Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. :) SasuSaku is Canon. I love you Kishi-sensei! :)
Of Apples and Cinnamon
By theClosetPoet7
Their love was not built on rose-colored petals or romantic walks on the beach. If there was one thing Sasuke and Sakura has always had, it was most definitely chemistry. A series of one-shots and random drabbles.
Summary: In which Sasuke asks Sakura for a favor.
Rating: T
Chapter One
He Wants Her To What?
Haruno Sakura stares at the person standing on her doorstep.
The pinkette doesn't think to hide her surprise. It was evident in the way she allowed herself to gawk blankly at the item Uchiha Sasuke held in front of her.
'What the hell was this supposed to mean?'
Don't get her wrong, she was quite happy to see the raven-haired prodigy. Although it would have been better if she knew he was coming then she would have changed into something more appropriate. The young woman shyly pulls the edge of her cotton shorts down. Her form is awkwardly hunched, spaghetti straps hanging loosely off one pale shoulder. She attempts to hide the fact that she isn't wearing any chest binding by clasping her hands to her front.
'Crap'
Sakura swallows the lump on her throat and tries to let this occurrence sink in. It has always been a dream of hers, to wake up one morning, hear a soft knock on her door and find her dear Sasuke-kun, looking as devilishly handsome as ever, hesitantly standing on her porch, trying to get the right words out, presenting to her, the one thing she craves the most…a wonderful, perfectly shaped, shiny…
.
.
.
Pair of scissors.
'Wait, what?'
It takes a second for her to snap out of her daydream. Her vision zooms in on the object.
Is this his idea of romantic?
She hesitantly reaches out to the item, confused as to what her first love was trying to say with this unusual gesture.
"Uhm, Thank you?"
It was uncanny for her to say thank you when given such a dangerous tool, well, aside from when she was operating on a patient. But, she tells herself that with him, she'll take whatever she can get. Before she could even touch the handle however, Sasuke pulls his hand back and lifts an eyebrow at her. Sakura abruptly stops and lifts an eyebrow as well.
'Eh? What's happening?'
Realizing that she was crazy for ever thinking that he was here to woe her with …. sharp objects , she mentally kicks herself in the shin. Uchiha Sasuke must have had a motive as to why he decided to visit her today. Sakura crosses her arms and examines him, trying to hide the embarrassment.
"Ano, is something wrong Sasuke-kun?" she questions.
"I." he starts.
"Yes?" she looks on at the wanderer.
He was standing there, hands in his pockets, with an annoyed expression on his face. Onyx eyes bored onto the floor as he held the sharp object in his left hand. Sakura briefly wonders if he plans to jab it at her.
'So much for happy ever after.' She thinks to herself
'Well, that would be a good idea, considering my senselessness a while ago.'
"I need you to give me a haircut."
Sakura manages to stop herself from gasping. But her eyes widened anyway. This had to be a joke right? She observes the stoic nin. His head lifts to look into her emerald eyes and quickly averts his own to narrow them at her rose bushes.
He looked too adorable.
Who would've thought that one day; the greatly admired Sasuke Uchiha would come knocking on her door, asking her to cut his gorgeous black mane? He was her teammate, yes, but she didn't think that he would ask her to do something like this.
Or maybe she was just overreacting.
This didn't really mean anything special right? Ever since the young Uchiha came home a few months ago - and started a somewhat confusing relationship with her -
- (one that made her question if he even had feelings for her- and what the hell did he mean by 'I'll see you when I come back.' anyway? Were they seeing each other now? Oh fuck, she didn't really know) –
-he had started to allow her to do small things for him.
And she was more than happy to do that.
Ecstatic really.
She just didn't expect him to go directly to her for something as personal as getting a haircut.
"I..are you sure Sasuke-kun? If you want, I can accompany you to the barber or maybe Ino can do it for you. I'm sure she can handle it better." She nervously rambles on, a finger scratching her left cheek.
"I trust you."
The sentence catches her off guard.
"So, will you cut it for me?"
Her eyes go to regard the handsome man again. He seemed serious, though a little embarrassed for having asked her for a favor twice. A surge of warmth immediately fills her. He was asking her because he trusted her, that was enough to tell her that maybe she was special, or so she hopes. She smiles fondly at her love, going swiftly into caring mode.
"I see." Sakura takes his hand in hers and leads him inside her apartment. She blushes when he doesn't pull away.
The two Sannin remain silent as she directs him to her room. She tells him to sit in front of her dresser, busy hands clearing it of items that would hinder her in completing this task. She lays the scissor Sasuke brought with him first, and then goes to the bathroom to get a glass of water, some powder and her blow dryer.
Sakura tries to hide her nervousness, but it is obvious to Sasuke because she is talking silently to herself, trying to figure out what else she needs. She walks around her room, gathering more items, putting on a huge sweater to cover her state of undress. He sits up when she finally puts a shiny black cloth around his neck. Sakura notices this but tries to not let it bother her. It takes him only a brief second to realize that he isn't in any danger.
"So." She starts.
"How do you want it to look?"
The young medic looks at him through the mirror. Green eyes meeting black and purple ones. She allows him to ponder on this for a minute because she wasn't sure if he even knew what kind of cut he wanted. Did he want her to just trim it and bring it back to his infamous chicken butt hairdo?
"I want one side to cover the Rinnegan."
Sasuke surprises her the second time that morning. She didn't expect him to want to hide the power so forcefully trusted upon him.
Did it bother him? The difference in the way he looked with one eye color different from the other? She decides not to question his decision.
"Ok."
Her hands weave themselves through his dark tresses as she angles his head, trying to imagine how she was going to go about it. She almost groans at the softness of his hair. He was a guy for Kami's sake! Why was it so smooth and silky?
'I bet he doesn't even put conditioner on it.' She muses with envy.
After a few minutes, she finally reaches out to the pair of scissors.
The room is noiseless, except for the snips and the quiet hum Sakura fills the air with. Sasuke relaxes into his position on the chair. This was something he hadn't planned on doing this morning, getting a haircut. A few hours ago, he had woken up like usual, ready to start his routine when he saw himself in the mirror. It wasn't the usual, brush his teeth, wash his face look at his reflection way.
He was really seeing himself.
It looked strange.
Staring into his one eye and not seeing his clan's characteristic black iris.
It made him feel like something was missing.
The same way it felt when he lived for years without his left arm.
He studied the Rinnegan closely, it stood out like a sore thumb.
And he concluded,
Something wasn't right.
It took him less than five minutes to decide. He didn't want to be constantly looking at it, so he hastily grabbed the pair of scissors on his bathroom sink and grabbed a fistful of his hair. He stopped when he realized that although he wanted to change his hairstyle, he was not familiar with the skill. That's when he thought of her.
Sakura.
Of course, she was the only person he could think of who would do this for him. Though she wasn't the most skilled (he distinctly remembered her horrid locks when she had violently ran a kunai through them during the Chuunin exams – though she was doing it to save him), she was at least the only person who wouldn't question or judge him for this decision.
He didn't even realize that he had reached her apartment and was knocking on her door until she appeared in no more than thirty seconds, a vision of pink cotton candy and fair rosy cheeks.
He snaps himself out of his brief flashback.
Did she always answer her door looking like…
Pure sin?
It took all his willpower not to let his oculars scan over her scantily clad form.
He takes a mental note to tell her to not answer her door without at least putting on a robe next time.
What would she have done if he wasn't the one on her porch? What if it was some kind of pervert?
Sasuke smirks as he answers his own question.
Of course, she would pummel them to the ground if they ever tried something.
Haruno Sakura was…
If there was one word to describe her.
Scary as hell.
She was a monster wrapped under a guise of soft skin and a petite height. A small caring medic with light pink innocent tresses which would sway so prettily in the wind as she punched humongous holes into the ground.
She would make the earth shake every time she wanted to make her presence known, or was that his insides shaking whenever she was around?
He didn't really know.
Honestly, he knows that his future is with this ex-fangirl.
He knows that home was where Team Seven is.
Where she is.
He knows because he had always had a weakness for her.
Be it her insistence on always making him special.
Or the sincerity in her heartfelt confession.
Haruno Sakura would always remind him of unconditional love.
It was still confusing though.
He never really thought about how he was…
How he was going to court her.
It was something he was extremely inexperienced with because in all his twenty-one years in this world, he had not considered asking someone to become his girlfriend.
Who would he ask anyway?
Aside from her.
Weren't they already going out in a way? They spent an ample amount of time together, training, dinners, festivals and what not. She was the closest girl to him, and he had implied her place in his life when he came to her the second he was back in Konoha.
Did he need to do anything else?
He silently muses on the thought.
.
.
.
.
.
"Does it look okay?" She nervously looked at his reflection through the mirror.
"Aa."
"Hontou ni? I wouldn't get hurt if you just told me the truth." She anxiously nibbles on her bottom lip as she maneuvers his head to the left then to the right to see the hairstyle better.
"It's fine Sakura."
"Oh? Okay."
Sakura cleans up the drawer, hands shaking as she grabs the brush and dusts a few stray strands from Sasuke's neck. She is hyper aware of her actions trying to mask the fact that she was furiously blushing. Blushing because she had just done something amazing. Blushing because, she didn't think that Sasuke would ever be hotter than he already was.
And he is.
Hotter.
'Shit, it looks good on him.'
The hairstyle suited him well. Long soft strands covered the left side of his face. The side bangs reached up to just below his chin. All black and straight. She managed to maintain a light spiky do at the back, keeping the look he had when he came back from his journey. The hairstyle gave him an air of mystery.
'As if he wasn't mysterious to begin with.' She inwardly scoffs.
Sakura almost jumps when he suddenly stands from his position, straightening his back and stretching his arms. She gulps as she stares at him. The black cloth was still hanging off him, it looked like a cloak, adding more to the look.
Sasuke notices her stare and raises an eyebrow at her.
"What?" he asks.
"I, uhm, you look good." She manages.
There is a hint of a blush on his face and he coughs into his hand, clearing his throat.
"Hn."
It was plain awkward from then on out. After keeping the things she used, Sakura ushers Sasuke out of her apartment, mumbling a 'I have to get ready for the hospital and it was nice seeing you today.' He doesn't mind because he knows that they are in an uncomfortable atmosphere as of the moment. Without any complaints, he finds himself outside her door again. With a simple nod of his head, he turns to leave. However,
"Sasuke-kun!"
Her voice stops him.
"I… Uhm. Thank you for, er trusting me with this. It makes me feel, extra, really super happy! So I uh…" She groans in frustration at her stutter.
"Sakura."
"Hm?"
"I should be the one thanking you."
"Ah, You're welcome! You're always welcome. Haha! I don't know why I'm so nervous...so.."
The sentence is cut short as she feels it again.
The poke.
"Annoying."
She blushes beet red immediately, bowing her head to hide her face from him. She could see that he is smirking. Then, as if losing control of her body, she lifts a hand, and grabs one of his.
Sakura tries to think of anything other than her small hand holding his strong, calloused one. She feels like she's about to catch fire.
She doesn't notice the warmth on his cheeks too for she is hiding behind her bangs.
'What now?' she asks herself.
Her heart was beating fast, as if it wanted to jump out of her chest.
"Sasuke-kun… Will you go out with me? Wait, not go out like date go out..."
She bites her lip to stop herself from stammering again. Seriously, was she turning into Hinata now? She hasn't heard someone stutter as much since the purple heiress started going out with Naruto.
"Dinner! I mean, dinner. Let's have dinner." She fretfully laughs.
"Yes."
She is shocked at the abruptness of his reply. Before she can lift her head to look at him however, he is off her porch and going on his own way, waving a hand in dismissal.
She waves back in silent defeat.
.
.
.
Later on that day, during lunchtime, Haruno Sakura nearly chokes on her sushi when she realized something.
.
.
.
She didn't really know what Uchiha Sasuke just said yes to.
A.N.: So this is a new fic which will only feature one shots, be it Canon or AU. I hope you like the first one. I already have a lot of one shots on my mind. Thank you to my readers who encouraged me to continue my story Sore ga ai deshou. Actually I've already typed a couple of scenes and hope to update soon. So for now, I hope you enjoyed this.
R & R. :)