24 Valentines…? (1/2)

'It's in the midst of October, dammit.' Orion cursed in his mind, trying so hard not to crumple the bouquet of roses handed to him by a young Uchiha. He was smiling, but he was itching to throw the bunch onto some people, especially after seeing Shisui and Shikamaru trying to hold in their laughter behind Sasuke.

”Thank you, Sasuke-kun.” His lips twitched as he thanked the Uchiha, quietly letting his seal-less Kage Nui reach the people behind the clueless Uchiha, holding them by their feet and hanging them upside down, glaring at them when Sasuke closed his eyes from god knows what.

”Y-You're welcome, Sh-Shiro—I mean… Ori-chan…” The Uchiha stuttered, making Orion much more flustered, not processing why the cursed Uchiha child is stuttering.

Orion sighed, leaning forwards, silver locks of hair sliding to his face. To be fair, he looked rather stunning, with the sun's rays shining through the windows and hitting his pale skin, making him glow effortlessly. His long, curly and gravity-defying silver hair reflected the sun's light too, and it was really bright.

The more one stare into Orion's face, the more they'd notice his unusual, gender-neutral beauty. What's adding more to that beauty is the mole under his right eye. In Japan, such a mark symbolises a hard, sad life—the placement calls to mind a tear of sorrow.

It actually matches his dark, brown eyes that has a tint of dark grey, symbolising the Hatake bloodline. His eyes always make him look like he's on the verge of crying, but he isn't. That's the beauty of his enticing eyes. One's soul could really get captured into it—it doesn't matter what gender.

Sasuke smiled. ”I'll get going then.” He beamed, turning around only to tilt his head when he saw everyone lying face first on the ground. He blinked at them, ”Are you okay? Okaa-san said one shouldn't lie down on the cold floor, Shisui-niisan, Shikamaru-kun.” He then walked out, oblivious of what happened, but he didn't question it for he was too immersed in his thoughts.

He was as red as a tomato too.

Orion shivered, throwing the bouquet of roses at Shikamaru's face when the latter laughed out loud. He sniffed before pulling up his covers and lying back down on the bed, holding in a sneeze. ”If I hear one of you laugh one more time because of this…” His voice was hoarse, but it was threatening, ”… I'll thread Kage Nui through your skin… that'll be fun.” There was a smile there, and the two understood the child's words. They didn't know that it's possible for one to be extra scary when he's sick so, they simply left and let the youngster rest.

Orion has been sick for quite a while. After coughing out probably a gallon of blood due to being exposed to a certain place, which had very dense and heavy chakra that resonated with his own chakra, he got horribly sick. Well, catching a cold is better than dying, right? The only thing unfortunate is that his throat is very sore. He's also sneezing here and there so, the Uchihas' are very nice to take him in for the time of being.

Actually, scratch that. What's more unfortunate is the fact that Sasuke is visiting him every now and then, giving him gifts and the like as ”advance valentine gifts”, as Shisui calls it, which makes everything ten times worse. Well, it's not that unfortunate because the child's being generous and all but… every time Orion brings up the gender topic, Shisui would casually interrupt, thus preventing him to say the truth to the young Uchiha.

Then and there, Orion swore that he'd drown the crow himself if the said Uchiha won't stop bringing up the ”female Orion” (aka Shiro-chan which evolved into Ori-chan) issue.

Later that afternoon, Orion was sound asleep, his body temperature still high. The door slid open, revealing a tiny Sasuke carrying a tray of food and water, along with a medicine pill for the sleeping boy—not that he knows Orion's a boy, probably… maybe.

After placing the tray on a nearby table, he quietly sat down on a chair next to Orion's bed. He observed the youngster. He looked rather peaceful when he's asleep. To him, Shiro-chan's so cute, but at the same time, he looks so sad. He doesn't know why he sees the child as that, but Orion just unconsciously gives out that feeling.

Resting his chin on the palm of his hands, he became lost in thought. He never really had a friend other than his brother and cousin so, when Orion came through the clearings, something sparked in him. He knew he had to become friends with the child right away, no matter who he is. Though he feels like Orion detests him for some reason, he's very determined to make him his friend.

Thinking back, he once asked his mother how to please a friend, so when his mother suggested flowers and food can make the thing easier, he didn't hesitate to break his porcelain tomato bank to buy lots and lots of flowers and food for the silver-haired child.

How innocent.

Sasuke looked rather cute when he was running around their village, buried deep in whatever he's carrying. He paid no mind when he came back home and saw Shisui snickering about and whispering something to Shikamaru. He just immediately blasted off into Orion's room and gave him the roses because they were the best looking ones.

He's a bit flustered and going red because he really hasn't approached anyone like before, so getting all this soppy in front of his motivation to try and get a new friend was doing him no good. He's a bit nervous and started stuttering after his confidence faltered, and he became more embarrassed than before. He picked his thoughts up and made a quick escape after that.

Though he doubts that the people in the room missed his flushed face.

He sighed, pouting as he leaned back at his chair, eyes still watching over Orion. He perked up when the child started to shift and move before opening his eyes in a tired manner. He smiled, his legs swinging back and forth, ”How are 'ya feeling, Ori-chan?”

Orion blinked, groaning as he sat up. Rubbing his eyes, he reached out for a glass of water, ”A bit… better…” He was still half asleep, so all of his words only came out in mumbles. He started to drink the water, waking himself up and noticing the Uchiha child sitting across from him. He stared at him lazily.

Looking at Sasuke now, he doesn't seem that bad. After seeing the tray of food and medicine, he presumed that the child had taken them to him. How nice.

”Okaa-san's worried over you so I decided to take watch. Kaiya-san went out to pick out herbs and stuff from the Nara compound.” The Uchiha said in a carefree manner, smiling away. ”Oh, and if you're hungry, I got niisan to cook eggs and tomatoes for you.” He smiled, innocently, looking over at the tray of food at the table.

Orion blinked at him, his face neutral as the scent of eggs and tomatoes finally hit his nose. He brightened when the savoury aroma reached his system, so he reached for the bowl of food and started to eat. The taste of the dish wasn't comparable to his mother's, but it's good no matter what others say. 'Itachi knows what he's doing…' he thought as he continued to eat.