Chapter 136 - Blue Wednesday

With Sasuke's help, during his next visit, Asaoto made cookies that were warm and soft and ready for Juugo to eat when he came home from work that day. And with other eggs and other days, and under Sasuke's careful supervision, they learned together how to make all manner of sweets and foods.

It was a natural transition, this. Asaoto, after a time, no longer had to ask for Sasuke specifically instead of the usual hospital stay, since Juugo would call him immediately after receiving his jobs for the day, and he would show up shortly after without complaint. He hung around for a while after Juugo came home, still, usually to help clean up and to occasionally elaborate on Asaoto's report of the day.

Sasuke was a quiet, watchful guardian. On occasional he'd take Asaoto out to the grocery store—sometimes with Juugo as well, if these grocery trips happened close enough to the end of the visit—and they'd cook things together, or take walks in the woods around Juugo's house.

There came other friends, in time. Hashiki visited on occasion, and, once or twice, brought over a brown little boy—the son of her boyfriend, Juugo eventually learned—who needed more playmates, in her opinion. He was a little too energetic for Asaoto, running all about the place and climbing trees all willy-nilly. Asaoto couldn't keep up, of course, but he still appreciated meeting a child around his age, as well as the flowers that he was given.

And then, there was another visitor, old and familiar, appearing on a chilly morning. And he brought presents.

"Uncle Suigetsu!" Asaoto was shelling peas on the front porch of the house with his father, wrapped in two very large sweaters so he wouldn't get cold.

"Hey there, little guy. You well?" Suigetsu had a gray cape on, now, matching his son's white one.

"I'm doing very well, Uncle Suigetsu," Asaoto said, resting his hands on the edge of his bowl. "How is Mommy?"

"She's doin' just fine," Suigetsu replied, with a smirk that showed teeth. "And I hear you're well, Juugo-"

"We brought presents!" Shingetsu blurted, thrusting forward the gray cardboard box he was carrying. The lid was full of holes.

"Shingetsu, I told you to wait," Suigetsu sighed.

"I kno-ow, but this is too important!" Shingetsu replied. He sat down next to Asaoto and took the lid off the box. "Look, look, what's inside?"

Asaoto looked. "Baby chicks!" he said.

"Oh, you brought us chickens…!" Juugo finished peeling the pod off his last pea and rested his hands in his lap.

Suigetsu sighed again. "Yeah, Karin said somethin' about you guys wanting to raise chickens, so we picked some up at a farmer's market for you on the way here."

"This is a very good present," Asaoto said. "Sasuke is going to like having some friends."

Suigetsu made what might have been a grimace. "Sasuke?"

"We have a chicken named Sasuke," Asaoto explained. "I named her after Mister Sasuke. Even though she's a hen."

"Is he talking about the Sasuke I think he is?" Suigetsu asked Juugo, and Juugo nodded.

"Yes, Uchiha Sasuke has been watching Asaoto for me while I've been at work, lately," he replied.

"You… sure that's a guy you'd like watching Asaoto?" Suigetsu said. "I mean, I won't try to knock your judgment, but-"

"Mister Sasuke and I have a lot of fun," Asaoto said, his face growing a little stern. "He and I take care of the chickens and go grocery shopping, and he taught me how to make cookies. We learned together."

"Wow, he sounds like a cool guy!" Shingetsu said. "Mom doesn't even let me in the kitchen when I wanna try cooking."

"Suigetsu, it's all right," Juugo said, noticing that his expression hadn't changed much. "Sasuke has been very kind lately. I appreciate his help."

Suigetsu shrugged. "Just wanna make sure you're not gonna get hurt, man. You don't deserve that."

"I won't get hurt, Suigetsu-san." Juugo put his peas aside. "Why don't you come inside? We'll let the boys play on the porch together for a while."

"Let's put the chicks in the chicken house," Asaoto said. "Okay Shingetsu?"

Shingetsu closed the box and grinned. "Cool."

Suigetsu and Shingetsu didn't stay very long, in the end, leaving as afternoon fell so they could get where they wanted to go. Shingetsu and Asaoto played outside as the day warmed, mostly watching the chicks get acclimated to their new environment, with Sasuke the hen looking over them all with a disdain that better suited her namesake.

Suigetsu and Juugo talked. Suigetsu had worries.

"It's just that, Karin told me some things about what Sasuke's been doing these past few months," he explained. "I don't wanna scare you or nothin', but…"

"I already know that Sasuke's been through some tough times lately…" Juugo said. He was taking both bowls of shelled peas and sorting them now.

"Yeah? So he, uh… talked to you about it?"

"He doesn't much, really," Juugo said. "But… I can understand that, I guess. I don't like talking about when I lose control. It hurts, you know…"

"Yeah, I know, Juugo…"

Juugo cupped discarded pea pods with both of his enormous hands. "He's living apart from his family, he told me. Until he can be a better father. That's all he's told me. I think I'm okay with that…"

"That that's all he's told you, or…?"

"Mm." Juugo threw the pods away. "I know Sasuke has had trouble in the past. But I have, too. So when he says he wants to spend time with me and with Asaoto, I can understand."

"You know about any of his troubles, though? 'Cos he knows yours, so…"

Juugo paused. "I'm not… I don't think that's my business," he said. "If Sasuke wants to talk to me about it, then… he will. And that is all."

Suigetsu shrugged. "All right, man. Just… be careful."

"I will be careful," Juugo replied.

Quite interestingly—not even surprisingly—Juugo's observations were more accurate than he thought.

November arrived, and continued on. And there came an evening when Sasuke stayed longer than expected to help with a particularly challenging recipe that Asaoto wanted to try for dinner—not for lack of technique, but because his grip was too weak for chopping vegetables, and the like. After dinner, Juugo took up his needles and practiced knitting for a while. His therapist—he was still seeing her, once a week—encouraged him to keep at it, to work on his fine motor control, even with his job being wonderful for his confidence of control.

Juugo, after a time, noticed that Sasuke was staring at him from across the table. And not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable, Juugo asked, "Is something the matter?"

"What are you making?" Sasuke said.

"Oh, um… I'm still just practicing, but it'll be a scarf sometime, I suppose," Juugo replied. He picked up the fabric hanging from the needles, maybe three feet long at this point, and growing far more ordered the closer to the needles it was.

"A scarf? For whom?"

"Well… myself or Asaoto, I suppose, once it's finished."

Sasuke thought for a moment. "Is a scarf something a person would like as a present?"

"I suppose?" Juugo said.

"I think I'd like a scarf," Asaoto added, from where he was thoughtfully drawing a picture in crayon at the table.

"Hm. I suppose since it takes a while to make, it shows you were thinking about them…" Sasuke said, and his voice fell.

"Why are you asking, Sasuke?" Juugo said.

"My… son's birthday is coming up," Sasuke replied. "I was wondering what to get him. He… takes a lot of pride in his appearance, so I thought maybe something he could wear…"

"That sounds like a really great idea, Mister Sasuke," Asaoto said.

"Oh, yes, I think that might be something he'd like," Juugo added. "Like you said, it would show you were thinking about him too, I suppose."

Sasuke's head tilted slightly as he thought. "Could you teach me, then?"

"What?"

"How to knit. You already know how."

"Oh, I…" Juugo put his needles down. "Well, I'm not very good though, I'm still just learning."

"They say that the best way to learn something is to teach it to somebody else," Sasuke said. He looked up, and there was a dim light in his eyes. "I'd like to learn. We'll both get better at this rate."

"Are you gonna make a scarf, Mister Sasuke?" Asaoto said.

"I'm sure going to try, if your dad will help me."

Juugo smiled awkwardly, almost embarrassed. "Well, I don't… know why you'd want me as a teacher, but… if you want me to teach you, Sasuke, I will…"

Sasuke nodded, or bowed. "I'm very grateful. Please, at your leisure."

They began that night with some of Juugo's leftover yarn and some chopsticks. Juugo taught Sasuke the basic cast-on, and the basic stitch, and Sasuke fumbled much like Juugo had early on. But soon enough he had several clean rows of knitting hanging off the chopstick, and Juugo had several more rows on his own scarf as well.

"This is pretty easy once you get used to it," Sasuke remarked, looking over his work.

"Yes, and it's… well, it's pretty soothing, isn't it?"

Sasuke took his fabric off the needle and began to unravel it. "Mm. I think this will do."

"Oh, what are you doing…?" Juugo said.

Sasuke finished unraveling the sample, and looked up. "I can't rightly knit using your wool, and chopsticks, can I? I'll get my own supplies and practice next time I babysit Asaoto. It's only fair."

"Oh, I suppose you're right…" Juugo said.

"Til then, I suppose." Sasuke got up, and began for the door. "Thank you for teaching me. You're really good at it."

"Thank you for… asking, I suppose," Juugo replied.

Asaoto remarked, after Sasuke had left, "Your scarf looks much better, Daddy. I think Mister Sasuke helped you as much as you helped him."

"Oh, you think?" Juugo said. He looked over the fabric and, indeed, the stitches he'd made while teaching Sasuke, slowly and with care, were much neater than the rest below.

Asaoto nodded. "If Mister Sasuke makes a scarf for his son then you should finish yours too."

Juugo chuckled. "Do you want a scarf, then?"

"Maybe." Asaoto returned to his coloring. "I think that it's more important for you to finish it first before I decide if I want it."

"Fair enough," Juugo replied, smiling.

The next time Sasuke visited, he had acquired a pair of fine wooden knitting needles of his own, and white, soft wool that Asaoto took great pleasure in handling. There were already a few inches of knitting done, but Sasuke claimed he had "more to learn" and wanted Juugo to walk him through the rest.

Even though Sasuke began knitting with greater speed than Juugo, his needles clicking gently in the soft silence of the house, he still asked for Juugo to help him whenever he dropped a stitch, or was unsure whether he was supposed to knit or to purl on a row. Maybe it was to humor him, Juugo initially thought, since surely Sasuke wasn't someone that made mistakes—but the care in which Sasuke listened to him and followed his instructions whenever a stitch slipped or a row turned out wrong had him doubting.

Sasuke finished his scarf first. It was a luxurious thing, the stitches fine and consistent, and the soft fuzz of the yarn gave it a slight halo. Asaoto enjoyed modeling it for them once all was said and done.

(Juugo's own scarf had grown significantly, now almost as long as he was tall. But he wanted to finish off the ball of yarn his therapist had given him, and so knit on.)

"So this is for your son, isn't it?" Juugo said. "The scarf."

"Yes," Sasuke replied.

"When's his birthday, again…?"

Here, Sasuke's eyes fell, and he didn't reply.

"Did you… forget?" Juugo continued.

"No, I would never… forget my son's birthday," Sasuke replied, a touch of hurt in his voice. "It was… two weeks ago, is all. I missed it."

"Oh…"

"I probably shouldn't even send it…" Sasuke continued, quietly. "I mean, since I couldn't finish it in time, he'll think I just remembered after the fact and…"

"Nuh-uh. I think you should still give it to him," Asaoto said, tilting his outstretched arms so that the scarf draped on it in a new way. "Even if I got a birthday present late from my Daddy, I'd still really like it, I think."

"…besides, the only reason it's late is because you spent so much time working on it, right?" Juugo added. "It's okay, I think he'll understand."

"…you really think so?" Sasuke replied.

"Yup. If I were him, I'd be super happy, even if it was late," Asaoto said. "If I found out it was late 'cos you were working on it so hard, I would like it twice as much."

"Could you… tell him that, then, Juugo?" Sasuke said.

"What?"

"If… you wouldn't mind, I mean, could you deliver it to him in my stead? I don't… think he'd exactly be happy to see me, these days, but if you sent it and explained why it was late…"

"Oh, well, if that's what you want…" Juugo said. "I mean, if things are really so bad…"

When Sasuke looked up at him, he had that same, strange vulnerability on his face that Juugo had seen the month before. "Please, it would be doing everyone a favor. I'll write him a letter, but, please, pass it on for me?"

"Of course, Sasuke," Juugo said, nodding. "I'll give it to him whenever you want."

There was shame in Sasuke's smile, but utter gratitude when he said, "Thank you."

Sasuke came by the next day with the letter, the scarf expertly wrapped in dark blue-violet paper. "I'll stay here with Asaoto while you're gone," he said. "And… tell me if he doesn't like it. I'll understand."

"I'm sure he'll like it, Mister Sasuke," Asaoto said, patting the man on the arm.

"It's okay. I'll… tell you if it doesn't work…" Juugo replied. He had on his boots—there was frost on the ground, that day—and held the package to his chest. "Well… I'm off!"

"See you soon, Daddy!" Asaoto called, waving at him, and Juugo waved back.

(Sasuke waved as well, uncertainly.)

And Juugo, for the first time since Hashiki walked him past it, went to call at Sasuke's family's house.

Juugo went past the gate, and pressed the button for the doorbell. A woman with yellow hair answered; she wore a purple cardigan, and she looked Juugo up and down before finally speaking. "…can I… help you?"

"Hello, is…" Juugo closed his eyes for a moment to make sure he had the name right. "…Uchiha Inou home today?"

"Yes, he's home," the woman replied. "What do you need him for?"

"I have a present for him! For his birthday," Juugo said, and he held the package out. "Could you call him here, please?"

"…sure, just a moment," the woman replied, and uneasily looked over her shoulder. "Inou, could you come down here, please?"

Juugo waited patiently for the boy to appear, smiling as best he could.

The woman continued to talk. "Are you, um… a coworker of Inou's, then?"

"Oh, no, I'm here because Sasuke asked me," Juugo replied.

"Sasuke?" Her face went slightly still.

"Yes, he's a friend of mine. We used to know each other a long time ago, and we met again recently," Juugo said. "Are you his wife?"

"Yes, I am," she replied. "You're really… his friend?"

"Yes," Juugo said, warmly.

"How is he? My husband, I mean."

"He's well. He's been watching my son for me lately, while I'm at work."

"Oh." Sasuke's wife blinked a few times, obviously trying to smile, but Juugo could see how uncomfortable she was.

"He doesn't tell me much about his family," Juugo said, "but what I hear is that he's trying very hard to become a better person so he can come home."

Her face softened. "He told you this himself…?"

But before Juugo could answer, a young man entered. He looked incredibly similar to Sasuke, though his hair was far smoother. His eyes were sharp and clever, just like his father's, and they were suspicious. "Mom, what's up?"

"We have a visitor, a friend of your father's," she said. "Er, your name is…?"

"Juugo, my name is Juugo."

The boy Inou's eyes narrowed. "Dad has friends?"

"Inou, be polite. He has a present for you."

Inou's eyes slid to the package, and his one visible eyebrow furrowed. "Why would he send me a present?"

"It's for your birthday," Juugo said, oblivious to the sting intended in the words.

"My birthday was two weeks ago," Inou said, lowly.

"It's hand-made," Juugo replied, as he knew he had to. "Your father spent a lot of time making it and ended up missing your actual birthday. He sends his apologies."

"He made me something?" Inou said.

"Yes, why don't you open it?" Juugo said, and passed the gift to the boy.

Inou's nose wrinkled, but he took the package anyway and quickly undid the silver ribbon keeping the paper together. There was an envelope on top of the scarf within, but it fell to the ground, apparently ignored.

"A scarf…?" Inou took the scarf and began unfolding it, rubbing the soft wool with his fingers.

"Yes, a scarf," Juugo said. "Your father asked me to teach him how to knit so he could make this for you."

Sasuke's wife—Juugo still didn't know her name—began looking increasingly confused. "Sasuke… knit this?"

"Yes. And I helped him," Juugo said. "He said, he wanted to make something that his son would enjoy wearing. Since he said you take pride in your appearance."

Inou stooped slightly. "Wait, wait, is this stuff my dad told you, or…?"

"Yes, he told me this while he was working on it," Juugo replied. "He asked me to deliver it to you because he didn't know if you'd be happy to see him."

Inou's mouth twisted, like he was pulling words back into his mouth, and he returned to the scarf.

"It's absolutely beautiful," Sasuke's wife said. "Frankly, I'm… amazed that Sasuke made this."

"Yes, I think it's really well-made too," Juugo replied. "And he spent a lot of time on it. He felt that if he just bought something it wouldn't mean as much."

"Inou…?" Sasuke's wife said. "Well, what do you say to Juugo-san…?"

Inou had bent down to pick up the envelope that had fallen, and was flipping it back and forth, examining it.

"Inou," she repeated, more sternly.

"Uh… tell him 'thank you,' I guess," Inou replied, but what was in his voice was not ungratefulness or disdain but disbelief.

"Is that all you're going to say?" his mother sighed.

Juugo shook his head. "I'll be sure to tell him that. Thank you, and, um, happy birthday!"

"Yeah, sure…"

"Well, I'll be off to tell him that!" Juugo turned to leave, but stopped himself. "Oh, before I go! Do you like it?"

There was no immediate reply, so his mother nudged him. "Inou, do you like it?"

"Yeah, it's… yeah." The boy had begun opening the envelope, and distance had entered his expression. His mouth was quivering a little.

"Good, he'll be so glad to hear that," Juugo said. "Well, take care. And happy birthday again!"

"Thank you for, um, coming by to visit us," Sasuke's wife replied. "And… tell him we're doing fine, will you?"

"Of course, ma'am. Goodbye!"

Juugo waved at them as he left, and returned to his house.

Sasuke was sitting at the table with Asaoto, and immediately stood at Juugo's entrance. "Well? How did it go?" he asked.

"It went very well," Juugo replied. "He told me to say thank you."

"Oh, I see…" For some reason, Sasuke's face fell slightly. "And… did he like it?"

"Yes, though I think he was more distracted by your letter, Sasuke," Juugo said.

This actually managed to make Sasuke smile, if only a little. "Well, then, I hope he enjoys at least that," he said.

(Inou had gone immediately up to his room after his mother closed the door, to have privacy while he read his father's letter more slowly.)

(Angrily blinking away the tears in his eyes, he put the letter in his desk drawer and moped on his bed for the majority of the rest of the afternoon.)

(Part of him fervently wondering why in the world his father simply didn't come home, if he really felt the way he did in that letter.)

(Among other things.)

"And your wife told me to tell you that the family is well," Juugo continued.

"Ah, did she?" Sasuke's face lessened some. "Well, that's also good to hear."

"I'm glad your family is well too, Mister Sasuke," Asaoto said, and Sasuke chuckled.

Later in the evening, after Juugo had taken off his boots and the stress of the gift-delivery had dampened, Asaoto asked, "So which of your kids has a birthday next, Mister Sasuke?"

Normally, Sasuke's answer would have been clipped and to the point, and at first, it was. "That would be… Karai. Her birthday is in March."

"What do you think you could make her?" Asaoto asked.

Sasuke thought for a while. "Come to think of it, I'm not sure."

"What's she like?" Juugo asked. He didn't expect much of an answer.

And yet, Sasuke began to talk about his daughter that evening. It lasted maybe for a couple of minutes, but he was more open about his family than he'd been in a long while.