Summary: Four times he says never, three times she proves him wrong. [Modern AU]
Pairing: Sasusaku with a hint of Naruhina
A/N: It's summer for me now so I thought I'd write something to celebrate! I actually thought of this when I saw a State Farm commercial, hah. This chapter takes place during a summer semester in college. Where I live, you can drive at 16 and drink alcohol at 21 so these are the ages I went with for each respective "rite of passage". I'm not much of a writer, but I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1
Sasuke Uchiha is a man of few words. It's not that he doesn't know what to say. On the contrary, every word he says is carefully planned and deliberate. He says what he needs to say when he needs to, so it's not too surprising that within the past half hour, Sasuke has maybe said a whole two sentences as his lab partner chatters on about something unrelated to their report. She sits a little too closely, flutters her lashes a little too often, and if she touches his arm one more time, he may just get up and leave. As he sits there and glares at his unfinished lab report (a report that could have easily been completed an hour ago), he can't help but channel a certain friend.
"Women are so... troublesome. I'm never getting a girlfriend," he mutters under his breath.
"What did you say?" His lab partner leans in. He can tell she's about to reach out for his arm again, but before he can react, a loud voice calls out to him from the entrance of the coffee shop.
"Hey, Sasukeeeeee!" He never thought he'd say it, but thank God Naruto was there.
"Naruto, what did I say about yelling in public?" an angry voice responds. It was Sakura.
For as long as he can remember, these two have been his best friends and Sasuke would never admit it, but it's a wonder that they've put up with him for so long.
"So whatcha working on?" Naruto asks as he sits down at the table. Sakura scolds him again, this time for interrupting the apparent "study session", but proceeds to take the seat across from Sasuke anyways.
"Oh, Sasuke and I have been working on our report for physics lab-"
"But I think we're just about done here. What are you guys up to?" Sasuke sees this opportunity his friends have so conveniently set up for him and interjects.
"We were on our way back from dinner, but Sakura just had to get an iced tea," Naruto responds with dramatic gestures and he can't help but think his friend is being a little too over the top. But then again, everything Naruto does can be a little over the top.
"What, it's hot outside," Sakura retorts.
"I'll walk back with you guys." Sasuke looks over to his lab partner. On the inside he feels a little desperate to escape and generally, he's good with masking his emotions, but his patience has run thin and it may just be written all over his face. "You good?"
"Yeah, I'll text you..." The lab partner senses the mood and gives a small huff as she begins to pack up her belongings and leave.
As soon as the coast is clear, Sasuke lets out a groan as he buries his face into the palm of his hand. "How did you guys know?"
"Hinata lives in the apartment across the street. She stopped by to get a drink and noticed how miserable you looked so she called in reinforcements," Naruto grins proudly. It was a mission accomplished.
"I guess I'll get my tea and then we can head out," Sakura proposed as she laughed that laugh that made Sasuke's heart stutter. He ignores it, or at least tries to.
"W-well, actually, since we're in the area, I thought I'd stop by and say hi to Hinata." Naruto was uncharacteristically bashful and there was a hint of a blush across his cheeks.
Sakura's lips curl into a sly smile and she raises an eyebrow. "You can go ahead then, I'll make sure Sasuke makes it to the apartment safely." She lets out that laugh again and Sasuke can only look away.
The air smelled of dirt, blood, and sweat and the summer heat clung to his skin. As Sasuke laid beaten up on the empty school grounds, weaving in and out of consciousness, he thought of his parents. They would be sorry now, wouldn't they? They drove him to this. At that moment it really didn't matter to him whether he died alone on a dirty field or not. They wouldn't care. Suddenly, he heard a sound amidst the silence of the summer night. Was it a dream? In his bouts of consciousness he thought he could pick up on the familiar hum of her car and he swore he could heard their frenzied yells. In the near distance, a small light bobbing towards him answered his question.
"I found him!"
"Damn it, check if he's breathing!"
"Sasuke, Sasuke!" Sakura was frantically calling out his name as she fell down onto her knees beside him. He could tell she was crying. "Naruto, give me the flashlight and call an ambulance! Sasuke, stay with me okay?" He let out a groan to let her know that he was still with her. It was truly pitiful. She was the last person that he wanted to see him like this.
"Why did you do it, Sasuke? Why did you come here? I just want you to be happy... I just want you to be happy..." Her sobbing, fraught with all the sorrow in the world, became harder, more drawn out, as if he would disappear before her very eyes. And looking at his state, she really believed that he would. She reached for his hand and gingerly held onto it, afraid that if she used too much force, she would hurt his already broken body.
He really felt like an asshole then. Despite the fact that he had turned his back on the two people that probably cared for him the most, they still came to him even though it was a stupid idea. Who goes to rescue their friends from dangerous fights in the middle of the night? He really didn't deserve their kindness. Yet, somewhere amidst Naruto's frustrated yelling, the wailing of the ambulance, and Sakura's heaving as she tried gain control of her tears, he could hear her say it. It was faint, but the heard it. She said "I love you."
That was when Sasuke's eyes snapped open. He lay awake in cold sweat, clutching at his sheets of his bed. It had been a while since he dreamt of that night. Growing up had been a challenge for him. Even though he had always tried his hardest, he never seemed to have what it took to beat his older brother. Academics, athletics, you name it, his parents always seemed to deem him second best and while Itachi never once antagonized him, Sasuke easily mistook kindness for pity. So if he couldn't beat Itachi, why even try? At that time, he was fifteen and angry at the world. He got involved with the wrong people, ran away from home, and fought his way across the city of Konoha. The night that Naruto and Sakura found him was a pivotal moment in his life. It showed him that he was loved and cared for, especially by his parents, who arrived at the hospital later that night just as frantic as Sakura had been.
Sasuke is snapped back into reality when he hears a knock at the door. From the clock sitting on his nightstand, he can see that it's only a little past midnight. Did the idiot forget his keys again? He rolls out of bed and walks through the living room, over to the front door. Peering into the peep hole, he expects to see his goofy blonde roommate, but to his surprise, he sees pink.
"What are you doing here? It's not safe to be out so late," Sasuke chides as he opens the door.
"You're one to talk. I just wanted to be the first person to say happy birthday to you! Happy twenty first birthday! You don't have to rely on me to buy you booze anymore," Sakura jokes as she hands him a six pack.
"I thought you just said I could buy my own beer now?" He gives her a smug look, but takes it anyway. "Thanks, for coming here." Sakura nods and smiles in response. It's probably just the outdoor lighting of the complex, but in his head, it's as if she's glowing.
She walks in as if she owns the place (but really she might as well) and leads him out to the small patio attached to Naruto and Sasuke's apartment. Out there, the boys have set up a well-worn patio set. They each grab a drink and the two sit in a comfortable silence, one very much like on their walk home.
Sakura knows he's not much of a talker. In her younger days she probably would have talked his ear off, but she knows now. Sasuke communicates through his silence- the way he sits leaned back in the chair, the way he casually sips on his beer. He feels at ease. This is all she had ever wanted for him and she's content staying by his side like this.
And while Sasuke is at ease, there's this feeling tugging at his chest that he can't ignore anymore. When he looks over at her, he no longer sees the young girl proclaiming her love for him to their entire class, but a woman that has shown time and time again that she would do anything if she could just see him be happy. She is there in every single wonderful memory, never leaving his side. And here she is again, wishing him happy birthday at this insane hour when she should be tucked safely away into her bed. He suddenly wishes that would she stay with him forever. That tugging feeling is love and he knows it.
After a while of ruminating in their own thoughts, Sakura breaks the silence. "I'm a little tired, Sasuke, I think I'm going to head back to my place. We can have an official celebration later today with everyone else!" She sets her emptied bottle down and leans forward to get up, but finds that Sasuke has abruptly stood up from his own seat and has grabbed her hand from across the small table.
"Thanks, by the way," he bursts out, giving her hand a small squeeze.
"Y-you already said that," she says uneasily. This was unusual behavior for him and she didn't know how to react. "Besides, it's what I'm here for."
"Remember when I turned sixteen and you and Naruto had to my rescue my beat up ass?" In his head, he thinks he sounds silly; his words aren't being carefully thought out at all, but he needs to tell her and he can't think of any other way. "You were crying then. You said you just wanted me to be happy."
Sakura's furrows her brows in confusion. "I do... What are you getting at?"
"Then don't leave," he says in one quick breath. Sasuke could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins. "If you want me to happy, then please don't leave."
Naruto doesn't get back to his own apartment until eight in the morning. Unfortunately for him, he has a class to get to and had to leave the comforting arms of his girlfriend. As he walks in, his eyes widen in surprise, but the only words that could ever come to mind in this situation would be "it's about damn time". There on the couch lay Sasuke, embracing Sakura against his chest, limbs tangled and snoring away.
A/N - I will never be happy with my writing. The flow is all wrong and I'm bad at writing dialog, yet there's so much of it! This might be the longest non-academic thing I've ever written.
I had originally wanted this to be a one shot, but I had too many ideas and it became too long. You can expect another chapter or two, although they probably won't be as long as this one!