title: 7:31
prompt: SASUSAKU MONTH ON LJ! 2012
rating: T-M
summary: oo1: Something's bothering Sasuke. And Sakura doesn't know what. All she wants is to hold up a conversation with him, but he won't say anything!
REVISED 6.30.14
.oo1.
Conversation
"Talk to me," Sakura said, leaning over the couch to put her hand on Sasuke's forearm. "What's bothering you?"
"Nothing's bothering me," he said, shrugging her off. He didn't want to be touched by her right now.
"Yes, there is," she stressed. "There's something that's bugging you but you won't tell me what it is! Just share it with me. You'll feel much better, Sasuke-kun."
"Sakura," he said, raising his voice. He turned to look at her, his eyebrows furrowing. "I don't want to talk about it."
She was taken aback, obviously startled by his emotions. She had never seen the angry side of Sasuke at her while they were dating.
"Alright." She stood up from the sofa and brushed her skirt off. "Well," she said, taking her things. She felt the sting of tears behind her eyes, trying not to let him see them. "I'll go home, now. Take care, Sasuke-kun."
She slung her purse over her shoulder and turned the doorknob, walking out of his apartment. Sasuke opened his mouth, wanting to call her back to stay with him, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He sighed, throwing himself out on the full length of the sofa, and put a hand to his forehead.
"Shit," he mumbled.
.
.
.
"I don't know what's wrong with him," Sakura sobbed as she called Naruto. "He's never acted like this before. I'm really worried, Naruto," she choked out through her tears.
She could hear his soothing tone through the phone. "Shh, Sakura-chan. It's okay. He's probably having one of his Sasuke days…"
"See, that's not it! I've been with him for a long time. I know who he is. This isn't just a Sasuke day. It's something else. He's obviously got something on his mind and he won't share it with me!" she sniffed. "I love him, Naruto."
Naruto paused. She could hear his breathing through the line. "Why don't you give him some time? Or, perhaps, I could talk to him for you."
"Y-You would do that?" she said, perking up.
"Of course! We're all pals, aren't we?" his cheery voice made her crack a half-smile.
"Thanks, Naruto."
"Sure, Sakura-chan. Now, I've got to go. Hinata-chan's cooking up some of that delicious ramen that I love!"
"Yeah, I know. Bon appetit," Sakura said. She pressed the End button and sighed, sinking back into her seat.
.
.
.
Naruto was brooding while he ate his ramen. Hinata, his fiancée, took off her apron and gave him a worried look.
"Is everything okay, Naruto-kun? Do you not like it?"
"No, I love it!" he said, giving her a huge grin. "It's just about Sakura-chan and teme."
"W-What's wrong with them? Are they having some relationship issues?"
"Probably. Sakura-chan's worried because teme's weird. I mean, I know he's weird, but this is the kind of weird that's got her on edge and in tears."
"Oh." Hinata put down her chopsticks. "Do you want to go talk to him?"
"I think I should." He got up from his chair, but then sat back down. "But first, I want to finish all of your great ramen, Hinata-chan." He winked at her, and she blushed.
"Itadakimasu," she said.
.
.
.
"Dobe," Sasuke said, a little surprised Naruto was at his door at this hour.
"Teme. Can I come in?"
"I guess." Sasuke opened the door wider for Naruto to step in. He noticed the air faintly smelled like Sakura, still fairly strong. She had only left about an hour ago.
"Do you want anything?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto shook his head. "I just want to talk to you."
"About what?"
"Sakura."
Sasuke's face turned into a grimace. "Look, Naruto, I know that she probably talked to you. And that you're here to talk to me to find out what my 'secret' is. But listen. It's nothing. Nothing important, and I don't want to talk to you or anybody else about it."
"Sasuke—"
"Get out, Naruto."
Sasuke pushed Naruto to the door, ready to close the door on him, when Naruto shouted out, "She loves you!"
He froze. Naruto's foot stopped the door and he let himself back in.
"She loves you a lot, Sasuke." He put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "And I can see that you love her, too."
I do love her.
"I always have," Sasuke admitted, not making eye contact with Naruto.
"And I bet she has, too. Now, you need to sort things out with her. Talk to her. She's really upset right now and though you're the cause of her tears, you're also the only one who can fix them. Now go."
Naruto turned to leave. He was halfway down the staircase when Sasuke shouted out, "Dobe!"
The blonde froze. "Yeah?" he called, looking up at Sasuke, leaning over the railing. He saw the trademark smirk Sasuke always gave.
"Thanks."
Naruto saluted him with two fingers, and then continued walking down the steps.
.
.
.
Sasuke struggled to find the spare key into Sakura's apartment.
"Where is it?" he muttered to himself as he went through his keychain. His fingers were clumsy at handling small objects, unlike Sakura's.
"Finally," he said as he turned the right key in the keyhole. He opened the door, expecting her warm scent to envelop him. Instead, all he smelled was sake and other alcohol.
"S-Sasuke-kun," Sakura droned, clumsily walking towards him with a bottle in her hand. "W-What are you…you doing…" she stringed her words along, unable to form a complete sentence.
Sasuke cursed. It was worse than he thought. She only got drunk when she was really upset.
"Sit down, Sakura," he said, leading her to a chair.
"No! I wanna…I wanna dance on the rooftop. Do you wanna dance? Let's dance, come on!" she said, taking his hands and leading him to her bedroom window.
"No, Sakura. Sit." He lifted her up and carried her to the nearest armchair. She groaned and spread herself out on the chair.
"What're you doing here?" she slurred.
"I wanted to talk to you."
"So…so talk," she said, twirling her hands back and forth like a conductor.
He sighed. "This isn't going to work out."
"What's not going to work out? Our relationship?"
"No, your current state. We'll talk when you're sober. Come on." He carried her in his arms again, back to her bedroom where they had made love so many times before.
"I don't wanna go to sleep," she moaned. "I want more sake."
"No, Sakura." He put her gently on the bed and lifted the covers to her chin. "Now just relax. If you need to throw up, just call me and I'll get you a trashcan. I'll stay here. I won't leave. I promise." He paused, not sure what to do, and then leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Good night, Sakura."
"N-Nighty night," she slurred.
Sasuke shook his head. Then, he sat down on the rocking chair she had in the corner of her room. He watched for a couple seconds, making sure she was okay, and then closed his own eyes and drifted off to sleep.
.
.
.
The familiar buzz of her alarm clock woke her up. She reached for it, banging her hand on the dresser in order to stop the beeping.
"Fuck," she muttered, holding her head. "I have the most massive hangover."
She looked down to see that she was still in her clothes from yesterday and that her breath smelled awful. Looking over, she saw Sasuke, sleeping in her rocking chair.
"Sasuke…?" she whispered.
Then, the hazy memories came back to her.
"Shit," she cursed. "Shit, shit, shit!"
She put on some fresh clothes and brushed her teeth. Looking at her drunken reflection in the mirror, she groaned.
"I'm in such deep shit right now."
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.
.
"Good morning," Sasuke said as he walked towards her kitchen where she was trying to make breakfast as quietly as possible.
"Oh!" she turned around, surprised by him. "Hi."
"Hey."
She leaned back on the countertop. He leaned forward, putting his hands on either side of her.
"So," he said. "Feeling better?"
"You mean…the hangover?"
"Yeah."
"I've felt better," she said. She quickly turned to work on breakfast again, flustered.
He turned off the stove.
"Hey!" she shouted. "I was using that!"
"Too bad. Breakfast can wait. He took her hand and led her to the armchair where she was drunkenly sitting the night before. She plopped down on the seat. Sasuke sat on the edge of her coffee table.
He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry that I haven't been forward with you. I know you only want the best for me, and I really appreciate it. But really, there is something bothering me."
He saw Sakura's eyes tear up. "Are you…is there another girl?"
"No! Of course not." He took her hand in his. "You're the only girl for me."
"So what is it?"
"I…" he began. "How do I say this? I, uh," he began. "I want to marry you."
"Y-You do?" She covered her mouth with her hand. "Sasuke-kun—"
"But," he continued. "I don't have enough money in my savings account to treat you to a good life. Chances are, I'll be working two jobs at once, and I might not be home at all, and even you might have to work, although I'll do my best to not let that happen…"
She put a finger to his lips. "Sasuke-kun." Then, she brought his head up to kiss him. "It doesn't matter. I have enough money for the both of us to live a nice life. And when I'm with you," she kissed him again. "Every day is a good day."
He smiled. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
He opened his arms. "Come here." She nearly jumped from the seat into his arms, knocking them both back onto the coffee table. He wiped away her tears with his thumb.
"Will you talk to me any time you're having a problem?" she asked softly.
"Yeah."
"I always want to hold up a conversation with you."
"Me too."
"And some without words," she said, her eyes motioning to her bedroom. He chuckled, understanding her meaning, and helped her off him while leading her to her bed.
Breakfast was forgotten on the stove.
SASUSAKU MONTH 2012
COME AT ME BRO
Slight changes!