Waking up. Brush your teeth. Wash your face. Eat breakfast. Go to work. Work. Lunch. Work all day. Go home. Cook dinner. Take a bath. Watch TV. Go to bed.
Then he'd wake up. Brush his teeth, washing his face. Take a bath and eat breakfast. Work work work. Go home. Stare at the ceiling. Eat dinner. Go to bed.
Wake up. Brush his teeth. Work. Bed. Wake up. Work. Bed. Wake up. Work. Bed.
Every day, he faced the same rhythm, the same pace that lulled his body to join all that dull reality in this life.
Watching the time moving so fast, he woke up with a growing dread lumping on this throat. Another regular day ingrained his every movement, a never ending repetition. His family promised that they were planning something extraordinary for his special day, something unique–that would never snap him out of this ordinary routine.
Just the mere idea that he'd let this monotony lead his life…is unbearable.
–.–
Striding all the way from downtown, his whistle carried through the bucolic streets, empty at night. His limbs all protested from the exertion pertained the whole day, but it was a good ache, and nothing like a good rest wouldn't fix it. As he arrived at the humble looking house, he raised an eyebrow once he noticed that the door was slight ajar. He went inside, noticing a conversation:
"But you really don't have any bed left? Please help me out, this is the last place in this city and all other hostels and hotels are full."
He recognized the landlady's voice as she muttered. "I'm really sorry, but all the rooms here are booked for over a month ago."
Naruto rubbed his neck as he walked to the living room, spotting the landlady talking with a black-haired stranger. From what he could see, she looked troubled though sympathetic to that stranger's predicament. His shoulders were hunched, hands tightening on his jeans until his knuckles were white as he spoke.
"Isn't there any other way I can stay for tonight at least? I don't know, in an attic, inflatable bed, or even in some spot on the sofa? Anything. Really, you're my last hope."
She shook her head, sighing. "I don't have any vacant place for you to sleep, and the sofa I have is just too tiny for you, young man."
"The sofa is more than enough, I guarantee you."
Naruto felt it would be better if he stepped in. "How about he shared the room with me?" He waved his hand. "Oh Gloria, hi, I'm back." He took the opportunity to peruse the other man. His hair was stylized with long fringes and spiky strands on the back, sharp eyes with high cheekbones and a pale skin that practically glowed with the faint moonlight. He was the epitome of masculine elegance.
He looked roughly his age too, lean body but nowhere delicate with sturdy muscles, appearing to be his same height too. His dark eyes blinked surprised once he noticed Naruto's presence, as well as his offer to help.
The landlady responded. "Hi Naruto! Welcome back. Uh─are you sure about that?"
Naruto shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, the bed is enough for two people right, and he looks like he really couldn't find anywhere else. It's not a problem."
This time the stranger appeared a little embarrassed and apprehensive. "I didn't want to trouble anyone."
Naruto offered a mollifying grin. "Oh, it's not a trouble at all. We're both guys, it's not going to be a problem. Ok, it's late already, you need a hand to carry your luggage?"
"Wait." He held his suitcase tighter and mumbled. "Are you sure?"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yes I'm sure! Well Gloria, have a good night!" He tried to pick other suitcases but then realized that this man only had the one he was already holding it. Turning around, he began climbing the stairs. "Follow me, we better hit the sack as soon as possible 'cuz we're going to wake up reaaaally early."
"What do you mean by that?" Was the bewildered question.
"Oh, I assume the reason you're here is because of Procession of Corpus Christi right?" Naruto turned his head around and received a curt nod in response. "Yeah, so if you want to help them out doing the tapestries, you have to wake up roughly 3 to 4 am."
"Really?" The dark-haired man muttered as he followed behind, pausing when Naruto was fishing his keys in his pocket.
"Yeah, I can wake you up if you want." Naruto said, opening the door. "Sorry for the mess."
The other man only grunted, perusing the room. There was some unorganized spots but nothing too messy, so he placed his luggage in a corner of the room. "Thank you again for the help. I'll set my alarm by myself but I appreciate your offer."
"Sure. Hey, I gotta go take a bath, but feel free to do whatever you want ok?" He answered already fumbling on the drawer to find his boxers and sweatpants, entering the bathroom as he left the other man on his own devices.
As he was soaping his blond hair, he remembered his parents constant preaching about dangers in the outside world and there he was, sharing a room with a complete stranger. He figured he's someone who trusted people too easily.
He finished his bath, still drying his hair while he returned to his room, only to noticed that the other young man was already out of cold, sleeping cozily on one side of the bed. Shrugging, Naruto turned off the lights and soon joined in the slumber.
─.─
Sasuke almost wanted to throw his cellphone across the room the moment his ears captured the insistent beep of the alarm. He focused in keep his mind awake, sighing as he turned on the snooze mode, just to make sure, letting a loud sigh as he stared the ceiling. The ceiling that was definitely not from his house. His eyes widened, immediately straightening up and checking his surroundings. This room that was definitely not his bedroom. And now he's in a place far away from his home, visiting a country far away from his own.
He did it. He really did it. He never assumed himself to be an impulsive man, but lo and behold, he's actually here. And sharing a bed with a complete stranger to boot.
At the admission of this information, he automatically turned around to gaze the other side of the bed, only to find an empty space. His body relaxed in response, unsure if he could face that stranger properly without permeating an awkwardness between them.
Yesterday, after relentlessly asking for an empty room in every corner of existence, his energies were completely depleted by the end of the day so he couldn't really absorb what happened last night, including his benefactor that let him share the bed. He remembered some vague features from that man, blond hair with a healthy tanned skin and a stout body. What really imprinted in his memory was his eyes; a shade of blue that almost shined in the dim room last night. Those vivid eyes exuded so much life and vigor that it left a strong impression despite his tired mind.
Sasuke figured the blond man probably already had gone to help around, leaving him alone to organize his own items.
The bathroom door suddenly opened wide. Sasuke froze.
"Oh hey! Good morning." He scratched the back of his blond hair, fumbling with the strings of his sweatpants.
Now that his brain was refreshed after a good night of sleep, with the bright lights flooding the room, Sasuke could study every etch of the sinewy muscles, broad shoulders and built torso, down to the happy trail peeking out from his pants. He immediately berated himself for staring too long.
Clearing his throat, he muttered. "Morning."
"Hope you had a nice sleep, you totally collapsed last night." Sasuke followed with his eyes as the blond man grabbed some clothes, walking back to the bathroom.
Sasuke nodded. "Thank you again for the help."
"Oh, don't mention it." The other man waved his hand in dismissal. "By the way, I don't think I caught your name, I guess you were really tired after all." He approached offering his hand.
Sasuke shook it. "I'm Sasuke."
"Oooh nice! Japanese huh? My name is Naruto." He grinned. "I'm not Japanese like you, my parents were good friends with a guy with the same name so they decided to honor him this way."
Sasuke blinked, perusing Naruto closely. Figures he'd be a chatty type, considering his boisterous nature.
"Well, nice to meet you Sasuke. We should get going soon, you have to eat Gloria's breakfast, it's fucking delicious! Crunchy bread, homemade jelly, fresh juice…you're gonna love it. I'm gonna change really quick and then we'll go." The blond man babbled excitedly, as he shut the bathroom door.
Sasuke also changed into a more comfortable clothes, with a navy t-shirt and burgundy jeans. Once Naruto was ready too, they went to the kitchen, greeting the landlady (Naruto with a cheerful voice and Sasuke with a quiet one), picking up the plates and filling it with mouth-watering food, colorful fruits, breads and biscuits.
While he was munching down his bread, he listened dutifully the landlady's rules and other details to follow while he's living in her hostel. She also gave some tips to visit Ouro Preto's landmarks, giving him a map of all the important churches he should visit, museums and so on. They bid her their goodbyes, going to the paved stone streets, the sun already peeking out from the horizon.
Despite being 4 fucking in the morning, there was surprisingly a good number of people walking around and decorating the floor. There were already several white lines that Sasuke assumed were outlines from a picture. The citizens were distributing the materials to tourists and children as they guided them out with careful instructions. This city (as well as many other across the country) had the tradition in creating beautiful tapestries, mostly made of colored sawdust and sand, to pave the way for the Procession of Corpus Christi. Ouro Preto above all has the habit of coloring almost every street, with the intricate drawings matching with the colonial architectures of their houses.
Not many could speak English, much less his mother language French but they all attempted to chat with him. Some children even approached undaunted pouring the green sawdust on the ground while they chattered nonstop, unconcerned with Sasuke's monosyllabic grunts and the language barrier, though many tried to speak some broken English with him.
An exceptionally smaller toddler began walking over the picture, kicking a little bit and disorganizing it all. One boy, in which Sasuke assumed to be his older brother, grabbed the toddler and pinched his cheek as the baby wailed loudly. Before Sasuke could panic and search for the mother of those kids, Naruto held them both and spoke with a soothing voice, walking away. The mother soon arrived flustered as she took them to another place, other children surrounded Naruto while they all chattered excitedly.
Without those kids disrupting his attention, Sasuke could focus in adding details to the picture, an elderly lady pointing out the areas and the color of the sawdust to fit in it. Soon he was sprinkling black powder to draw Jesus's eyes and nose, examining the entire picture with a satisfactory nod. The lady patted his back and he saw another man waving his arm so Sasuke spent the rest of his morning aiding the citizens with building up the colorful streets.
It's been a while he exerted physical energy that was not related to sports or gym, so the exhaustion depleting his body felt somehow invigorating instead of tiresome. Sasuke heard some loud shouts coming from somewhere and noticed that his temporary roommate was still playing with kids, some even climbed on his back, fingers laced in a tight grip around the tanned neck. He snorted, unbelieving how unhelpful Naruto was while everyone were busy creating the pictures.
However, as he finished probably the tenth tapestry or something, he realized that Naruto was distracting most rowdy kids, while the quieter ones aided him. Sometimes the blond man could even convince those children to pour some colored sand on the ground, praising when they did it correctly and ruffling their heads.
The procession was going to start soon, so everyone hurried to finish decorating, relieved sighs and jubilant shouts echoed on the streets once they ended the last picture. The once lively town slowly turned to a somber tone when they knew that the procession was getting closer, women adjusted their clothes and men took off their caps from their heads, awaiting.
A melodic ring from the church bells signalized their approaching, some murmurs between the citizens increased while they all stood on the sides of the streets. Sasuke readied his SLR camera while Naruto turned his cellphone on, alongside other people around them. From afar he saw some people holding a white tent, the ceremonial robes from the cardinal as he was holding an exquisite looking cross. Some younger acolytes were waving the censer in front of him, marching in an unhurried pace.
They reached Sasuke's point at last, even though they didn't stomp all over the tapestries, their steps still marred the pictures they have so carefully crafted. No one appeared to mind as they followed behind, Sasuke stared the face of Jesus he so painstakingly drew, now with all the colors mixing together till it couldn't be recognizable anymore.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Naruto chirped in.
Sasuke gazed back, observing the population left in the scenery returning to their usual lives, some even picked up some beer to celebrate, while the children went away to play some soccer. He muttered, feeling invigorated. "Yes. Coming here was a really worthwhile experience."
"Religious are you?"
"I'm atheist."
Blue eyes blinked wide.
Sasuke shrugged. "But I'm not going to deny the impact religion had done to civilization. It created beautiful things as well as it destroyed it, all in the name of some fictional god. Religion after all was created by humankind, and likewise will always be flawed. You can't help but to admire how it can bring the best of people as well as the worst though."
Naruto hummed, before nodding in agreement.
"Well, now that the commotion is over, it's time to explore this city. Is there any church you would recommend me to visit it first?" Sasuke inquired.
"Uh…" Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "You didn't research first before coming over here?"
Sasuke tightened his lips. "I…bought the first ticket to Brazil the moment I decided doing this. Can't really say that I made a thorough research then, but I did study some of the Baroque architecture back when I was in college."
"You mean…you decided out of nowhere to visit here?" Naruto stared Sasuke with a mixture of surprise and admiration. Sasuke glared back. "Well…guess you got lucky you managed to find a place to sleep. All hotels and so on would be booked for months ago 'cuz of this procession."
"Yes…and again, I'm grateful for your help."
"Sure. Uh…well, since you have no idea where to go first, I'll give you a tour around the city. I've stayed here for about a month, so I guess I probably remember most of the history of each church." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck.
"Lead the way then."
─.─
Gazing up to admire all the intricate ornaments painted in gold, Sasuke mourned the fact he couldn't take any photographs inside the church to avoid damaging the place. There was no way he was going to forget seeing all the rich details and opulent stories fixed in these gorgeous churches. Naruto proved to be a very helpful guide talking about the origin of the images as well as the artisans who crafted it.
On the course of the day, Sasuke was amazed on how easy was to talk with Naruto, as both took a fair amount of interest towards history. Long after the sun had already gone, they were still talking trying to connect main events of history in Europe with South America's, while they were strolling back to their hostel, observing the Portuguese influence on the houses and churches surrounding them.
"It's really interesting that despite having one religion in common, they would always adapt to the local culture though. It's fascinating to see this style when my country has gothic cathedrals."
"Oh? Where do you come from?" Naruto asked.
"France. My father is Japanese."
"I'm from Italy!" Naruto exclaimed. "My dad is American though. What a coincidence huh."
"Hn." Sasuke let escape a tired yawn, in which he discreetly hid with a hand on his mouth.
"Naruto!" Someone shouted, catching their attention as an old man was waving his arm. Naruto waved back as they started talking in Portuguese, Sasuke suddenly feeling offset from the conversation.
"Oh, by the way João, he's Sasuke, my roommate. He doesn't speak Portuguese and he only arrived here yesterday." Naruto said in English, as the old man and Sasuke shook hands.
"Just arrived yesterday huh?" He widened a toothy grin. "You have to try our national drink, cachaça and caipirinha! Especially the cachaça I brewed, you won't even notice the amount of alcohol it's inside since it goes so smoothly in your mouth." He picked up a small stone cup and poured the drink down, offering to Sasuke.
Sasuke accepted the cup, staring the small amount of liquid. João downed it one gulp, smacking his lips in contentment. Mentally shrugging, Sasuke figured this was probably a harmless beverage.
"Uh…Sasuke, you don't have to drink that fast since it got a very high percentage of alcohol." Naruto tried to warn, but he already drank it with gusto.
"Great!" The old man shouted. "Have another one!" He said as he poured another cup. Sasuke drank it, the sweetness and the velvety texture of the cachaça made it easy to swallow.
"Hey João, you could stop being a bad influence to foreigners whenever they visit this city." Naruto mildly complained, gazing with growing apprehension Sasuke's pale face was rapidly acquiring a pink color.
The old man huffed, pouring another cup to the dark haired man. "I've done nothing but helping them loosing up, taste some of our Brazilian culture. What's bad about it?"
"Yeah, but you don't know when to stop and hey, you." Naruto halted Sasuke from drinking another cup with a hand on his wrist. "Maybe you should stop, I mean, you're almost purple. Are you alright?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes, jerking his wrist off the tanned fingers as he drank another cup. "Of course I'm alright." He snorted, standing up from his seat and took three smooth steps forward.
Then he passed out.
─.─
Frowning, he felt his consciousness slowly restarting, beginning from grasping the feeling of his feet, to his arms as his sense of sight and hearing were still a little bit impaired. He grunted when he noticed someone was carrying him with one arm enveloping around his back.
"Oh, you're awake? Jesus you scared the fuck outta me. I thought that maybe you had a head concussion or something like that." Naruto groused, adjusting his body to carry Sasuke better. "Hey, can you ring the bell for me, my hands are all occupied holding you, idiot."
Sasuke grumbled. "'m not an idiot."
"Ok fine, bastard."
Sasuke muttered something foul under his breath but still obeyed the blond man, and soon when Gloria opened the door, she widened her eyes with the sight of Naruto carrying a half-dead looking Sasuke.
Before she could ask anything, Naruto snorted. "He's drunk."
She shook her head in amusement as she let them inside, Naruto held Sasuke all the way through to their room, dumping unceremoniously the body on the bed.
Sasuke tried to move his upper body but a hand seized him down.
"Nuh uh. You better take a good nap right now." Naruto said, taking off Sasuke's shoes and socks.
Sasuke made an impatient noise. "Have to take a bath at leas─" His mouth then opened wide, letting a long yawn.
"You can do that tomorrow, sleep first." Naruto muttered.
"I'm ok." Sasuke assured.
"No, you're not. It's your second day here in Brazil, different time zones after all, you're still suffering from jet lag. Just sleep for no─" Naruto raised an eyebrow hearing a quiet snooze, Sasuke had already gone to dream land long before he finished his sentence.
Figures. Now where's that ramen cup he has been dying to eat since yesterday…
─.─
"Morning Sasuke!"
Sasuke growled when he saw the blinds being opened as strong sunlight filtered through. He turned around, curling his body.
"Normally I wouldn't bother anyone's business but it's almost afternoon so I'm bit worried if you're still alive." Naruto said. "So wake up bastard." He poked the uncooperative lump of blanket.
"Bastard. Is this nickname really going to stay, you dumbass?" Sasuke glared but Naruto merely answered with an easy smile.
"Well, if you continue to act like that, I guess I'll continue to call you as it should be."
Rolling his eyes, Sasuke shook the last remnants of his sleepiness as he stretched his arms. In some sense, he shouldn't be wasting his time idly since he didn't plan to stay in this city for too long, but he didn't want to overtax his body since that's something he had done almost his entire life.
It's nice to take it slow.
Sasuke noticed a plate near the bed containing some of the food from hostel's breakfast. Naruto probably took some for him, since the landlady said that the breakfast was open only till 10 am and it was; Sasuke glanced at his cellphone, almost 1 pm right now.
A warmth lodged in his heart and spread through his body at the admission of this fact. Naruto was still a stranger to him and yet he went all through this trouble of first offering to share the room, be his tour guide, to taking care of him despite all troubles. Sasuke contemplated.
Surely at first he planned to journey alone but it wouldn't hurt to have some company right?
"Naruto, if I'm not mistaken, you said you're also here for touristic reasons, you want to visit Brazil right?"
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, scratching his head. "Yeah…right. Why do you ask about it?"
Also, so far those impulsive choices he had done lately had brought positive results, so why not try his luck once again then?
Sasuke raised his head. "Want to explore this country with me?"
AN: I vowed to myself to never write fanfic anymore and here I am…once again…*sips tea deep in thought*
At first I wanted to write some quick fic to celebrate Sausage's birthday and then obviously, the plot evolved and spam out of control.
So anyways. Whenever I wrote a multi chap fic, I always wound up doing some sort of research and maaaaaan does it take too much of my time. It's either about architecture and Japan touristic spots, ninjutsus and the geography of Naruto world, or recipes of food. So man, I can honestly say that I got lazy this time and instead of searching for another country, I used mine. So yep. Naruto and Sasuke are traveling across Brazil woo─
The procession I'm talking about occurs yearly and they have some really nice drawings done on the streets. But since ff net sucks, you guys have to write "Tapetes procissão corpus christi" on google.