AN: A little idea that popped into my head after I watched 'No Reservation'. Thanks to Cygnea-chan as always for editing. Happy New Year everyone!
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Sweet Seventeen
It was well known around Konoha that Uchiha Sasuke hated sweets. Therefore, it was no surprise that on his seventeenth birthday, his best friends and teammates decided to celebrate the joyous day by giving gifts and, yes, eating cake. Of course, it was supposed to be a –'surprise'-. After all, how many times did a boy turn seventeen, especially one as eligible as him? However, Konoha, being a town full of-'shinobi'-, any 'secret' or 'surprise' stayed as one for a whole five minutes,-before the whole town was let in.
Therefore, no one blamed Sasuke for trying to escape the night before, when he found out that half the female population between ages of thirteen and twenty five had been invited (and accepted) to his birthday bash. Despite being the most illustrious clan (although the Hyuuga always denied this) in Konoha, the Uchiha were surprisingly simple. They were born to train and live as shinobi,- until they died (hopefully in battle). Somewhere between birth and death, a good Uchiha would hopefully find a beautiful, kind, loyal, and powerful woman to share his last name and provide heirs.
Unlike the horrible example his brother Itachi set out for him, as the last Uchiha (Sasuke having disowned Itachi long ago), Sasuke had followed the rules of his clan to the letter, except for the part about finding that special someone to have future Uchiha babies with. It wasn't from lack of trying, but the females in Konoha were just too… what was the word… aggressive… or maybe destructive… or perhaps too manly, for his taste.
Not that he was a snob, but he couldn't imagine his future with a woman who had the strength of ten sumo wrestlers (think Sakura), a temper that made a raging bull seem tame (think Tsunade), or a mentality that made Gaara seem sane (think Sakura and Ino with their inner selves). At the tender age of seventeen, Uchiha Sasuke, the most eligible bachelor after Hyuuga Neji (the stint with Orochimaru cost him first place), was ready to give up his quest for a life mate and become a monk, when the perfect girl bumped into him, quite literally.
Tsukino Usagi was a jounin from the Village of the Mist, a distant relation of Tsunade's, who was here to study the art of healing under the great Sanin. Sasuke still recalled the pure blue of her eyes (that surprisingly didn't remind him of Naruto, like all other blue things did). It was a blue that reminded him of the clearest morning skies. He had stared at her in fascination for so long that he didn't even feel the boiling hot tea that made contact with his chest.
There was no denying that Usagi was a beauty (one that was rarely seen in all five countries), but there was also no denying that she was probably the biggest klutz too (Naruto would be happy to know that he lost his crown). In fact, Sasuke was so shocked when Tsunade cleared her throat smugly and introduced the two blushing teens (first time in history that an Uchiha blushed) and announced that Usagi was a jounin, not a genin as he had originally thought, that it wasn't until afterwards that he finally noticed the third degree burns on his chest from when the blonde bunny had walked into him with a tray full of Tsunade's favorite tea and snacks.
As an apology, Sasuke generously allowed the fledgling healer to treat his wound. Under Tsunade's amused scrutiny, he tried not to show off his finely sculpted pecks and washboard abs too obviously… Not that it made much of a difference to Usagi, who concentrated so hard that he doubted if she would have noticed a strip tease routine… if an Uchiha ever did one.
For someone so clumsy, Sasuke had to admit that Usagi had a very gentle touch, a touch one he wouldn't mind feeling more often on his body. It was then that his genius mind devised a brilliant plan.
For the next couple of weeks everyone in Konoha was bewildered… what had happened to their most valuable asset? A day didn't go by without Sasuke getting hurt. No matter who he was fighting, Sasuke would always walk away with a body full of bruises and cuts (but still winning of course), even against the genin he helped Iruka sensei to look after. Even the smallest damage warranted a visit to Usagi's side. Of course, being the innocent that she was, Usagi cooed and aw-ed over Sasuke's injuries, cleaning the cuts with her warm, gentle hand, while Sasuke used all his Uchiha pride and self-restraint not to flush and flex in front of her.
Meanwhile, Tsunade would roll her eyes at the young man's antics and snicker when his obvious affections went unnoticed by the young blonde. Could you blame her then, when she started a betting ring on the Uchiha's chances of getting the Mist beauty?
Now back to the present. The reason that Sasuke was planning to skip his own birthday party was partly to escape his crazy fan girls (even his time with Orochimaru had not put them off. Instead they claimed it only added to his bad boy looks and behavior). The other reason was because he had just found out that Usagi's training was done and she would be returning home tomorrow, the day of his party. Tonight would be his last chance before he dedicated his life to the great Buddha for good.
Sasuke stood up and gave himself one last look in the mirror (something he never did before), and nodded to his reflection. Gone were the baggy black pants and ugly purple obi he had to wear during his Orochimaru era. Now, his daily uniform consisted of black ANBU pants and the white gi that showed off his chest perfectly. He only recently traded the white armor and took the white gi out of retirement, because it gave Usagi easier access to heal his damages rather than going through layers of armor and shirts of the normal ANBU uniform.
Just as he was putting on his mask, the window to his apartment opened. Without checking to see who it was, Sasuke threw two kunai. He heard loud swearing and allowed himself to roll his eyes childishly (no one was watching).
"Damn it, you bastard!" Naruto swore loudly. "Is this the way you greet your guests?"
"Most guests don't break in through my bedroom window, usuratonkachi," Sasuke replied tonelessly. "How else should I treat idiots who trespass on my property?"
Before Naruto could open his mouth, a blob of pink hair came through the window. "Happy early birthday, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura greeted cheerfully and placed a wrapped box on the dresser. She took one look at Sasuke and rolled her eyes. Boys were so predictable. "I knew you were going to make a run for it, even with all the work I put in to organize the whole thing. And so many people are coming!"
"Hey, I helped too!" Naruto put in.
A glare that plainly said 'I don't give a crap' was their only thanks.
"Fine! Don't come." Surprisingly, it was Sakura who exploded. "But at least eat your cake. Ino and I spent a whole day baking, just so that we can make at least one that you'll like," the pink haired girl said as she unwrapped the box to reveal three different pieces of cake: chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.
"Hehe, and you're not allowed to leave until you finish every last crumb, Uchiha-teme," Naruto added gleefully, enjoying the look of horror on Sasuke's face as Sakura cracked her knuckles one by one, hinting just what could happen if the Uchiha disobeyed.
For a second, Sasuke wondered yet again, why he didn't kill the two annoying people in front of him when he had the chance. Not that he was scared, but he had seen the hole Sakura punched into the ground last time she caught Naruto peeking in the female bath. He did not want to be on the receiving end of that punch, not when there was no Usagi to patch him up later.
"Fine, do whatever you want to do and get out." Arms crossed in front of his chest, Sasuke glared at the two with enough intensity to scare Ibiki.
A grin wiped away the annoyance on Sakura's face as she approached him, holding a scarf in her hands. Where a sane person would've backed away from stroking a hungry tiger the wrong way, Sakura giggled at the opportunity to touch the soft, spiky hair without losing any body parts.
"Now, now Sasuke-kun, play nice; you promised."
"I said I'll eat the cake, I never promised to be manhandled!"
"But Sasuke-kun, you are naturally biased when it comes to sweets. If you eat the cakes while you can see them, you'll hate the taste even before it touches your lips. If we blindfold you, the visual stimulus will have less influence on your taste buds. Who knows, you might actually fall in love with the taste," Sakura sad cheerfully, ignoring the growl from the tense Uchiha heir.
"Now teme, open up and say 'Aaaa'," Naruto crowed gleefully.
Sasuke almost chocked on his own tongue as he sensed Naruto bring a forkful of chocolate cake to his lips. Being the stubborn Uchiha that he was, he kept his lips tightly closed.
"Be a good birthday boy and open up, Sasuke. Or else, I swear I'll smear the cake all over your face, take pictures and sell them to your fans." Naruto crackled fanatically, enjoying the unexpected power he was holding over his dark haired teammate immensely.
Sasuke opened his mouth to retort, but the blond boy took advantage and shoved the cake into his mouth. Sasuke gagged as the taste of chocolate flooded his tongue, the thick icing and moist cake sticking uncomfortably to his palate like frothy toothpaste. He didn't think twice about spitting the cake directly back at Naruto, taking a sick enjoyment when the other boy squawked in surprise as the wet glob smacked him in the face.
"I guess he doesn't like chocolate. Hehe, Ino made that one. Why don't you try the vanilla cake, Sasuke-kun? I'm sure you'll like it better, after all, I made it," the pink-haired girl said proudly.
Naruto grumbled under his breath as he wiped away the chocolate cake from his face and broke off a piece of the vanilla. This time, having learned his lesson, Naruto managed to move out of the way just in time as the treat flew out of Sasuke's mouth and splattered against the window.
"Guess the bastard doesn't like your vanilla cake either, Sakura-chan."
She sighed. "Well, one more cake and ten we'll let you go."
Sasuke waited with dread and excitement for his last torture to finish so he could be free to find Usagi. He even opened his mouth voluntarily. When nothing came, however, and his open mouth was just an invitation for flies, he quickly closed it again.
"What are you two waiting for? Hurry up."
Finally he heard something move closer to him. A confused frown appeared when the fork didn't touch his lips. Instead a pair of dewy soft lips touched his own in a brief butterfly kiss before the owner stepped back. Sasuke unconsciously ran his tongue across his lips, tasting the faint aromatic strawberry flavor left there by the other person.
"I swear, if this is a joke, Naruto, I will personally rip off your balls and force them down your throat."
A giggle answered him, making black eyebrows lift in surprise at the bell-like sound. Soft hands that were already so familiar to his body reached up, and Sasuke had to stop himself from turning his head to rub his face against the warm skin. As soon as the scarf fell off his eyes, Sasuke found himself staring down at the shy, blushing face of Tsukino Usagi. He didn't even notice that Naruto and Sakura had disappeared. His world had narrowed down to the sapphire eyes that were shinning like the stars in the night sky.
"Are you still going back to your village?" He forced the dread words out, without sounding too desperate.
"No, I think someone here needs my healing skills much more," Usagi replied quietly, as she looked away from the burning black eyes that always made her feel fevered and faint. "Did you like the strawberry cake?"
"I don't know, it was such a small bite. I think I need another taste."
There were many disappointed girls at the party the next day, when the birthday boy failed to appear.
Sakura and Naruto looked at each other and smirked. It looked like Sasuke was still enjoying his cake.
The End