CHAPTER 16: The Courage to Accept

A/N: Hello there, people! ＼(^-^)／So I am not here to bore you all. Just wanted to give a little heads up. By now, all of you already know this, but in all the chapters except for the journal entries, everything in italics are the thoughts of the characters, even during calls.Ok, now, enjoy!

Sasuke was covered in a mess of wheat flour at six in the morning. The young Uchiha had woken up an hour and a half earlier to make ramen for his blond friend and sensei.

"Phew... 105 minutes of hard work sure pays off!"

Sasuke whispered to himself as he did not want to wake Fugaku up at any cost. He transferred the noodles and the broth into boxes and slowly treaded upstairs to get ready for his day.

He had been waking up earlier than usual to prepare lunch for Naruto every day since that day, when he got to know about Naruto's past.

'I'll make it up to him for the time I wasn't there with him...'

After completing his morning routine as usual, he set off for school. The weather had started getting colder, so he had worn a black jacket over his everyday clothes, but they somehow were still not enough.

'It's colder than I thought.'

His hands were freezing cold, so he blew on them and rubbed them together to heat them up. His hands were almost warm when a chilly wind blew past him.

"Ah, fuck!"

He murmured as a shiver ran down his spine.

After walking for a while, the school was finally within his sight. He hurried towards the building as he wanted to shield himself from the weather.

He quickly stepped into the empty classroom and took a seat near the window. He was still a little cold, but as soon as he looked outside, all the cold around him melted away the instant his eyes fell on the blond boy lurking in the fields.

A very personal smile graced his lips as he observed Naruto walking around with Guy sensei, setting up the field for the day. He wore an orange hoodie and blue pants with that signature head protector of his.

'Isn't he cold? He should dress warmly.'

Sasuke worried but was distracted by his skin that gleamed under the few rays of the sun that were piercing through the dull clouds, and Sasuke's heart beat at a crazy speed.

'Didn't they say that junk food spoils your looks in some ways? He shouldn't be looking like that if all he does is eat ramen...'

Sasuke wondered as he admired his blond sensei. He was checking out Naruto's sharp jawline when the said man suddenly turned his head around, looked up, and locked eyes with him.

Naruto grinned at the raven and waved his hand at him. Sasuke blushed with embarrassment at getting caught by him. He eventually scowled at Naruto and quickly turned his face the other way.

'Shit... that's super embarrassing! Ugh!'

Sasuke was unable to get the red tint off his cheeks no matter how much he tried to avoid thinking about what happened.

'Stupid Sasuke! Why was I staring? And why the fuck did Naruto look up?!'

He cursed himself along with Naruto as he pulled his hoodie on, put his head down on the table, and slept.

Meanwhile, Naruto was completely satisfied with the raven's reaction. He was, in fact, flattered that the emo boy was eyeing him through his window, but he can't show that, can he?

*TIME SKIP* AT LUNCH BREAK, AT THE ROOF TOP~

"Take this."

Sasuke shoved the boxes into Naruto's face. He had been preparing special lunch bentos for him for days, but it was the first time he had cooked ramen for him.

"Oi, teme! You got me lunch again? Why?"

Naruto almost whined. He appreciated Sasuke's efforts of getting him good food, but he still wanted to eat Ichiraku's ramen for the meal since Sasuke always brought healthy stuff for him.

"Shut up and eat, dobe,"

Sasuke said and reached a hand into his bag for his lunch. He had made himself some simple salami sandwiches since making ramen had used up a lot of his time and energy.

"Ne, Sasuke, I know you want me to eat healthy stuff, but I survived with ramen just fine! See! I am already muscul-"

Naruto stopped ranting when his eyes fell on the contents of his lunch boxes. He couldn't believe that Sasuke voluntarily brought ramen for him.

"RAMEN?! FOR REAL? WOW! YOU'RE AWESOME, DATTEBAYO! Wait, but why? Although I am not complaining."

Sasuke's cheeks grew slightly pink at the question.

'Why, you ask? Maybe because I want to make you happy... though that's super cringe.'

"Give it back if you don't wanna eat."

Sasuke said as he tried to snatch the boxes away from him. 

"No no no no, I'll have it!"

Naruto laughed at the inwardly flustered Sasuke and picked up his chopsticks to have a taste.

'My hands are sweating... I hope he likes it.'

Sasuke had never been this nervous about anything. His anxiety was growing as the chopsticks were moving closer to Naruto's mouth and sky rocketed when Naruto tasted it.

"Wow... Sasuke, where did you get these from? This is seriously on par with Ichiraku's."

Sasuke was surprised at Naruto's compliment. He knew what Ichiraku Ramen tasted like, and it was heavenly, to say the least.

'To be able to compare to that taste, I must've done one hell of a job.'

Sasuke thought, proud that his two hours of labor did not go to waste. However, he had hidden the fact that he personally prepared the meal every day, so once again, he lied.

"A man near my house has put up a stall recently, so I thought I'll get you some."

He coughed and went back to nibbling on his sandwich.

"Oh... thanks, Sasuke! You really are a great person, dattebayo!"

Naruto smiled at him, causing butterflies in his stomach.

'Hn, dobe. As long as you like it.'

They savored their meal together in a comfortable silence and went back to their schedules once the bell rang again.

*TIME SKIP* AT EVENING INSIDE THE UCHIHA RESIDENCE~

Sasuke was lying on his bed, wondering about Naruto. He had been doing this a lot lately. He remembered how Naruto's face held nothing but pain when he was narrating his story to him. It pained him to see the ever so cheerful sunshine boy so broken on the inside.

Sasuke was not one for sympathy. He didn't give any, and he didn't want any. Rather, he understood Naruto. His physical pain, his emotional stress, his loneliness... Sasuke was familiar with all of it. He had gone through the same torment and was still unable to free himself from the cycle.

His thoughts, however, soon turned optimistic. His mind wandered away from Naruto's dark history to his current self.

His heart picked up pace as he thought about him. He figured that he loved his eyes, his overall features, his voice, his personality, his build... he loved everything.

'Wait- LOVE?! WHAT THE HELL SASUKE? ARE YOU HIGH ON SALT?'

Sasuke face palmed himself, but he still gave the matter a serious thought.

'What are these feelings, anyway? Love? Admiration? Don't tell me... LUST?!'

Sasuke's brain was sure to short-circuit if he used it any further, so he reluctantly took a desperate measure: he called Itachi.

RING RING RIN-

ITACHI (I): Hello, outoto. What's the matter?

SASUKE (S): Umm, Itachi?

I: Hn?

S: Well, I wanted to ask you something.

I: What is it about?

S: I don't know... just hear me out, ok?

I: Hn, tell me.

S: So it's like this: there is a very annoying person who happens to be in my school. They speak a lot, only eat greasy junk, and do so very sloppily! They are the type of people I would never talk to!

I: OK, so? Are they troubling you?

S: No, no, not at all. That's the issue. I should hate this kind of person, but on the contrary, I really enjoy his company. I want to spend time with him every day. I keep making lunches for him because all he does is eat ramen. I feel worried when I see him outside in the cold without any warm layers. I... feel cold without him. It's like he is my personal sun. My heart speeds up at our smallest interactions. I... ugh, this is embarrassing to say... sometimes, I want to t- touch him. Why is that?

I: Hn... this seems to be a very severe case of what common people call "having a crush."

S: Stop joking.

I: *chuckles* Outoto, you like that boy. You like him a lot, actually. Now, I really want to know who this person is, who managed to melt the ice prince.

S: Itachi, you're not leaving the home alive next time you come. Wait. How did you know it was a boy?

I: You switched "them" with "him" midway. You didn't realize that? You must've fallen hard, dear outoto.

S: Ugh! Stop teasing me! Anyways, why aren't you surprised?

I: I don't know. I guess I always knew you were simply gay. So what's his name?

S: Naruto... Uzumaki Naruto.

I: Hn, I'll have to pay this Naruto boy a visit some day.

S: WHY?!

I: Relax, I want to visit him because he's someone you like.

S: Don't do that, ok? It's not like it matters anyway...

I: Why doesn't it matter? You like him, right?

S: N- No, but even if I did, it's not like I can date him or something.

I: Why not?

S: Coz he's a 'man' boy...?

I: So?

S: You don't understand, Itachi. Father won't allow me to.

I: Why not? He has allowed me to even marry Dei, so why won't he allow you?

S: That's because - 'you're already perfect, so you could fight for it, and he allowed it too because you were good at everything you did. But me? I am still the same useless child who can do nothing but give him future heirs. He won't let me be with a guy because he expects me to have kids! Coz you won't be able to!'

I: Sasuke? Are you there?

S: Y- Yeah... anyways, leave that. I've already asked what I had to. Just one more question.

I: OK, what is it?

S: I am not talking about others, but are you ok with the fact that I like a guy?

I: I am fine with anything as long as it makes you happy, outoto.

S: Thanks...

I: By the way, you just admitted that you liked him.

S: Wha- No! I'll kill you the next time we meet!

I: Go for it! I am rooting for you!

S: ITACHI!!!

I: Haha, bye!

BEEP BEEP BEEP

"I absolutely hate him! Why did I even call?"

Sasuke grunted and threw his phone away but still on the bed.

"I should take a shower."

Sasuke collected his clothes for the night from his cupboard and headed towards the washroom. He stripped himself naked and, without giving his body a glance in the mirror, entered the shower.

'I am too preoccupied to stress over these dumb scars.'

He turned the handle and set the water to an optimum temperature. He let the water hit his skin and his scalp. He washed his body thoroughly and applied shampoo to his hair while massaging his scalp with shampoo-coated hands, letting himself relax completely.

His thoughts went back to the conversation he had with his brother. He thought back to all the recent events with Naruto, and just the thought of Naruto made his heart raced faster once again.

He was glad that Itachi supported him. He knew he had fallen for the blond long ago. It's just that this phone call gave him the courage to accept it.

'I guess I can admit it now. I like you. I really do like you, Naruto.'

A/N: Ahem... So Sasuke finally asmits that he likes Naruto. Took him 21 parts and 16 chapters to do so 😮‍💨In any case, I hope you all liked this one as well! Thanks a lot for reading this book! 🙇🏻‍♀️By the way, do you think Sasuke should confess in the upcoming chapter?Do tell me what you all think.See you all in the next chapter!Author sound out ~ ✌🏻