Title: the law of gilded reality
Summary: Sasuke is a dirty cop. Sakura is sufficiently upset. AU.
this drabble just came out of nowhere. like in one of those rom-coms where somebody is surprised and he/she spits coffee in someone else's (usually the soon-to-be significant other's) face. so yeah. enjoy?
A trickle of blood trailed from his cracked lip and his hair clung to his forehead with a mixture of rain and sweat as he limped over to the cruiser, hands cuffed behind his back. Sakura regarded him warily as he approached her, hobbling on his mangled leg and staring at her, his eyes clouded with an emotion she couldn't quite place. His uniform was ripped, his badge knocked askew. But none of that mattered. He was alright.
Ever since she and Naruto had knocked over that first domino, the piece that had sent the rest of the case sprawling out clear as day in front of them, it had become obvious- Sasuke was a traitor. A dirty cop. He had been in bed with Orochimaru all along. But as she watched him walk over, posture stiff but gait faltering, all she saw was a hurt little boy- the boy from her youth who used to light up at the sight of a tomato, the boy who sat silent and forlorn at his parents' funeral, the boy who was resolute in his goal to become a cop, his doggedness rivaled only by Naruto's. No matter how many times he had lied to her or what he had done, he was still her best friend.
She walked towards him, her steps slow and precise, and then stopped, motioning his escort away. With deliberate slowness, she raised her head until her eyes met his. She could almost see herself in their reflection, resigned and haggard.
"Why, Sasuke? Why did you do it?"
She thought his brow gave an almost imperceptible twitch, but that could've just been the coffee talking. He stared at her for a long while and then spoke. "You know why." A declaration. Not an answer.
Sakura inched forward and laid her hand on his chest. Her knuckles brushed his badge and she was hit with an overwhelming sense of sadness. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, so she only nodded her head in agreement.
They stood together in silence, Sasuke's stance stiff and formal, his rigidity betraying nothing. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura caught a shock of blonde a distance away, standing still but clearly eager to interrupt. However, for once, he had read the air and held his ground. She stepped backward and motioned the escort back over. As the man led her best friend of twenty years away, she clenched her fists at her sides and closed her eyes, the rain mixing with the wetness on her cheeks. She prepared herself for what was to come and then turned towards the man she had once loved.
"We'll catch him, Sasuke. We'll finish what you started."
She thought she saw him twitch but then he had ducked into the cruiser and it had pulled away.
The car disappeared into the rain in a flash of red and blue.
fin.
teehee. …in bed with orochimaru. :3