Third person pov

Sasuke is sliding down the wall, gasping for air, sobbing his heart out from pure joy. Stomach aflutter with butterflies, heart about to beat right up his throat and out his mouth. His pulse is racing, his hands are shaking, he can hardly breathe. It's the morning after The Incident, insert trademark here, and Sasuke is still insanely giddy over the fact that Lennox (the love of his life, literally the most perfect specimen to ever walk this planet) had brought him his bag.

"Good morning, Lennox." Sasuke all but purred at the boy upon skipping the entire way to his fence. Lennox blinked at him as he beamed, happily propping his elbows up on the fence so he could rest his chin on his closed fist and better observe the object of his affections. "Thank you for bringing me my bag yesterday."

Sasuke's in such a good mood that he's even putting off his plans to decidedly eradicate the entire Yamanaka clan. It's tempting. He'd almost left last night to go get it over with, but anything that put his chances with Lennox in jeopardy during this still-fragile time was a no go. So, they'd live to breathe another day, not knowing the only reason they still walked this earth was due to the flawless GEM living right beneath their noses.

"I-It was no problem." Lennox gave a hesitant nod to Sasuke, offering his usual small smile. Sasuke sort of zoned out, smiling and just staring at him. Lennox blinked and tilted his head curiously at his Uchiha friend. He supposed Sasuke may be sick. That would explain his red face, right? Hopefully he still did well on his exam.... "G-Good luck o-on your exam." 

Should he have said that. Sasuke was blinking and smiling wider, but at least he was nodding now. Lennox offered a small smile of his own, ducking his head nervously. He thought of the tomato soup flavored cupcake inside he would give Sasuke to congratulate him on his passing and tried to hide the flush on his cheeks. Would it be weird if Sasuke waited for him outside the gate with it? Did he have anyone else coming to see him? Lennox knew they were friends, but Sasuke was just so popular...

"Thank you, Lennox." Sasuke hummed warmly, staring for a moment longer. And then another moment. And maybe several more moments after that, because how he is supposed to look away? There is a tiny Sasuke up in his head that is rapidly tap dancing right now and there is no way to stop him. "W-Well, I guess I'll see you later!"

"R-Right!" Lennox squeaked out, jumping slightly. Sasuke stared at him a beat longer before his cheeks went pink and he turned on his heel, seemingly to physically peel himself off the fence so he could march off. Lennox felt his heart stop in his chest when he saw that Sasuke didn't have his bag over his shoulder, but it resumed beating again when he realized it wasn't on the fence either.

Sasuke marched off resolutely, not looking back because he knew there's absolutely no way he'd be able to ever look away again if he did. Lennox was right. It was exam day, and though he'd probably be fine if he was late, it was better if he wasn't. Besides, he has a lot of things to look forward to after the exam. Namely the walk home...

~

Sasuke's expression was schooled when he walked out with a headband tied around his forehead, beelining for the exit and daydreaming of seeing Lennox's bright expression when he saw that he'd passed. Proud parents praised their children all around the courtyard as he made to leave. He ignored the stares that drilled into his back and sides, pushed away the whispers with thoughts of copper hair and bright green eyes.

But then, something happened. Something that blindsided Sasuke even more than the backpack incident the day prior. Something he never would've seen coming even from a mile away. Something that had the tiny Sasuke inside doing a double back flip, even a little jig. 

The clouds parted, angels singing a harmonious tune. Harps were being played, a symphony of violins and really large, chiming church bells. God himself shone a light down right where Sasuke was standing, bathing everything in a warm, golden glow. Hearts were flying every which direction, it was practically a maelstrom. 

Sasuke nearly tripped. Almost fell on the ground dead. Four of his organs failed and then came back to life better than they'd ever worked before all in an instant, miraculously healed. His brain short circuited, nearly leaving him disabled for life. Sasuke could feel function in his legs nearly cease. The world stopped spinning. The planet almost got hit off its trajectory and straight into the sun like a golf ball aimed wrong, this was so monumental a moment.

"Y-You passed!" Lennox gasped out, excitedly bouncing forward. And then he... he hugged Sasuke. It was very brief. He let go very fast, jumping back in surprise at his own bold actions. His green eyes widened and his face burned with embarrassment. He clutched the small box in his hands tightly. "S-Sorry! I-I--"

This. Is. Not. A. DRILL.

Somebody call an ambulance. Get the defibrillators and charge that shit up, because Sasuke isn't coming back from this one on his own. Lennox had come here of his own free will, on his own two legs, WITH his own two feet, and had hugged him. With his arms. His physical arms had physically wrapped around Sasuke. 

Sasuke is perceiving sounds as colors and colors as sounds. Everything is warped and he is in agonizing bliss. Receptors are firing, every single one of his nerves are alight. He may not have his Sharingan yet, but he's going to remember this moment in excruciating agony and relive it every single night for the rest of his life. Lennox willingly touched him. Actually, willingly touched him. 

"This is the best day of my life." Sasuke breathed out, eyes wide. Lennox relaxed slightly, some of his concern over having maybe offending him melting away. Even if Sasuke was... violently shaking. It was a big achievement! Lennox couldn't possibly blame him for feeling a little overwhelmed with emotion over passing!

"I-I brought y-you a... a-a tomato s-soup cupcake. Since I know y-you don't like sw-sweets." Lennox ducked his head a little, holding out the box with unsure hands. Sasuke made a sound like a dying animal. Like someone had just launched a kunai or twelve at him. Lennox bit the inside of his cheek, watching his friend take it with trembling hands.

"I am never going to recover from this." Sasuke said distantly, staring down at the box with wide eyes. Lennox watched him pull the box close like he was trying to absorb it in through his sternum. "Is this real?"

Things are exploding left and right. Life is moving in slow motion. Sasuke has never felt this much positive emotion in his entire life. His trauma from the massacre has fully healed and every ounce of rage has left his body and ascended into the light, dissolving into nothingness. He's seeing colors he didn't even know existed. This tomato cupcake is the single most precious thing he has ever received in his entire life. He would've traded half his clan for just this cupcake alone, in all honesty.

"O-Of course! I always knew you'd p-pass! E-Everyone did." Lennox reassured softly. He'd had no idea he'd been so uncertain of his own skills! His self esteem always seemed so solid. Who knew all this anxiety had been festering. Lennox knew first hand how horrible it was to doubt yourself. Poor Sasuke-- he felt so bad he'd never noticed! "Y-You're the most talented s-student in the academy!"

.....We gather here today to celebrate the life of one Sasuke Uchiha, and to mourn his untimely passing. Anyone who knew Sasuke knew what a fighter he was, but fewer knew about the softer, more vulnerable side of him. About those late nights he spent squealing into his pillow, kicking his legs as though his blankets were assaulting him personally, imagining the next thirty years of his life with someone who was none the wiser to his affections.

Sasuke Uchiha's early life was simple and sweet. He was born on July 23rd to Fugaku and Mihoko Uchiha, though neither of them knew that their youngest son's sole purpose would soon become to love and adore Lennox with literally everything in him. He spent his younger days learning how to feel emotion to prepare him for his days of pining. Itachi Uchiha, his evidently homicidal and genocidal older brother, taught him what affection even was.

His family like died or whatever, got murdered, but it was purely character building for Sasuke. With them out of the way, Sasuke was able to focus on the more important aspects of life. In this eulogy, we will-

"Thank you, Lennox. This means a lot." Sasuke smiled as though literally nothing was happening, ignoring the funeral march playing in his head. He was too far gone. There was no returning and Sasuke was fine with that. He would continue to hurtle into the depths of his seemingly endless adoration. "Come on, let's go find somewhere to sit and talk. We can split this if you want."

"I-If you're sure." Lennox was still embarrassed from before. Sasuke reached out and put a hand on the boy's upper back to lead the boy and his knees nearly gave out when Lennox didn't pull away. Friendship. They were friends. This was not a reason to propose. Literally not the time. He would totally say no. Friends did things like arm wrestle, and trade things from their lunches, and shove each other along.

But Sasuke had a giant crush and he was currently being rapidly spun about as though in a blender. And really, he wasn't even mad about it. Lennox just breathing in his direction was honestly enough. To be perceived by his perfect eyes, which Sasuke could look into forever and ever and never get tired, was literally everything in the world to him. Case closed, thank you for coming to his TED Talk. 

"S-Sasuke, wh-why are you my friend?" Lennox asked hesitantly, eyeing him. Sasuke wanted to grab him by the shoulders and-- well. Yeah.

"Because I like you." More like was literally in love, had carefully plotted the next fifty years of their life together, knew what the house they were going to share with one another was going to look like, and had names picked out for all their future pets. The wedding color palette was perfectly and immaculately planned to compliment Lennox's fiery hair and bright eyes, though it was open to editing if he had different preferences. Of course.

"O-Oh, okay." Lennox accepted with a small smile, ducking his head. Maybe it really was that simple.