It's his first birthday.
No, not his first birthday in the sense that he is celebrating his first year of life (though Sakura would do anything to see baby Sasuke in a diaper); it's his first in the sense that this is Team 7's first official celebration together.
He hates it. Or rather, that's what Sasuke tries to convey through his expression: a scowl that practically summons storm clouds. However, his teammates are apparently too thick-headed to comprehend (or care). They are all smiles. Naruto, loud and bright and jumping off the walls (Sasuke swears he'll have to get new furniture by the time this ordeal is through); Sakura bubbly as champagne with cheeks as pink as her hair (did Kakashi just offer her a glass of alcohol?); Kakashi wearing what Sasuke deems a decidedly creepy grin.
His normally blank and functional room has been transformed into a faux club, full of flashing lights, glowing lava lamps, and even a glittering disco ball hanging from the center of the ceiling. (Sasuke must admit that he is impressed by their resourcefulness. Who knew that Konoha sold disco balls?) If he were capable of expressing himself verbally, Sasuke might have cried something like, "Curse you, Itachi."
But alas, Sasuke could only bear it all in silent agony, praying that Heaven would reward him for his noble suffering.
When Naruto explodes a party popper near his ear with an obnoxious whoop, causing Sasuke to start despite himself, he has to restrain himself from leaping out of his chair to strangle the blonde. Sakura mistakes Sasuke's outraged trembling as a request for more confetti, which she gladly doles out in gobs of violently offending hues of garish orange (Naruto's choice), pink (Sakura), and neon green (Kakashi?). Kakashi brings in a portable radio and puts on some "classics," declaring, "You young people have no taste in music."
As it turns out, "classics" translates to scratchy oldies sung by crooners who cough more than sing, and seem more focused on not dying before the song is through than on hitting the right pitch. Naruto loudly protests and switches the radio to a station featuring the latest "hits," aka trashcan lids smashing together with the occasional car collision in the background to add variety. Sakura drunkenly accuses Naruto of being an enemy of music (which Sasuke can't help but agree with) and changes the station to bubblegum pop with lyrics so sugary and artificially sweet that Sasuke feels bile rising in his throat. Maybe he preferred Kakashi's "classics" after all.
However, none of the men have the heart (guts) to tell Sakura to change the music, so she is left to her melodramatic (and, Sasuke notices, inebriated) singing, as she flings her arms out wide and points wildly in what she assumes to be Sasuke's direction. Evidently she does not hold her alcohol very well.
"Romeooo, take me somewhere we can be aloooone!"
Sasuke feels a bit uncomfortable with Sakura pinning him with her exceptionally bright green gaze. He decides that he doesn't like what alcohol does to her. The lighting of the room reflects off her eyes at a strange angle and makes them appear more predatory than usual. Her cheeks are flushed red and she advances towards him boldly, though a little unsteadily. The song's beats drum in his ears as he slowly backs away against the wall, but Sakura appears to be swaying closer with every passing moment.
"And I was crying on the staircase, begging you please don't gooooooo!"
Sakura is all but on top of him now, her breath fanning his cheek and her eyes large and luminous, and why is his face starting to feel hot and why are his palms suddenly sweaty and is she still getting closer? Oh God help me—
Then Kakashi sings, "Cake time!"
And Sakura is gone in a flash, squealing at the unveiling of the four-layered cake, leaving a rather ruffled Sasuke to gather his composure and pick up the remnants of his dignity.
Sasuke turns to glare at Kakashi, who innocently ignores him in favor of presenting the cake to a fascinated Sakura. She lets out a delighted squeal, clinging to the silver-haired ninja's arm, and Kakashi looks all too happy for the expression to be reassuring. Sasuke ponders the ways he can make Kakashi disappear from the face of the earth without arousing any suspicion.
Meanwhile, Naruto looks about ready to smash his face into the cake with the way he's dancing around the table and cackling in glee. Sometimes (actually, a lot of the time) Naruto makes him nervous. Not that he poses any real threat, because Sasuke could totally take him down with both hands tied behind his back– but you know…you can never be too sure with the unstable types.
Kakashi brings out a knife – which Sasuke thinks is a very stupid thing to do, especially with Naruto around.
"Cake, Sasuke-kun?" the jounin chirps, brandishing the knife with that damnable crescent moon smile. Sasuke merely glowers. Kakashi knows that he abhors sweets.
Of course, Kakashi cuts him an extra large slice. He places it on a plate, which he hands to the tipsy Sakura.
"Now, why don't you give that to Sasuke-kun for me, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi sends her off in Sasuke's direction with a little pat. Sakura totters with the plate of cake balanced precariously in her hands, stumbling over to him. Sasuke tries to squelch the feeling of dread boiling in the pit of his stomach as she approaches.
"Here ya go, S-sasuke-kun!" she hiccups. Of course, as Fate would have it, just as she is about to transfer the cake to his hands, Sakura manages to trip on some invisible object on the floor, causing her to fall and land…
Right on top of him. Planting the plate of cake squarely in his face.
Amid Sakura's frantic apologies and very distracting flailing motions and Naruto's extremely obnoxious donkey bray-laughter and Kakashi's mild exclamations of, "Oh, my," Sasuke can only sigh as he wipes a thick layer of cream off his face. He should have expected as much.
Four and a half excruciating hours later, his teammates are finally spent. Sasuke glumly surveys his trashed dwelling place. There are streamers lying everywhere like glittering snakes, and crumpled paper plates and cups littering the floor, along with hastily torn wrapping paper (Naruto's doing) and some chunks of cake stuck on the wall from the food-fight that briefly broke out. But it is finally (strangely) quiet. The lights are off and the kitchen is lit by a friendly wash of moonlight. Kakashi has disappeared without a trace, and Sasuke isn't sure if that's a good thing or not.
From the couch, he hears Naruto's thunderous snores. Sakura's head is laid across Naruto's stomach and he watches her for a moment, tossing and turning and engaging in the most interesting positions as she tries to make herself comfortable, all the while mumbling something that sounds suspiciously like his name.
The exhaustion suddenly overtakes him and Sasuke sits wearily on the floor, leaning back against the wall.
Tomorrow, there will be many things to worry about. He'll have to clean up the horrendous mess and apologize to the neighbors for the ruckus and figure out what to do with that ridiculous disco ball hanging in the living room and—just thinking about all of it is making his head hurt.
So he tries not to think about it and instead closes his eyes, realizing just how very tired he is and just how very right everything is.
This is what he gets for being born.
and I'm thankful for it
Another old file I found on my backup files. I am discovering a lot of unfinished works that I never posted up, so I'm finishing them now. This one's different then most of the stuff I used to write back then...(NOT ANGSTY! lol) I think I was trying to shift my style a little?
Anyways, this makes me unbelievably nostalgic. I miss the old Team 7...*tears* what happened to you, Naruto?