I am back with this one, yay. I will be posting at least one more chapter sometime in the near future. Perhaps even more. Depends on you folks.
Please, do enjoy.
Summer had come its end, no doubt. The nights were cold, mornings chilly and days shorter. Leaves had turned into colors of red and yellow, with only the slightest hint of green remaining. Most of the population found it a shame. Summer and its heat were lifted onto a pedestal year after year. Yet there were the few who preferred the melancholic beauty of approaching fall. One of them was a man with pale skin, jet black hair and a gaze to kill for.
Uchiha Sasuke sat on a somewhat uncomfortable, yet surprisingly clean park bench. He felt at ease, for the most part. The beautiful scenery of slowly starting fall calmed his generally tense state of mind. He truly did enjoy the slightly chilly wind and light trickle of rain gently hitting his skin. It took his mind off of things that were worthy of anxiety and stress. It was rare for him to have a chance to feel so at ease. And he made the best of it.
He watched the people walking by. The majority of them in a hurry. Rush was no foreign concept to him. Perhaps that was why he enjoyed watching others hurry, knowing he didn't have to join them. It wasn't that he particularly disliked his busy lifestyle. It was just that every now and then, even he needed a passing moment of simple nothingness. In a big city, those moments weren't anything to take for granted.
Sasuke knew he lived a life that many would've killed for. He had money, he had respect and seemingly lived inside the modern age fairytale. The fairytale of romanticized city life, filled with wealth and never-ending entertainment. In a way, he did. His life sure wasn't boring. Nor was it particularly agonizing. Not anymore.
But that was his problem exactly with the concept of perfect city life. It wasn't like the fairytales of long ago. This kind of life didn't simply happen. The supposed perfection didn't come to you. You forced your way to that perfection, pushing away all others attempting the same. With draining work and incredible luck, you might've achieved that. But the fight didn't end there. If you ever reached that vague vision of perfection, you then proceeded to cling to it with every fiber of your existence. And that was the point Sasuke had now reached.
Sasuke wasn't from the city originally. In fact, he'd already reached his twenties when he first even visited a town bigger than the one he'd been born and raised in. But that visit had been enough. It'd had an impact on him that even his roots on the countryside couldn't fight against. The sounds of people and traffic, the towering buildings and most of all, the opportunities. Those were the things that'd made him decide he had to get away from home. Away from the never-ending dry fields, forests and mediocre happiness.
He hadn't really been unhappy in a small town. He'd enjoyed his time there. But the life there had also been all he'd ever known. With nothing to compare to, it'd been sufficient enough. That changed after his brother left home, to go live in the big city. The man had instantly become distant and busy, hardly ever having time for his family back home anymore. It'd been somewhat of an insult at first. But then Sasuke had gone to visit him. He'd stayed for two days. Those two days ended up being more than enough for him to understand the change in his brother.
By the time he went back home, Sasuke had fallen in love. He'd fallen in love with the city. Never before and never after had he actually been in love with anything or anybody. But he hadn't ever really felt the need for it, either. His love for the city had been enough. Not only was the city something that would never leave him, but he knew it would last a lifetime. In his mind, that was the perfect form of love.
Sasuke had followed his brother faster than probably even was necessary. But he hadn't seen any reason to stay and think about it. So he'd packed the little he had, bought a train ticket and left home behind. The first night in the city he'd spent at his brother's. The man had had a small, lousy apartment in the worst possible part of the city. The place had been disgusting in every sense of the word. But Sasuke hadn't complained. He hadn't expected anything particularly grand in the first place.
The second night had been even less appealing. Sasuke had succeeded in getting himself an apartment in just one day. Only it'd been an even more disgusting hellhole than the one his brother rented. The building itself must've been built before the First World War. The safety of that apartment had been nonexistent. The floors of his apartment had been creaky and splintery, the walls stripped from all paint and wallpaper, revealing the mold in the old concrete. The environment could barely have been called livable, let alone pleasant. But even then, he'd ended up staying in that flat for an entire year. A year, two months and five days.
After that year Sasuke had been able to save enough money for a better apartment. He'd worked at a car shop, repairing anything and everything that'd contained an engine. The place itself had been somewhat shady. Most of the employees there had been ex-felons, junkies or just some other type of sad member of society. But Sasuke hadn't hated it. He'd found the job itself surprisingly enjoyable and even found a few people he'd learned to tolerate. And since he'd been broke as hell, complaining would've been useless anyway. Poor people couldn't afford to choose. That was a fact, and he'd accepted it.
After getting a more livable apartment, Sasuke had quit his job. Not because he didn't need one, but because a better opportunity had presented itself. His brother had been starting up a company for a couple of years, and finally the hard work had started to pay off. Enough for the man to need a helping hand. And that's how Sasuke ended up partnering in his brother's company.
It'd started off slow. Sasuke hadn't owned more than ten percent of the firm. That was all he'd had money for. Today, he owned half of it. But in the dawn of their liaison, that had seemed very improbable. For a long while, the forecast of their business hadn't seemed too good. Mainly because working in the business of death was surprisingly competitive. They sold funerals. They took money from grieving people, in return shoving their loved ones into the ground. Sounded grim, and kind of was, yet the truly grim part was the competition.
But then, about a year in, something horribly wonderful happened.
There'd been an earthquake. That itself wasn't too wonderful. That was the horrible part. But the wonderful part was all the people who quickly needed someone to lay them to rest. With more dead people than undertakers, they suddenly had more than enough work on their hands. And because they did their job as perfectly as one could, their name stayed on the lips of people. And hadn't left since.
Their profession itself wasn't really the most conventional possible. Sasuke hadn't had any kind of training for it, either. But his brother had had, and with his help, it hadn't taken too long for the younger one to learn as well. And in the end, they became the best around. It took five long years, but eventually the business had started growing rapidly, leaving them with what they had now. Twenty-five funeral homes around the country, coffin manufacturing and everything from carving tombstones to driving hearses. They had several thousands of people working for them, and by the time they'd started burying the rich and the famous, they'd known they'd made it.
Sasuke had often wondered just how he'd ended up in a profession like the one he had, but not once had he regretted it. Why would he, when it'd brought him from a pre-war building filled with prostitutes to a penthouse apartment?
So yes, he had achieved the things he'd left home for. He'd moved to the city he'd fallen in love with, he'd made a name for himself and had more money than he truly needed. But even then, he continued to dislike the thought of a perfect city life fairytale. People never seemed to understand that in order to achieve it, you'd have to live in loneliness. Success always came with a side of loneliness. Making it in the city left no room for friends or permanent lovers. Or people in general.
Perhaps that was why Sasuke still took the train every single day. He could've afforded a personal driver, easily. But he felt uncomfortable doing that. So instead he took the same train every day. He never spoke to people there. He never tried to make human connection, nor did he have the desire for it. Just being among the general population gave him a sensation of fitting in. And that had always been enough. Never had he asked for more than that.
Then he'd met him.
It'd been a fairly cold day of late summer. The day before, Sasuke had made the decision to refuse the luxury of a personal driver. He had gotten fed up with being isolated from all other population from dawn till dusk. He had reached a point in his career, where the only people he saw was his brother and strangers in business meetings. And he had started to find it dull. Thus he'd decided to take the train.
Sasuke had made his way to the train station that particular morning. It'd felt somewhat strange to stand on the platform with a hundred other citizens, waiting for the train to arrive. The mediocrity of it all had felt so astonishing. It had been a wakeup call of sorts. A wakeup call to reality. But of the good kind. He'd realized he'd found a way to feel less alienated from everybody else. And with that knowledge in mind, he had stepped inside the train.
The carriage had been full to a more or less uncomfortable point. But regardless of that, he'd found a place to sit. The seat itself had been as uncomfortable as the atmosphere inside the train. Beside him sat a man taking a loud nap. And as if that hadn't been oppressive enough, he'd had the unpleasant sensation of being stared at. Perhaps it was only his imagination, but it truly was hard to ignore.
Hard, cold plastic under him, Sasuke had tried his best not to mind the snoring man sitting next to him. He'd solved the problem of unnecessary noise pollution by a set of headphones, and music cranked up to its fullest potential. But the problem of the sleeping man eventually falling to lean against his shoulder was something truly difficult to ignore. He'd tried. He'd truly tried. But having a heavy-weight, middle-aged man snoring against him wasn't his idea of fun at all. And by the time the man started drooling, Sasuke had nearly come to regret taking the train in the first place.
He might've missed seeing other people in their natural habitat, but the awkward situation of a man sleeping practically on him was simply overkill. He'd had no desire to make verbal, let alone physical contact with anybody. And as he realized his opinion wouldn't be asked on the matter, Sasuke had been ready to change his mind about ever taking the train again. He had already made the decision of hiring his driver back, when something unexpected caught his eye.
Not very far from his seat, across the narrow isle, stood a young blonde man. Why Sasuke had turned to look at him, he wasn't sure. But he had. And oddly enough, he stopped to watch him for just a passing second.
The man's gaze had fallen to the floor, blonde bangs covering his eyes. But even though part of his face was hidden, Sasuke could see that the man had fairly handsome features. Sharp jawline, tanned skin and pale red lips. Only after taking notice of these things did Sasuke realize he was seeing a face in the first place. Not that the train wasn't full of them. He just rarely paid any attention to the faces of strangers. He had no need for that. He never met anyone who'd stay. So why bother taking notice of their faces?
Sasuke didn't let his gaze linger on the man for very long. He soon turned the other way again, glancing out the window instead. For the rest of the ride, he refused to let his eyes wander anymore. His jet black gaze remained on the scenery passing by. But even though his gaze no longer wandered, his mind might've. For no real reason, he found himself wondering about the blonde stranger's hidden eyes. He sort of would've wanted to know the color of them.
Why? That he couldn't explain.
The blonde stranger left before Sasuke. He hadn't watched him leave, but knew he was gone. The sensation of being stared at had disappeared along with him. And oddly enough, so had the desire to hire his driver back.
A couple of months went by, before Sasuke got used to taking the train. The first few weeks had been hellish in his opinion. After getting used to being treated according to the worth of his life-insurance, being just one in a million required some adjusting. Inside that morning train he was just like everybody else. And even though that'd been what he'd asked for, it'd been more of culture shock than he'd expected.
It was funny, really. There had been a time in his life when being average had sounded most luxurious. He'd been broke as hell, had barely had money to buy food and taking the train had been nothing but a distant dream. He'd seen the worst of it, so one would think that using the train wouldn't have been that much of a shock anymore. But Sasuke had come to the conclusion that after seeing the best of it, the worst easily started feeling like nothing but a bad dream. Maybe the discomfort of the train was a good thing. It'd helped him get his feet back on the ground.
And with his feet steadily on the ground, Sasuke once again arrived at the station to see his train arrive just in time. He stepped inside, searched for a seat and upon finding one, claimed it as his. As the train took off, Sasuke completed his usual routine; stuck a pair of headphones in his ears, cranked up the volume and then turned his head to gaze out the window. That routine of his was a way to keep him from getting annoyed by his fellow travelers. So far, it'd worked quite well. Well, apart from one small thing.
The sensation of being stared at. That still remained the same. For two whole months, he'd felt an intent stare on him. At first he'd assumed it was just his own imagination. But as time had gone by, he'd stopped telling himself that. Mainly because it wasn't true. He knew he was being watched. Not only that, but he was well aware of who the watcher was.
Sasuke had come to learn that the blonde stranger he'd seen on his first trip on the train took the same ride every day, just like him. He hadn't particularly paid any attention to the man. He'd never as much as glanced at him. Not directly. But that mess of blonde strands was hard to ignore, so from the corner of his eye, he always saw the man get on the train. And as soon as the stranger boarded the train, the sensation of being stared at took over Sasuke. He knew the stranger stared at him. He knew that, but never returned the gaze. He felt no real need to do that.
For two months, the stranger's gaze had burned holes into the side of his face. At first, it'd been less continuous. But by then, the feel of the man's stare hardly ever left him anymore. Sasuke had found it slightly disturbing at first. He'd figured it was best not to return that gaze just for safety reasons. After all, he had no idea what kind of lunatic the stranger might've been.
But after a while, the gaze had stopped bothering him. It no longer felt oppressive, not even strange. He got used to it. To be honest, had the stare one day not been there, the ride to work would've felt a little empty and odd. That's how strongly the stranger's stare had become a part of his morning routines. Sasuke felt it'd become an essential part of his day. Why that was, he didn't know. But he didn't really care, either. He never thought of the stranger otherwise. The stranger's existence was real to him only on that train. And to him, that was perfectly fine.
That day seemed no different. The day had started the same way as always, the train ride had followed the same pattern as always. Nothing was different. Not until Sasuke once again felt the feel of the stranger's stare leave him. The train came to a halt, the doors slid open, and the stare left him. Sasuke knew the blonde was leaving. He always knew. And he always ignored it. Only this time, he did something unplanned.
Just as a few of the passengers had exited the train and the doors were about to close again, Sasuke turned to look that way. And to his surprise, his gaze met something he'd never seen before.
Eyes as bright blue as the sky.
Sasuke hadn't expected it. He hadn't expected the stranger to look his way anymore. And even less had he ever expected the man to have eyes that strikingly blue. He'd never seen them before. But they took him aback in a way he hadn't been prepared for. He couldn't stop staring. It couldn't have taken longer than just a second or two for the doors to close and the stranger to disappear from his view, but even then, he remained somewhat dumbfounded. It was no longer any wonder why the stranger's stare always felt so intent. A gaze that captivating must've had a unique feel to it.
The train took off again, leaving the stranger and his blue eyes behind. Sasuke found himself staring at the closed doors for a long while after. Only when the song playing in his headphones came to an end, did he wake up back to reality. With a slight start, even.
Sasuke shook his head lightly, doing his best to forget about the unexpected eye contact that'd taken place. As the next song on his playlist began playing, he tried distracting himself by closing his eyes and silently moving his lips along with the melodic words filling his head. It worked, to some extent. For a while, he didn't think about the stranger or his ridiculously blue eyes. But it only took him so far. After a while, a sudden flash of those said eyes crossed his mind again, making him frown in confusion.
He opened his eyes and sighed. He didn't really understand why he was unable to forget about it. He gave up on even trying. He took out his earphones, put them away, and turned to gaze out the window. It'd started snowing. It was the first time of snowfall that year. It was also the first time Sasuke failed to forget the stranger for the rest of the day.
By the time Christmas came around, Sasuke had gotten well-adjusted to taking the train. Not only that, but he'd also come to terms with one particular side-effect that came with that form of public transport. Simply put, he had accepted the stranger, the stranger's stare and the fact that Sasuke had started to find that nameless gaze less disturbing and more pleasant. He still had no idea why the man stared, so he didn't really think of it as flattering. But he had started to find it pleasing that somebody seemed to acknowledge his existence on such a level. It wasn't as much about the stranger, as it was about being interesting enough to get stared at, without the watcher knowing who he was. It made Sasuke feel less like a manifestation of his notorious last name, and more like a normal human being. It was nice.
The stranger and his stare had become a part of Sasuke's everyday routine. He had become used to feeling that gaze on him every morning. But despite knowing just how unusually beautiful that gaze visually was, Sasuke still refused to return it. Instead of that, he simply enjoyed the feel of it on him. That way he didn't have to fear he'd give any false impressions of hoping for some kind of further acknowledgment. Because he didn't. He really didn't. Being watched was enough. It was enough to make him to feel like an actual human being. But what he hadn't realized was just how much he'd truly put trust in that stare. And how much it affected him to one day not have it present at all.
Sasuke had left work earlier than usually. Most days he spent at the office from dawn till dusk, taking the last train back home. But since the holiday season had been a little calmer than the rest of the year, he'd gotten the chance to escape work a little earlier. And even though he usually enjoyed spending the entire day working, he was actually happy to get off at such an early hour.
He'd had a bad day. A really bad day. He'd barely slept the night before, the anxiety caused by a big business meeting keeping him awake. He hadn't gotten more than an hour or two of sleep, had stumbled to the train station half-asleep, and for the first time ever, failed to find a seat. So he'd spent the morning standing in the train, fighting the need to fall asleep on his feet and nervousness building up inside him, while thinking of the meeting lying ahead.
Those things together would've been more than enough to be a bad start of the day, but another misfortune presented itself as soon as he'd gotten himself inside the train. About two minutes into the ride, Sasuke had realized that the blonde stranger wasn't on the train. He couldn't feel the man's gaze. And even though he tried to fight his curiosity, he ended up scanning around, trying to locate the stranger. He never did. The stranger wasn't there.
Sasuke had tried to shrug it off as no big deal. Because by all logic, it shouldn't have been. But while fighting his generally pissed off state and the anxiety caused by all forthcoming stress, Sasuke found himself missing that small form of acknowledgment he'd gotten so used to feeling. It was as if that day in particular would've needed a little staring. A little acknowledgment and effort. He hated to admit it, but he found the lack of the blonde stranger absolutely horrible. Only there wasn't anything he could've done about it. He was forced to suck it up, and get through the day without the stranger and his gorgeous gaze.
After the terrible day had finally come its end, Sasuke was relieved to be standing on the platform, waiting for the train to arrive. The rest of the day had been equally as terrible as the beginning of it. The big business meeting he'd stressed about the entire night had gone just as horribly as he'd feared. They had ended up making a deal, but no aspect of the contract had been to his liking. They'd paid too much money for shit that wasn't worth it. But what'd been done couldn't be undone. They hadn't had a choice. By that point of negotiation it would've cost more for them to back out and start all over.
So no, Sasuke hadn't been happy about the turnout, but tried his best to forget all about it. Getting off work early helped just the slightest bit, and seeing his train arrive helped a little more. He got on the train, found himself a seat to take and was quick to sink into his own thoughts. Knowing that there would be no blonde stranger on this ride either, he only hoped for it to be over as quick as possible.
The train wasn't as crowded as usually. But it was crowded enough to still be uncomfortably full. Sasuke distracted himself by staring out the window at the snowy scenery, counting down the minutes of the remaining ride. He gave up on counting after a while. It became boring. But his gaze never left the window, just like his mind never left the image of finally reaching his apartment door.
Before that image could become reality, the train made several stops along the way. Sasuke never actually realized it coming to a halt by the blonde stranger's stop. He was too deep in his thoughts to notice a familiar stranger board the train, and find a seat. It was a shame Sasuke didn't see him enter. He would've gotten to witness the most grateful smile in the history of smiles. For the stranger truly seemed to be honestly happy for the seat he'd found.
But he didn't see that. Or the stranger in general. He never saw him take a seat, smile like he'd won the lottery and lean back, a content sigh escaping the man's lips.
The train came to its next stop. Sasuke got startled awake from his thoughts as the large man who'd sat in front of him stood up, grabbed his bag and then proceeded to exit the train. Sasuke's gaze followed the exiting man, but never followed him all the way out. Not when his eyes met a sight his heart unintendedly skipped a beat for.
Across the narrow isle, in the exact direction the passenger in front of him had blocked the view of, sat the stranger he'd missed this morning. The blonde stranger who's lacking gaze had left him feeling oddly empty and lonely. There he was now. Sitting just a few feet away, his gaze glued to the floor. And Sasuke couldn't stop staring. The actual time he spent watching the man probably didn't last longer than a few seconds, but felt like forever. Only when the blonde eventually lifted his head up, his blue eyes meeting Sasuke's jet black ones, did he realize he'd stopped to stare. And even though he didn't really want to, he tore his gaze away almost immediately.
He turned to watch out the window again. His gaze didn't wander after that. But he did feel the stare on him, and it made him happier than it probably should have. A smile tried to escape his lips, but he contained himself. He didn't smile. Not until he'd reached his stop, stepped out and felt the familiar, burning gaze follow him all the way to the exit. Only then did he allow himself to crack the smallest, most unnoticeable smile.
Nothing particularly notable happened between Sasuke and the stranger for a few months. Things went on the way they had so far. Both of them would take the same train every day, the stranger would stare and Sasuke would ignore it. Secretly enjoy it, but ignore it. So nothing had really changed. Not apart from a teeny-tiny liberty he had started allowing himself.
He had started to take just one, small glance at the stranger. Every day, just one. He wasn't sure if the stranger had noticed that. Preferably it would've gone unnoticed, but to be honest, he didn't really care whether or not the stranger knew about it. He didn't really do it for that man. He did it for himself. And the reason behind it was somewhat ridiculous.
The reason for his wandering gaze was the man's eyes. For some ridiculous reason, Sasuke felt the need to make sure the stranger's eyes were as blue as they'd been the day before. As a strong supporter of strictly logical thinking, Sasuke felt stupid for doing that. But he did, anyway. And in all honesty, if that was all it took for him to sleep his nights at ease, why not?
That particular day of late spring had started as every other, but ended up being drastically different. Sasuke had made his way to the station, caught his train and seated himself down just like any other morning. He'd put his headphones on, turned up the volume of the music and then moved his gaze to watch out the window. Just the way he always did. But a minute or two into the ride, Sasuke had realized something was different.
He couldn't feel the stare. The stare wasn't there. He frowned in confusion and even considered checking if the stranger truly wasn't on the train at all. But as the stubborn man that he was, he refused to do that. Instead of trying to locate the blonde man, Sasuke let his head fall against the window and his eyes keep on watching through the glass.
For ten whole minutes, he succeeded in ignoring the lack of a stare on him. For ten minutes, he kept his gaze out the window, headphones blasting loud music into his ears. But once his playlist came to an abrupt end, so did his self-control. Sasuke knew he could've just turned the music back on, but ended up not doing that. Mainly because of the sickly disturbing sound that reached his ears. The sound of somebody coughing their left lung out.
Sasuke had given up on his stubbornness, and turned to look in the direction of the sound. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but what he saw, wasn't really one of the options.
The stranger was there after all. Only he didn't look the way Sasuke had gotten used to seeing him. The man's blonde hair was an even worse mess than usually. His tanned skin had turned a sickly greyish color, and the pale red lips were now only pale, the red gone altogether. He didn't look too well. And the obvious sounds of sickness that escaped him only proved that to be a fact.
Sasuke quickly realized the reason for the lack of the stranger's stare. The man could barely even stand straight. No wonder he wasn't able to concentrate on the people around him. Sasuke had to question why anybody would leave home in a condition that bad. Had the stranger no grip on sensibility?
Sasuke watched the stranger for a while, silently judging the other's poor decision to leave home, but soon got distracted by something even more disturbing. The stranger had kept his head hanging low, gaze glued to the ground. Only after the train came to a stop and people started exiting the carriage, did the blonde man finally lift his gaze up. The stranger seemed to be desperately searching for a free seat, only for it to be in vain. But Sasuke wasn't that concentrated on the man's discomfort anymore. Not when he saw just how shockingly faded the usually bright blue eyes had become.
Sasuke was honestly shocked to see the stranger's eyes look that dull and washed out. How sick did a person have to be for the color of their eyes to fade into shades of grey?
Sasuke realized that the lady who'd sat next to him had packed her belongings, and stood up to leave. Naturally there were several new candidates ready to claim that freshly released seat for themselves. The blonde stranger being one of them. His faded blue eyes had been glued to the free seat, a look of desperation lurking behind the washed out color. But the blonde did nothing to get the seat for himself. Most likely he found it to be hopeless to even try. And he wasn't wrong.
Sasuke saw a man take a few steps towards the seat. A man who was perfectly healthy, perfectly free of fever and had eyes that obviously were washed out anyway. Sasuke didn't really even think about it. He placed his black bag on the free seat, shattering the approaching man's hopes of seating himself, and laid a cold look on the displeased passenger. He ignored the insulted look on the man's face, and instead turned to see the blonde stranger again.
The faded blue eyes lit up with relief, as Sasuke gave him a meaningful look. He said nothing, did nothing, only gave a gaze that demanded him to claim the seat for himself. And he did. The stranger stumbled his way over, stopped next to the man who'd hoped to get the seat and gave him a desperate look. It was almost pitiful how quickly the man decided to give the seat to the blonde. But pitiful or not, he got to take it. Sasuke removed his bag form the seat, and with a deep sigh of relief, the blonde one slumped down to sit on it.
Sasuke felt the glance directed at him. He nearly didn't return it, but changed his mind. He turned to meet the other's blue eyes. The color of them might've been dulled and faded, but the small smile on the man's lips made up for it. Sasuke's heart might've skipped another beat. Why, he didn't know. He would've liked to return the smile, but wasn't the kind to do such things. So instead of even trying, he gave a very simple, very brief nod. It wasn't much, but seemed to make the stranger content.
He tore his gaze the other way again. And even though he gave the blonde one no further attention, he was very aware of the stranger's presence next to him. Maybe it was the man's high fever, maybe it was something else, but Sasuke felt a strange heat build up around him.
Two days later, Sasuke came down with a fever. He knew the cause of it, he knew he could've avoided it, but oddly enough, he had no regrets whatsoever.
Regardless of the unexpectedly close encounter with the blonde stranger, nothing changed. Days went by with the same routines as always. Sasuke got his usual stare, the stranger got his limited one glance a day, and life went on the way it always had.
Summer had come and nearly gone again. People were getting back from their vacations, looking rested and aggravatingly happy. Sasuke couldn't stand it. Mainly because he hadn't had any time off. And in his generally melancholic mind, others had no right to feel calm and rested, when he was stressed out of his mind.
That one day of late summer had been especially infuriating for him. Not only had he had no time off work, but he'd been forced to work even longer hours than usually. Starting at five in the morning, and keeping on going till midnight. The fact that his blonde stranger seemed to be enjoying a vacation just like the rest of the city, made it no easier. Four whole weeks, and not a glimpse of the stranger. And even though Sasuke found it ridiculous, it was making him extremely anxious and pissed off. He had no real explanation for it. It just did.
Sasuke's morning had started at 4 am that day. He'd had a meeting scheduled for the ungodly hour of 6 am, which meant he'd have to leave even earlier than usually. Thankfully the meeting itself would take place at the client's office, instead of theirs. So the location would be more easily reachable than his usual destination.
The train ride there had felt as infuriating as it had for the past four weeks. The lack of a certain blonde stranger had gradually made him more and more edgy, which was a little laughable. Yet absolutely true. And like all rides for the past four weeks, the only way Sasuke got through this one, was by blasting music into his ears as loudly as possible, gritting his teeth to the point of breaking and enjoying mental images of train wrecks. Disturbing, yet truly the only damn way.
He made it through the ride, as he did the meeting itself. But knowing he'd have to endure another two hours of sitting in the train, Sasuke wasn't much happier once he returned to the station. On top everything else, he nearly missed the train altogether. This wasn't either one of the stations he was used to. This was in fact the stop the blonde stranger always got off at. But Sasuke hardly had the time to think about that, as he was busy running towards the train that'd already stopped at the platform.
Miraculously he made it just in time for the doors to slide open. With the overpowering need to quickly make his way inside, he rushed to do that, not caring if it was impolite to shove people out of his way. Now thinking back at it, he probably should've been just a little more considerate. Because Karma truly had been quick to punish him for acting like an inconsiderate idiot.
Not really looking where he was going, he ended up running into somebody, harder than either one's reflexes could process. Sasuke ended up silently listing the most vile curse words he knew, before finding himself on the ground. Falling on his back wasn't exactly enjoyable in itself, but even less pleasing was it to get somebody to fall on top of him. Having the wind knocked out of him, Sasuke was positive a grown man had crashed on top of him. None of it was pleasant. Not the dirty ground he was lying on, not the weight of a grown man falling on him and especially not the way his day seemed to become worse and worse.
Loud groans of pain slipped from both of the men lying on the ground. Sasuke could feel a headache coming. He'd obviously hit his head. It was truly unpleasant, but he shook the pain away, preparing to give the other one a piece of his mind. The man on top of him ended up being quicker to speak.
"I'm so fucking sorry, I-"
The sentence came to an abrupt end. So did Sasuke's intention to put the other one to shame. He had something more important to get dazed about, than a potential concussion.
Eyes as blue as the summer sky stared deep into his pitch black ones. It took only a mere second for Sasuke to recognize that strikingly blue gaze. The grown man pinning him to the ground was no other than the blonde stranger.
Sasuke nearly flinched. But only nearly. Instead of giving away his surprise, he gave the man an annoyed look. It seemed to have no effect on him at all. Not a hint of shame or guilt flashed in the blue eyes. Sasuke came to realize that the stranger didn't seem to notice his annoyance in the least. It made him somewhat confused. And in the end, he no longer felt angry. Only surprised, confused and absolutely mesmerized. Yes, mesmerized.
The longer the stranger's face remained that close to his, the less Sasuke was aware of the place and time. He couldn't look away. An odd moment of time slowing down happened. Suddenly there was no noise, no other people, no leaving train. Just them, just their seemingly never-ending staring, and pale red lips that were dangerously close to Sasuke's. Apparently his gaze had somehow ended up traveling just that much lower. And then stopped to stare.
Only when the godawful screech of the train taking off pierced the air, did Sasuke wake up back to reality. As did the stranger. Rushing to get off Sasuke, the blonde one picked himself up, dusted his clothes off and then offered to help the other one up. Sasuke glanced at the already moving train, then at the hand offering help, and eventually decided not to take it. He decided it was the strangers fault he'd missed the train. Thus he wouldn't accept his help.
Sasuke got back onto his feet again and stopped to stare at the blonde. His stare got returned. The strangeness of the odd moment they'd just experienced somewhat baffled them. That passing while of wonderment went on for a brief time, before the blonde suddenly seemed to have a realization of some sorts. The man took a hasty glance of his watch, turned back towards Sasuke, and stuttered out a few apologizing words.
"I'm sorry. I need to go."
His voice sounded slightly ashamed, as well as rushed. He seemed to be in a hurry. Sasuke gave him no reply. He had no idea what he possibly could've said. The stranger didn't stay to wait for any words either. With one last, lingering look, the blonde tore his gaze away, turned around and started walking away with fast-paced steps. Sasuke watched him go, but only for a short while. He soon turned the other way, glancing after the train that was nearly out of sight by then.
A sigh escaped his lips. There wouldn't be another one going by for an entire hour. The knowledge of that made him frustrated, as well as slightly angry. But what could he do?
Sasuke grunted. He considered glancing over his shoulder, to take one last glance of the blonde, but decided against it. Instead he lightly touched the back of his head. It felt sore to the touch. It would hurt for a long while. His hand then moved lower, down to his shoulder. There was no pain there. But the feel of the stranger's touch lingered on him, stirring an odd feeling inside him.
The pain on the back of his head ended up lasting for a week. But the feel of the stranger's touch on his shoulder lasted twice as long.
A few weeks passed after that incident, and Sasuke had still thought about it. In fact, he couldn't stop thinking about it. The second he opened his eyes in the morning, he would think of the stranger. That would go on for the entire day, and as he closed his eyes at night, the stranger's blue eyes were his last thought before drifting to sleep.
But even though that was happening, nothing had changed between him and the stranger. They still took the same train, they still stole glances of each other and they still refrained from going beyond that. Sasuke would've never imagined it happening, but lately he'd started to change his mind about that. About perhaps getting to know the stranger. Mainly because all he ever thought about anymore, was the blue-eyed blonde.
He found it hard to concentrate on work the way he used to. He found it hard not to just boldly stare at the stranger without any shame whatsoever. He found it hard not to go to him and tell that the man had the most beautiful eyes Sasuke had ever seen. All those things were so hard to ignore, yet Sasuke still did. He wished he could've had the trust in humanity it took to take a risk that big, and make a connection with the stranger. But he didn't. So he wouldn't.
Sasuke sat in the train, like always. The stranger stood a distance away from him, like always. The blonde stared, Sasuke ignored it, and fought the need to look the man's way, like always. Everything was as it always was. But Sasuke did notice the small nervous traits the stranger seemed to be practicing. The blonde man seemed tense, his left hand clenching into a tight fist and teeth gently biting down to his lower lip. Sasuke noticed it, but like always, ignored it.
He sat in his seat, gaze turned towards the window and hopes of the ride ending filling his mind. He knew the strangers stop wasn't very far away anymore. Knowing that the rest of his ride would be as lonely and boring as the rest of his life, Sasuke truly hoped it would reach its end soon enough. And he was more or less ready to become anxiously pissed off again, when something caught his attention.
From the corner of his eye, he could see someone approach him. The stranger, to be more exact. Sasuke wasn't entirely sure the blonde's approaching had actually anything to do with him, so he didn't bother turning to look. The stranger's steps did stop by his seat. But even then he kept his gaze out the window. Only when it came absolutely impossible to ignore the waiting stare laid on him, Sasuke finally turned to look at the blonde.
The stranger seemed nervous. It was evident, but the man somewhat impressed Sasuke by forcing the obvious feeling away. Sasuke said nothing. Only waited. And after a while, the most charmingly anxious voice spoke.
"Hey", the stranger said very simply.
Sasuke raised a brow. He hadn't realized how well the stranger's voice fit his appearance. It had a somewhat boyish, yet raspy sound to it. He found himself liking it.
"Hey", Sasuke replied after a while.
The blonde seemed relieved upon getting an answer. As well as surprised when hearing his voice. Sasuke wasn't sure if the man liked it or not. But that probably wasn't relevant.
The stranger seemed to grow anxious again. Sasuke found it somewhat unimpressive, yet kind of adorable. It was an odd mix. The blonde seemed to bravely shove the nervousness away, as he then extended out his arm, offering his hand to be taken.
"I'm Naruto", the blonde introduced himself, obviously trying his best not to falter.
Sasuke's gaze dropped down to the offered hand. And then turned back to watch the blonde smile at him. Had Sasuke said that nervous wreck of blonde anxiety wasn't the cutest fucking thing he'd ever seen, he would've been lying. But he also had to question if it truly was a good idea to do this. And he thought about it for a while long enough to make the other man nervous all over again.
A smirk eventually found its way to Sasuke's lips, just like his hand found its way to take the blonde's. It felt warm compared to his icy touch. But the man didn't seem to mind. And the smile that wouldn't leave the other's lips oddly enough washed away all doubt from Sasuke's mind.
"I'm Sasuke", he stated.
The blonde's eyes lit up in a way Sasuke hadn't known one's eyes could. He took that as a good sign. The look in the man's eyes made him forget that he was in fact still holding the other's hand in his. That's why the gentle kiss placed on the back of his hand came as a surprise. Sasuke became taken aback, put didn't find it unpleasant. He could sincerely state that nobody had ever done that to him before. Which made him suddenly feel something new and strange dwell up inside him.
"I have wanted to ask you something for a long time, Sasuke", the blonde then said.
Sasuke had to smirk. He found the other's boldness extremely attractive. With a slight tilt of his head to the side, he gave the man a curious look. A small smirk came to decorate the blonde's lips.
"Will you let me take you out?" the man then asked.
All nervousness had disappeared from his voice. It impressed Sasuke to an extent. But more than anything, he was impressed by the man's absolutely irresistible smirk. How could he possibly have said no to that face of an angel?
"Sure, stranger."
It'd been three weeks since that'd happened. Sasuke had been forced to leave for a business trip overseas the following day, and only got back home last night. But as soon as he'd stepped out of the plane, he'd left the blonde a message, telling he was back. He had completely ignored the strangeness of his rush to do that, as he hadn't been able to go a day without thinking about him. And apparently, the inability to forget about the other one had been mutual, as the blonde had demanded to see him the following day. Sasuke had agreed.
That left him with the present situation. There he sat on the uncomfortable park bench, watching life go by and waiting for the blonde to show up. He had actually arrived an hour early, for no apparent reason. He had the rare luxury of a day off, so he'd figured he might as well make the best of it by sitting alone in the park, freezing his rich ass off. Worth it, absolutely.
Sasuke took a glance at his watch. It was nearing 8 pm. The blonde should arrive at eight, sharp. But since there still were a few minutes for that to happen, Sasuke figured he would have the time to get himself a cup of coffee, maybe a pack of cigarettes. There must've been a corner store somewhere near.
With that thought in mind, Sasuke pulled himself up from the bench. Briefly stretching his sleepy limbs to life, he then proceeded to make his way towards the main street. After a few hundred feet of walking and crossing the road, he found himself at the corner of a street he knew a small store resided at. Knowing he'd have to rush in order to be on time, Sasuke picked up his pace and turned around that said corner. But like always, life decided to place an obstacle in his way. Literally.
He ran into someone. Hard, fast and absolutely unexpectedly. He'd been walking fast enough to knock the other one over. An instinctive grip of the one falling came to drag Sasuke down with them. And with a loud thud, they were both on the ground. A loud, obviously pained groan escaped the one laying under Sasuke.
"Shit that hurt", an oddly familiar voice spoke.
Sasuke would've been quick to return those spoken words, hadn't it been for the familiarity of the other's voice. But the voice wasn't the only thing familiar. Such were also the blonde hair, pale red lips and sky blue eyes. And as those blue eyes soon made contact with his dark ones, the familiar voice muttering out curse words instantly died out. Absolute silence followed. It might've continued, hadn't it been for the amused chuckle that escaped the blonde one.
"Hey, stranger", the man muttered.
Sasuke stared at him for a while longer, before replying with a smirk on his lips.
"Hey", he chuckled.
And then it was silent again. Considering that the ground was in fact freezing, they probably should've pulled themselves up and found a better place to have this conversation. But neither one moved. So they stayed on the ground.
Sasuke wasn't sure what he was supposed to say, so he said nothing. The blonde one kept on staring into his eyes, before the gaze slowly traveled lower. Knowing what the man was staring at, Sasuke had to smirk. He had a couple of options. He could've gotten on his feet, pulled the blonde up as well and then let the man drag him through a date that would hopefully end in something delightful. Or then he could just skip the date part, and go straight to the something delightful. The decision truly wasn't hard to make.
Ignoring the fact that they were laying on the ground, in the middle of a busy sidewalk, Sasuke decided the small gap between them was unnecessary. So he made the gap disappear. A pair of warm lips let out a sound of surprise against his cold ones, but quickly got the hang of it. And despite the cold, despite the headache for hitting his head against the pavement, the blonde one succeeded in making Sasuke absolutely certain he'd chosen the right option.
It came to an end, eventually. Sasuke pulled away just enough to speak.
"That head of yours. That's gonna hurt for a long damn time", he said honestly, with the deep voice of experience speaking.
The blonde one didn't seem to mind it. He simply chuckled and smirked crookedly. A mischievous look behind his blue eyes told that he would make the best of it.
"I know something that'll make it better", the blonde said.
Sasuke felt a hand find its way to his waist, but he didn't mind it. Instead he gave the other one a light shake of his head, followed by a chuckle.
"Is that so? And what might that something be?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.
The blonde one decided not to give him any words as a reply. The lips that found their way back to the others were enough of an answer. Sasuke truly had no trouble accepting this form of medication.
Well, there it is. The second chapter and Sasuke POV.
You gotta tell me if you wanna see more of this. If not, I'll probably just make the promised third chapter and leave it at that. But in case ya'll sweet people feel like reading more, I might keep this as an on-going story for a few more chapters. Tell me which way to go.
Hope you liked it. Luv ya. *kiss*
Teeny tiny update: I probably won't continue this story. Not because it ain't worth it, but because I don't feel like there's much I could give it. It was originally meant to be a onseshot, and written in the style that fit that. So I suppose I'm just gonna leave it the way it is; short and outrageously fluffy. That's all, folks.