Title: Geek in the Pink
Author: sweeter-ion
Genre: Romance
Characters: Sasuke, Sakura
Theme: Sandbox (SasuSaku mode)
Summary: It was almost more epic than anything he had seen with others. But maybe that was just how love stories are.
Dedicated to my best friend, Annie. LOLCakes. Lots Of Love and Cakes, dearest.
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"You should seriously stop wearing those pink polo shirts of yours." Sakura said, licking her ice cream cone. Sasuke just rolled his eyes at her comment.
"And this is coming from a girl with pink hair?" He almost snorted. Almost. Because it wouldn't do him good to expend energy just to mock this girl here in this bench in this park.
Their bench.
Their bench with all those chewing gums stuck beneath the seat, the graffiti of different vandals. The one nearest to the stall of cotton candies and ice cream cones and the sandbox. The sandbox where it was the start of everything they had right now a little seventeen years ago.
"What the hell are you trying to point out, Sasuke-kun?" Her ice cream cone was halfway done, but her hands were all sticky with the cream dribbling down it. She had always been a messy eater. Though she had improved a lot during formal dinners and parties and reunions, she would always eat her ice cream cone this way: Lick the cream, and to hell with the drips!
He could almost say it was her motto in life. But then he remembered that she cared a lot more than what was good for her. She cared so much that it was almost at the point of martyrdom. She always noticed little things. Even all those emotions he have kept inside, she could still see past through the walls he had built around him.
Like the pink polo shirt.
"What the hell are you trying to point out?" He retorted.
"That you should stop wearing those pink fashion faux pas, duh." She said. And after thirty minutes of dilly-dallying with her cone, she had finally swallowed the very last of her ice cream. "It reduces your image to crumbles."
He smirked, amused at her logic. "Really?"
"Uh-huh. Look, " She pointed at his face. "Pretty boy wearing pink polo shirt. Ugh!" She made a face. "Well, who made you wear that? I thought you had better fashion sense than that."
"When had you turned into Ino?" He swatted her hands, but held onto it. Like how she always does all those years ago.
Like how she did that one night when everything was leaving him. She was there beside him, through everything in his life. He clutched the hand tighter. She was here and she won't leave him, unlike them.
She frowned slightly and withdrew her hand from him before she sat properly beside him. "She's really leaving me alone now."
"Don't be so melodramatic. She's just getting married." He answered.
Sakura turned to him, a frown set in her features. "But she was not supposed to! She told me we'll never get married to pricks and that we'll just live as old kitty ladies."
A delicate eyebrow twitched at her answer. "What the hell?"
"What? That was the perfect plan, you know! You were being a prick during high school and I really doubt you ever thought of marrying me back then. And Ino was getting fed up with casual flings so we decided we'd never marry."
He only reached out for her hand, fingering the cold metal band on her ring finger. "But you were engaged first."
She scoffed. "Are you trying to say I was the one who left the deal first?"
"What I meant was, shouldn't you be happy for her? You're her best friend. You were supposed to be happy if your friends are happy."
It was as if he grew another head with how Sakura stared at him. "What?"
"Where the hell did you bring Sasuke-kun, you alien?" He just rolled his eyes, but he also noticed that she moved their entwined hands to his thigh, pushing him playfully.
"Hey. Stop that."
She giggled before sobering up with a serious face and gazed at the distance across them. The sandbox was just right in front of them. It was like they have come full circle. "I know. And I'm happy for her. I just can't believe she's marrying Shikamaru. After all they've been through."
He looked at her fondly, thinking he could say the same for them. All obstacles overcame, all tears shed and heartbreaks and smiles and laughter and healing. It was almost more epic than anything else he had seen with others. But maybe that was just how love stories are.
Each story different and always more epic than others.
It was more than boy meets girl. It was more like: boy meets girl, boy tries to leave, girl holds on, boy meets girl again, boy swims in a great river, girl tries to leave, boy panics, girl cries, boy is confused, boy is struck by lightning and finally, boy kisses girl.
Or something like that.
Either way, she was here and more importantly he was here with her. And he's not going to be a hypocrite anymore, and he would not leave her. If the matching silver bands in their ring fingers were signs, it would be a long, long time before he leaves this girl again.
He smiles lightly while she was not looking. "You're just jealous she'll marry before you."
She made a face before looking back at him. "Hmmm, maybe." Then she smiles, and everything they had gone through to get to this point was all worth the effort for this one moment. "But you're not wearing that hideous pink thing on our wedding day. Or ever, actually."
She leans to him before he wrapped his arm around hers. "Blame Naruto." He whispered as he kissed the crown of her head.
Definitely worth it.
Author's Note: Because I couldn't get the logic for our programming exercise. And Jason Mraz is a muse. :3 And if you didn't catch the boy swims in a great river, it's actually Nile. XP