" His voice was confident and yet, childish. His clothes were baggy, not revealing anything of the figure underneath and making him look all the younger, though he was taller than Sasuke expected.
Realising he was expected to answer, Sasuke let out a grunt. The blond boy rolled his eyes, never once letting his bright grin fade.
"You shouldn't be wandering around in a daze, you know. It's dangerous," the boy continued, not wasting time to get to his point.
Sasuke was thrown off guard at the statement, though he didn't show it, choosing instead to glare, "I wasn't."
The boy put his hands on his hips, "Oh? Alright then, how 'bout this; what happened?" It was a demanding statement, if one made out of concern. Just like the girl at the café, this person seemed to have picked up on the disturbance in Sasuke's usual routine. It wasn't a pleasant thought.
"Nothing's wrong, idiot. I just chose to stop."
The boy laughed, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever, it's not like I really care anyway." Despite that statement, however, he didn't leave, instead coming to walk beside him as Sasuke started down his path once more.
"Why are you following me?" Sasuke kept his voice cold, sounding like he didn't care about the answer one way or another.
"I told you," the boy stated as if it were obvious, "It's dangerous to walk around like that."
"Hn."
"Oi, you're not very good at this talking thing, are you?"
Feeling his patience running out, Sasuke thought to shut the boy up with a stern glare. Unfortunately, for some reason he couldn't even begin to fathom, the boy was entirely unaffected. Not only did he just keep smiling, hands behind his head in a relaxed manner, but he also continued talking.
"You know, I once knew a guy kinda like you. He never talked either. Well, at least not until I hung around him for hours on end... then he told me to shut up."
It was surprising how bright and happy the boy could be when he was practically insulting himself. He continued on in a similar manner, talking about little things that Sasuke really didn't care about, and quickly tuned out. He found himself wondering why he ever stopped by that cursed park in the first place.
Little tidbits of the one-sided conversation would occasionally get his attention, like "I once ate a whole mountain load of ramen, but then I got sick" and "When I first saw you walk by, I thought you were, like, 25 or something." But other than that, it was basically just an annoying buzz for the raven-haired man.
His mind continued to swirl with thoughts, most revolving around why he felt so averse to going home like usual, but his body knew what it was doing. As he was stepping onto the road—to cross over to where his house sat waiting—he felt a sharp tug on his shirt. Almost instantaneously, a blast of noise sounded before a car went streaking past, close enough that Sasuke could have reached out and touched it.
The world seemed to freeze for a moment, the echo of the car horn repeating over and over again in the man's head. His breath caught as his mind finally processed what had nearly happened, causing him to take an unconscious step back. Feeling something warm pressed up against him set the world in motion again.
"See? I told you it was dangerous to walk around in a daze."
Flushing embarrassedly, Sasuke moved away from his rescuer, not even bringing himself to look at him. Instead, he quickly crossed the street, leaving the blond boy behind. Unbeknownst to him, the boy just smirked, calmly walking away once he saw the raven-haired man make it into the house.
***
The next day, Sasuke found himself staring at the park once more. Being a man of habit, as previously mentioned, he'd went out for a coffee around dusk, routinely taking his normal park-route home. The odd thing was, he didn't want to see the boy, and yet at the same time, he did. It was something he couldn't understand. Regardless, there he was.
The swings swayed gently in the near-winter breeze, occasionally creaking from the cold. The sunset illuminated them from behind, though it brought no warmth. Everything was as it usually was except for one little detail; the boy was nowhere in sight. Sasuke simply stood there, looking at the swing where the boy had sat every other day.
He's not avoiding me, or something, is he? Sasuke wondered to himself, mentally running through the previous day's events.
A cold wind rattled the chains of the swings, the sound echoing eerily in the otherwise silent evening. Once in a while, the sound of a car's engine would zip by; the only proof Sasuke had that time was still progressing. If he'd still had his job, he wouldn't have been wasting time staring at an empty park, but, like the rest of his routine, nothing was normal anymore.
Suddenly, he heard a laugh from behind him. Whipping around, fully ready to knock out anyone who posed a threat, his gaze fell onto a doubled-over blond. Growling inwardly, Sasuke crossed his arms and glared.
"What's so funny?" he challenged, not seeing the humour in the situation.
The blond took in deep breaths trying to calm himself, "N-nothing! I just didn't think I'd be seeing you around here! And waiting for me, too? How kind!" He was still chuckling at Sasuke's expense, but at least he wasn't rolling on the ground.
"Hn."
Unfortunately, that set the blond off again, "You know, I—" pauses to laugh a little more "—seriously don't know why I bother!"
Clutching his stomach in an attempt to make the burn from laughing too hard go away, the blond made his way over to the nearest swing. He flopped down contently and grinned up at the glaring Uchiha.
"You still haven't told me what's wrong, you know," the boy reminded him, a confident look on his face.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow in an uncaring gesture, "And I don't plan to."
The boy shrugged, "Ah, whatever you say. I probably know anyway."
"Oh? I highly doubt that."
"'Course you do," the blond snorted, "most arrogant bastards think the same way, after all."
Black eyes narrowed, "Is that supposed to be an insult?"
But the boy just shrugged, "If you want to take it that way, sure. I was just mentioning a fact."
"Idiot."
A grin was the reply he got. Obviously, the boy didn't care much about what Sasuke thought of him. Just as the he was about to leave, having already grown tired of the annoying blond, he made a sudden realisation.
"You're not wearing a coat." Or more specifically, the bright orange jacket that Sasuke had never seen him without.
The blond's eyes furrowed in confusion, "Wha-? What does a coat have to do with anything?"
"You're not wearing one, idiot," Sasuke repeated, irritated. He didn't even know why he bothered.
"Umm... so what?"
"So," he emphasised, "why is it that when winter finally comes, you get rid of that orange thing?"
The blond looked insulted, "Well, I happen to love that "orange thing"! I would still be wearing it, but some poor kid looked like he was freezing his butt off! What did you expect me to do, rub it in his face that he couldn't afford one himself?!"
Oops. Touchy subject. "Whatever," Sasuke muttered, trying to act like he didn't care. Still, he didn't leave. For some odd reason, he felt like there was something he had to do. Something that would set his routine straight once more.
It was obvious that the boy intended to sulk on his own for a while, and that he wouldn't admit that he may have overreacted. Sighing to himself, Sasuke ran a hand through his spiked-back black hair, knowing that, since he was the older one, he'd have to fix the problem. Or at least, that's what his seventeen-year-old mind made up for an excuse.
"So, uh... do you want to get some food, or something?" he finally voiced, not looking at the boy he was asking.
If he had looked, he would have seen the shocked face, "Get food? It's not like I don't wanna, or anything, I mean, you seem like great company when you're not being a bastard and all, but I kinda left, my, umm... wallet! Yeah, I kinda left that at home."
Sasuke, even without looking at the blond's face, could easily detect the lie, "If you didn't want to go with me, you could've just said so."
The blond blushed instantly, whether in embarrassment or anger, one couldn't tell, "I told you! It's not you! I just don't have my money on me!"
Sasuke snorted, "Then I'll pay, idiot. No reason to get all defensive."
"W-what?! But I can't pay you back!"
Sasuke was beginning to get annoyed once more, and his tone of voice clearly showed that, "If you're so desperate to take care of yourself, then don't sit around on a swing all day looking pathetic!" He was no longer even bothering to look away from the blond, choosing instead to glare at him full force.
"Where would you rather me sit, then, bastard?!"
"I don't care! Go be an idiot at home, or something!"
The blond was about to fire back an answer when he paused, realising what he was going to say. Instead, he clamped his mouth shut, angrily turning away to glare at the empty slides. It was the final piece of the puzzle for Sasuke; the boy didn't have a home to go to.
He sighed once more, expelling the last of his anger. "How old are you anyway?"
Still refusing to even glance at Sasuke, the boy muttered out a surprising answer, "Sixteen."
Sasuke choked, "Sixteen?! I thought you were twelve!"
"Thanks, bastard!" The boy—who wasn't that much of a boy after all—turned raging blue eyes forward once more. It was a glare even Sasuke would have been proud of.
Sasuke returned the glare, "It's your own fault! You wear clothes that are ten sizes too big and go around calling people bastards! Now do you want to get food, or not?"
Surprised by the quick change in subject, the blond just remained frozen, a pensive look on his face. Then he nodded, jumping off the swing to stand in front of Sasuke with a grin present once again.
"Can we get ramen?"
Sasuke snorted, "Ramen? That stuff has no nutritional value whatsoever."
The blond shrugged, "But it tastes good."
"Fine, whatever." The uncaring statement was Sasuke's only warning before he began walking in the general direction of downtown. When he felt the other's presence run up beside him, following faithfully, he couldn't stop the slight grin tugging at his lips.
Suddenly, it didn't feel like the world was tipped upside down, or like everything had been thrown off track. Rather, it was almost as if he'd never been lost in the first place. He'd still need to find a new job, and perhaps plan for extra time at a certain park, but overall, things looked a lot brighter.
"Hey! Look at that!" The blond exclaimed, grabbing hold of Sasuke's hand and dragging him towards what could only be a city faire. The ramen was obviously long forgotten.
Being tugged along mercilessly, Sasuke made a drastic realisation; with this boy, nothing was predictable.
But maybe it was better that way.
"Ne, bastard, can you pay for the rides?"
Maybe.