Title: Be with You

Rating: PG 13

Genre: Romance/Drama

Pairing: Sasuke/Sakura

Summary: His world revolved around his clan, hers around her studies. It took one night and one test to turn their lives upside down. (Excerpt: Her polka dotted panties laid right on top.)

Disclaimer: I do not hold ownership of Naruto nor am I affiliated with the anime, manga or mangaka of this series. The only thing I own is the plot and whatever made up characters of my own designs.

Author's Note: I was originally going to skip towards the middle of the story and work backwards then forward from there, but then I got rid of the idea. I hate doing a lot of flashbacks, even if it's a complete chapter of that. It gets too confusing and complicated.

Heck, this was 'supposed' to be a one-shot, but considering how drabbles turn to one-shots more often with me, I should've known better. Please note there will be some out of character behavior as this is an alternate universe that doesn't include the ninja world and the Uchiha massacre never occurred.

If you've read this on my livejournal or the sasusaku community, this edition is slightly different but not by much. Reviews, or even an email with constructive criticism, are highly appreciated.

Chapter One - Morning After

There were three kinds of disastrous situations Sakura Haruno never thought she'd find herself in.

1) Waking up in the bed only to discover it was not her bed because the pink curtains, the pictures of her friends, and the stuffed animals she graciously won at the festival were nowhere in sight.

Instead, the room looks just about bare aside from a huge bookcase in one corner, an expensive computer in the other, and a poster of some blonde guy with on the wall by door with two darts firmly embedded in his head.

2) Waking up in the bed, which is not hers, only to find come face to face with a man. And certainly not expecting, but nevertheless thanking the gods, a man that she didn't want to run for the showers and scrub for hours to even feel a little bit cleaner.

No, this man was handsome. Beautiful even. A man that looked good enough, if not more than qualified, to be an underwear model.

3) Waking up in that bed, with a gorgeous and a possible underwear model who was sleeping inches away, and finally discovering in those few seconds that she, herself, was completely naked.

Hell, she didn't even have on that cute little polka dotted underwear - which was brought only to stop Ino from making "granny panties" jokes. Oh yes, she was as naked as the day she was born with no clue as to how she got in this man's room - voluntarily in a drunken state or she was forced, and just as much inkling as to where her clothes happened to be.

There were several things that ran through Sakura's mind at that moment. None of which was helping as they consisted of panic thoughts running along the lines of, "oh gods," or "stupid, stupid" and "my parents are going to kill me". It took a few more seconds to calm herself, at least enough to locate her clothes - which had been right there in a pile beside the bed all along.

Her polka dotted panties laid right on top.

Biting back a curse, because the last thing Sakura wanted was to go through the famous "morning after" with some stranger, who she apparently had sex with (good or bad because she had no idea) that probably knew her body better than her GYNO, and hell even she, did.

What Sakura wanted was to manage to slip out the bed, pull on her clothes, and get the hell out of there preferably in one second flat. But she'd settle for getting this all done before sleeping beauty woke up.

Sending a silent prayer, the young woman slowly itched herself along, daring herself not to look back in case he sensed her and woke up. With what seemed like eons, she reached the bed edge then, slowly still, she swung her legs around and her feet touched the cool tile floor.

Sakura inched along further, scooting herself off the mattress with her eyes glued to her goal. Sensing no movement from her bedmate and no sleazy comment, she all but lunged for the large mass of clothes.

It was interesting, Sakura mused, struggling to put on her shirt, that his room was even cleaner and more organized than hers. It was a wonder, considering the fact that someone that orderly had to be some sort of neat freak, that he even let their clothes stay on the ground all night.

Well, even the most dedicated neat freak could drop the obsession to get into someone's pants, she suppose.

With her clothes securely on and Mr. Gorgeous over there was still asleep, Sakura stepped forward carefully. She had seen more times than many on television where people would try to sneak away on tile floors so she was trying her best to step where the floorboard wouldn't creak.

Now usually, Sakura found herself doing this whole sneaking out to escape her mother's rants on waiting to date, sex getting good girls into trouble, and keeping that scholarship because their family couldn't afford the yearly expenses.

A few of those times was when her father would start talking sports as if she were his son and not his daughter - her mother still blames him for her less than feminine mannerisms in some aspects. Not that she was the type to roll around in the mud with the boys nor the type that could run outside the house without even the hint of makeup on, but she certainly wasn't high maintenance or over the top ridiculous either.

Step.

But this. This was far more different than any of the other times.

Step.

Unlike all the times before, even if she got caught trying to sneak off, she could at least run to the sanctuary of her room and pretend to have some sort of exam. Or she'd head for the door and claim there were cram classes that evening. Usually, that got her parents to stop.

Step.

Speaking of said parents, they were going to kill her - and that's not talking figuratively either. She never, ever, stayed out past twelve without calling. It didn't matter where or with who, she called on time. And yes, that sounded lame considering she was twenty years old, not thirteen, and had an adequate social life.

Now, most parents would assume that if their daughter hadn't called because she had either forgotten and was fine, sleeping over a friend's house. Or that she was kidnapped by some sex fiend ax murderer and those parents would be on the phone demanding a police action pronto.

But not her mother.

Her mother was traditional in certain aspects, certainly not all that normal in others, and sometimes a bit "out there", (the direct words from her own husband, Hojo Haruno) in some of her views. Sakura not coming home meant one thing in her mind: that Sakura had fallen from grace and slept with the devil - which she would be semi half right in a more modern wording.

And then, as if the humiliation and awkwardness of the morning after wasn't enough torture, the real nightmare would begin.

There was no doubt it would start out as a visit to the GYNO to check if she was indeed no longer a virgin (never mind that in modern times checking a girl's hymen wasn't always accurate), the handful of pregnancy tests (because six wouldn't be enough and then backtracking to the GYNO again for confirmation), then the back to back TMI questions that no one really likes to talk about (the part about getting drunk will only make things worse), and then finally demanding the guy's head on a silver platter so he could take responsibility.

Step.

Her father wouldn't notice until her mother mentioned it since he was up to his neck in grading his students' papers. But not too long after his mind is filled with the idea that some unknown boy did that to his only daughter, he'd go on a rampage - as he did when they'd assumed she was dating a boy last year (who had only been using her to get to Ino and turned out to be a jerk anyways) and her usually even tempered father changed into a beast.

In other words, when she got home, heads would roll.

Step.

But that was something Sakura wanted to deal with later - much, much later. Like in ten years from now or not ever. She liked the second option a whole lot better. But what Sakura wanted to do after escaping this room, was to kill Ino - preferably before her parents got to her first.

Because, quite frankly, this whole mess directly was linked to Ino and that damn sake of hers.

Creak.

Shit!

Sakura turned around, as she was expecting the guy to wake up. Instead he was still supposedly asleep. Hell, even as she stood there, frozen with one foot half way in the air and the rest of her half twisted around to look at him, he didn't bat an eyelash or even grumble in his sleep.

Taking that as a sign of good fortune, Sakura moved forward. It wasn't much more to the door, to her freedom, and away from this awkward mess she'd had gotten herself into.

Step.

If I get out of this without waking him up, Sakura swore, no more liquor for the rest of my life.

Step.

Okay. Sakura amended. Not for the remaining semester or at least until I'm 21.

Creak.

Shit! Shit!

Again, Sakura panicked.

And again, when Sakura turned around, she found the underwear model still asleep - or pretending to be, as he didn't snore nor moved even in the slightest despite the creaking.

Maybe he was trying to avoid the morning after and decided to play coward as well. Not that Sakura really cared since that would make it a whole lot easier, though him snoring would've helped.

Two more steps -

And Sakura found freedom. She wasted no time. She shut the door quietly to prevent him from running out after her then quickly sprinted to and down the staircase, never once looking back.

i.

There were many things that people dreaded when it came to going to universities after that summer after being declared a high school grad. For some it was having a roommate (a clean and obsessively organized or messy and chaotic), co-ed bathrooms (though for some this was just one more reason to go away for college) or having to personally wash clothes and not rely on their mother or the maid. While for others, the obvious was what made them cringe.

And that was what Naruto Uzumaki found himself doing.

Around this time, exactly noon on a rather gloomy Sunday, Naruto usually spent it curled up in bed with a cup of ramen noodles and watching some sitcom or standup comedy. Instead, he was in the library with half the student body trying to cram a semester's worth of notes into his brain for Monday's final exam.

Of course, unlike most of the people that was there hunched over their textbooks and notebooks, Naruto hadn't been taking notes to study from because the subject of math was utterly boring and was taught by an equally boring teacher.

So when the idea struck to snatch his roommate's binder an hour earlier, Naruto felt much better than he had waking up in full panic mode. Naruto couldn't believe he never thought of it sooner. His roommate always jotted stuff down even when he knew what their instructor was blabbering on about. But Naruto wasn't even halfway down when said roommate approached him.

"I could have used those notes for my final exam today."

Naruto looked up to see Sasuke Uchiha, his best friend since their diaper years and the owner of the 'borrowed' binder. Most people would've been intimidated by those dark eyes and that scowl of his.

Most people.

Naruto scoffed, which made the chopsticks that were lodged partway in his mouth actually jiggle just a bit. "Like you needed to study. You're already fucking smart. Your head will explode if you studied anymore so I was actually saving you from a medical emergency. So, you're welcome."

Sasuke snatched his binder that was filled with his semester notes from Naruto, who protested loudly until the librarian and a few fellow peers shushed at them. "You got ramen on my stuff, idiot. Don't you read signs - no eating in the library."

He actually rolled his eyes and took the chopsticks out from his mouth. "Of course I read the signs, I just choose to ignore them - obviously. Like just now when I called you a dick for taking the notes."

Naruto tried once again to reach for the binder again, but Sasuke kept it away. "Write your own."

Again, Naruto made another attempt and again he failed. "I would if you'd give it up."

"Not a chance."

Naruto scowled. "How the hell can you still be such a bastard when you got laid last night?"

"Laid?" Taken aback by Naruto's question, Sasuke's focus was gone and his friend was able to snatch the binder back.

"As in sex." Naruto waited, but got no response or no reaction whatsoever. Sasuke's blank default face didn't really count. "You know, when a man and a woman like each other very much or are just hormonal and he puts his-"

"I've had the 'talk' Naruto." Sasuke replied, inwardly adding that Naruto's parents made a mistake by allowing him to spend the summer with his godfather Jirayai because if it wasn't ramen, it was girls and sex on his brain. It was a wonder he could even function.

Naruto continued, getting a bit frustrated. "Yeah, so that cute girl from last night. You left together, remember?"

"What are you talking about? What girl?" Sasuke sounded annoyed and he was.

Like hell would he just walk off with some girl at a party. Drinking liquor was one thing, but getting drunk enough to have a one night stand? Not a chance. It wasn't his style, especially with girls that had the word 'easy' all over their faces. And he didn't want that kind of rumor going around where Itachi, or gods forbid his father, could hear.

"So you didn't..." Naruto looked horrified, which baffled Sasuke. "Don't tell me you couldn't perform!"

"What?" Now he was definitely annoyed. What the hell was this moron talking about?

"You know. 'Get it up'." Naruto had actually used air quotes and then shrugged his shoulders, nonchalantly. "I guess it must've been pretty bad then if you don't remember and she left and all. Blue balls gotta suck, you know."

"Shut up, idiot." Sasuke retorted, catching a few curious glances from their pretending-not-to eavesdrop-but-really-are peers. "I don't have - just shut up and do something other than have shit coming out of your mouth."

Naruto looked back at him, unfazed.

"Okay, sorry." Naruto said, but he sounded anything but. "You couldn't have gotten laid. To get laid, you need a sex drive, which you don't. To get laid, you need to actually be attracted to someone other than yourself."

Sasuke's left eyebrow twitched, but he said nothing.

"You're still moody as ever and no one," Naruto continued along. "Not even you can't be an asshole after sex. It's humanly impossible."

More twitching.

"Thus, my statement about you not performing and you not getting laid must be true. But this, even being as funny as it is, can't get around since you're my friend-hey! Where are you going?"

Sasuke took the binder he had snapped closed and glared at his suppose childhood friend from over his shoulder. "I'm going back to my apartment to study because I'm not discussing my sex life with you or anyone else for that matter."

"But-"

"Whether I got laid or not isn't of your concern or those idiots pretending to be reading the same page for the last ten minutes."

Simultaneously, said idiots suddenly turned their pages.

"At least leave the binder." Naruto begged.

"What you should concern yourself with," Sasuke added with a full frontal glare for good measure. "Is explaining flunking out to your mother."

Naruto opened his mouth to retort, then stopped. Just the mere thought of his mother made him cringe and not just outwardly either. No one should look that scary when they're mad.

"W-wait, Sasuke." Naruto could hear the frighten plea in his own voice, which was geared towards his rival of all people, and hated it. But he knew the time came to swallow his pride.

"What?"

Naruto used his index finger to cross over his heart. "I promise, no more talking about your sex life." Or lack of, Naruto silently added. "Now come on, be a pal and help me."

At the skeptical look on his friend's face, Naruto added, "If I fail, I'll post your phone number on the girl's bathroom door and I'll harass you for the reminder of your life."

"You're harassing me now." Sasuke replied frankly then he sat back down and sighed exasperatedly.

Naruto grinned, more than just slightly relieved that Sasuke was staying. Now the threat of his mother, who'd likely be angry about him going to such a good school only to goof around rather than take his studies seriously, and her wrath soon seemed like a distant memory.

Knowing that Sasuke could easily get up again and take that precious binder away with him, Naruto didn't stop with just keeping his mouth shut. In fact, the boy least likely to read let alone take notes, actually opened up his book the first time that entire semester and grabbed some paper that didn't have doodles on them to copy down the information.

While Naruto scribbled as quickly as possible, frowning as he came across some difficult mathematical equations and then cursing whoever came up with math in the first place.

Despite butting heads as often as they did and being just about polar opposites, Sasuke really didn't want to see Naruto flunk out and face Kushina's wrath - the horror stories were enough for him. Also, he understood the desire to succeed for the family name and the whole honor thing. After all, that was all there was being an Uchiha - or at least Fuguka Uchiha's son.

A few more minutes went by before Naruto finally passed back the binder to Sasuke and then grinned, "You know I'm your friend, right? Like your best friend since forever, right?"

This couldn't be good. "What do you want?"

"You'd tell me anything, right? Because you know I wouldn't tell anyone, no matter how much ramen they gave me - even if it was free and I was starving to death."

"Get to the point." While Naruto was looking at Sasuke with an anxious look on his face, the dark-eyed male was distracted by his thoughts.

How much was this going to cost him (as in cash or as in his soul). Or rather, more importantly, how much was what Naruto was asking about (if he ever got to the point) going to annoy him?

"So..." Naruto leaned forward, so they were almost nose to nose. "Did you get any action...at all?"

Never did anyone in the school's history ever fly across a room like Naruto Uzumaki did that spring afternoon. But then, never did anyone piss off someone like Sasuke Uchiha either.

ii.

"You're alive." Those were the first words out of Ino's mouth when Sakura stood in the doorway, glaring at her.

"No thanks to that liquor from last night, you know." Sakura replied venomously and walked past her.

"And I take it, liquor is codename for Ino, right?" She said with a roll of the eyes as the pair walked upstairs to her bedroom. "So what happened? Did you get busted?"

"No. Mom was still sleeping when I got in and I don't see any signs of me going away to a nunnery anywhere. My dad was gone already, but he wouldn't notice if I was in bed or not - or if I grew a second head, with all those papers he's grading."

"Really?" Ino seemed surprised as was Sakura since her mother coined the word 'helicopter mom'. "So you got away with it?"

"So far. I mean, who's to say they're not biding their time to really spring that punishment on me."

Ino sighed and closed her bedroom door, not wanting to chance her mother coming home early and hearing them. "So you stayed out all night and had fun that wasn't associated with a textbook. What century is your mom from?"

Sakura snorted. "Your mother would've hit the roof if you stayed out too, you know."

"True." She replied and then shrugged her shoulders. "But she wouldn't have me thinking I'll be sent off to join a nunnery or something. Sex happens."

"They're not that bad."

"Sure. They're worse. Look, my parents aren't wild, but at least they get it. They're actually not the type of people that say 'oh, I've done that' and whatever when it's all bull. I could see your dad maybe doing something wild back in the stone ages, but your mom?"

"Jaywalking." Sakura supplied.

Ino blinked a few times. "Are you...serious?"

She nodded then sighed. "It came up in the 'how sex before marriage ruins a good girls' lecture."

Sakura quickly rattled off on how her mother apparently slept with her fiancée a month before their wedding, because it seemed so close to their wedding night anyways, only to found out a week later he had been sleeping with a close friend of hers to scratch that two year wait itch of his. She had apparently jaywalked after discovering that, too distraught to think of anything else.

"Okay, forget your mom and the jaywalking." Ino then inched forward, her blue eyes a little bit wide, and this made Sakura leaned herself a bit back. "So...now that your hangover is gone, how was it?"

Sakura blinked. "How was what?"

"You know." She nudged her slightly in the side and winked. "It."

There was no need for further implications from Ino after that. Sakura's cheeks turned bright red almost immediately. "I don't know." Another nudge later she replied, "Good? Err...maybe?"

"Maybe?"

This time, she rolled her eyes. "Come on, Ino. I don't know, okay? I've never done that sort of thing before so I could've sucked so badly that it wasn't even funny. So, this amnesia is kind of a blessing."

"Lightweight." Ino teased then she playfully poked her. "More like selective memory if you ask me."

"I'm being honest and I'm not a lightweight. I just don't do well with being sober and liquor, which really means-"

"Lightweight."

"Whatever."

"You didn't drink enough to forget everything. I mean, maybe the earth didn't shift and the heavens didn't move or anything, but something must be in that noggin of yours."

Still blushing and completely flustered now, Sakura shook her head. "Nope. Nothing. I remember not what I did and knew not of who I did it with. So now that we got that cleared up, can we get off the topic already?"

"Sakura," Ino said, her voice suddenly serious again. "Can you at least remember if you guys used protection?"

A moment's pause.

"Shit!"

- To be continued -

Next Chapter: Getting Down to Business

Ino and Sakura try to figure out what to do only to encounter some mishaps, Sasuke tries to piece together that night with or without his failing memory. Sadly, Naruto proves to not be much help.