Chapter Text
It was a scorching summer day. The heat was blazing and you couldn't even step outside for more than a couple of minutes without a burning sensation on your skin. The July air was warm and carried humidity, air that would change into a sweat as soon as it hit you.
The trees and their leaves were glowing and dancing in the sunlight. The cicadas provided an annoying but familiar sound in the back.
Children were biking and stopping at the vending machine to get something cool to soothe their parched throats.
Naruto was running back to his summer job at the family convenience store after grabbing lunch for him and his dad from home, which was just nearby. His white headband slowly loosening and climbing down his forehead as he reached to fix it. Beads of sweat building on the back of his neck. His apron tied at his waist making him uncomfortable as he ran, but he didn't mind it as he was close to reaching.
As he opened the door to the store and the cool air hit him, he said to himself, "Ahh, air conditioning is a truly wonderful thing".
He went to the back of the store where his dad was doing inventory and gave him his bento box.
"Here you go dad, lunch."
"Thanks, can you just put it on my chair here for now? I'll eat in a bit." Said his dad while on the ladder adjusting something.
Naruto did what he said and leaned on the wall as he asked, "uh also, should I turn the open sign back on now?"
"Yeah sure, you could eat first if you want and then turn it on, it's up to you." He said looking back at him in the middle of his task.
Naruto closed the door and sat down in the chair near the cash till to eat. He decided it was best to turn the open sign back on after he ate so that no one could interrupt his meal.
It was a slow day anyway, they barely had any customers come in since the morning and it was already 2 pm. After finishing his meal and turning the sign back on, he sat back on his chair and started scrolling on his phone to pass time. He heard some loud noises outside but he didn't bother to check.
More than a couple of hours passed by and he had some customers but nothing too busy. They also lived in a small town by the beach so it was mostly like this. He and his dad were just helping out anyway, it was his uncle who owned the store. After some time, his dad came out from the backroom to eat and just stretch.
"Naruto! I thought I told you to shut off the air conditioning after 5 pm! You're gonna get fired if you keep going like this!" His dad said as he entered the front of the store.
"Oh I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about it! I promise it won't happen again!" He said with an apologetic tone from his chair.
"Before closing up, I want you to organize any mess on the shelves, ok?" He said to Naruto who was now playing on his switch.
"Yes I will, and I do every day, you don't need to tell me."
"Hmm ok." Minato said while slurping his cold soba.
A couple more hours passed by and it was almost closing time now. Street lights were on with moths flailing around their tops, and the sky was a dark blue with streaks of orange and pink from the summer sunset. Birds were singing the last of their harmonies for the day as it was fully dark outside.
"I'm just gonna step out for a smoke and splash some water on my face before we leave ok?" his dad said as he opened the door and disappeared outside.
Naruto saw some smoke and then heard his dad talking to someone. He wasn't a fan of his dad's smoking habit, but he recognized that a long time habit like that can't be let go too easily. He got up from his chair and started making rounds in the store to fix anything he could see was disheveled. Suddenly the talking stopped and the door opened, but he couldn't see who it was since he was between aisles.
"Dad is that you?" he questioned loudly while tip-toeing, trying to catch a glimpse of who it was.
"Ah yes, Naruto come here, I want you to meet someone." He announced loudly and started talking again.
Naruto ran to the front where he saw his dad talking to a tall man, with brown hair which some might say was long as well. He had a deep voice and was holding a can of coffee in his hand. When he saw Naruto, he politely smiled and waved.
"Naruto, this is Fugaku! One of my friends from college! We used to be really good friends before he moved away for a job placement. You can call him Mr. Uchiha." His dad said with a bright smile on his face.
"Oh no, none of those formalities! You can just call me by my first name Fugaku." He said while smiling.
"Oh ok, very nice to meet you Fugaku, I'm just gonna clean up here since we're closing up!" mentioned Naruto awkwardly. He wasn't very good at social situations with new people and this was one of them.
He distanced himself and started mopping the floor.
Fugaku and Minato kept talking and Fugaku started grabbing some supplies and food from the store. As he got all the things and went to pay, his dad said that it was on him since it was his first night in the new town and they were seeing each other after so long. Naruto noticed that the amount of food he got was way too much for just one person so he might have a family member at home as well. As his dad and Fugaku talked, Naruto finished cleaning up and locked the store. Both Fugaku and his dad were having a smoke as a car pulled up at the end of the parking lot.
Naruto could barely see who was in the car but all three of them started walking towards it as Fugaku said, "My son is already here to pick me up so I better take leave, but we should definitely get together and have dinner sometime. Also now that my shop is right beside yours we'll see each other all the time."
"Yes of course we should have dinner, and we can take smoke breaks together too now." Naruto's dad said while chuckling.
They slowly moved closer to the car, the wind was a bit cooler now and the night sky completely dark. Naruto could feel the cool breeze on his neck as he got some goosebumps and a slight shiver. He didn't care about bringing a change of clothes, he would just walk to the store with his apron and walk back home the same way.
"All right, good night both of you." Fugaku jogged a bit forward to the car and said loudly as he opened the door.
Naruto could now finally see this mysterious son of this new person he had just met. He was wearing a black hoodie and had hair similar to Fugaku but darker and differently styled. One hand on the wheel and one holding his phone. The light from the phone revealed his pale and clear complexion. Naruto could still only see less than his side profile. All the things that he could see and assume only made this individual more unknown to him. He was not even bothered by Fugaku opening the car door.
Naruto and his dad had taken a stop a bit far from the car, as they had to walk the other way to get home. As Fugaku closed the door Naruto's dad shouted "good night" and Naruto waved bidding farewell to Fugaku, when they finally caught the attention of the mysterious boy in the driver's seat. The stranger just slightly adjusted his neck to look past Fugaku to see who these people were.
Naruto finally got a good look at his face, and it was what he expected, his eyes were dark too, like the depths of the ocean. They shared a momentary glance at each other, and Naruto's goosebumps intensified just a bit by this weird and nonchalant experience.
He and his dad started making their way home as Fugaku and the boy drove off. On his way home, and through the night this experience took up a considerate part of his mind as he just wanted to know what kind of person was driving that car.
He later found out from his dad that Fugaku had opened a flower shop right beside their convenience store, and today was the moving day. Maybe he'll see this boy again, or maybe he won't, he thought as he stopped staring at the ceiling and slowly drifted off to sleep.