Prompt: Birthday
Theme: Special Occasion
Notes: Yep. For SasuSaku-Month. Not much else to say, other than TB tests are bizzare. The little bubble thing just sort of... poofs.
Disclaimer: Liliafax does not own the characters or setting of this story. They are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto and those who have publishing rights.
The light filtered through the window greasy and warm. The illuminated dust particles floated lazily by, a taunting dance before him. He stared vaguely at them, vainly trying to memorize the pattern. He picked up a piece of stone, broken and jagged yet worn to a rough plateau and took it to the wall. He made a white mark on the wall, dragging it with pressure enough to make his fingertips bloodless. He stared at the marks, counting them again. Nineteen. Nineteen days. Nineteen days in this cell, counting and examining, examining and counting. And remembering.
He was Uchiha Sasuke, as he scratched into his arm with an untrimmed fingernail. It wasn't hard to remember. His name was as written into his soul as it was now on his skin. But it never hurt to remind himself.
"Uchiha, you have a visitor," the shinobi guard called from the doorway. Sasuke lifted his eyes, his hair still hanging limply on his brow.
The footsteps entering the hallway were light and clipped. Sasuke counted them; one, two, three, four.
"Sasuke? Are you okay?" an oh-so familiar voice echoed to his ear. He looked up to meet her eyes, those chips of jade feathered with eyelashes creased into a curved line.
"Hn," Sasuke murmured.
A metallic clinking sound reverberated on the walls. "Well, today's a big day. I have some vaccinations and tests to perform here," Sakura explained while turning the key in the lock and pushing the door open. She slipped in and shut the door behind her.
"Vaccinations?"
"Sasuke," Sakura put her hand on her hip. "You are almost three years late on your shots. You missed some rather big ones. Meningitis, for one. And I was told to do a TB skin test."
"TB?"
Sakura looked him in the eye. "Tuberculosis."
"What exactly does that entail," Sasuke asked wearily, his voice rough from disuse.
"The test? Just a bit of serum under the skin, and I come read it in about 48 hours. It'll be fine," she said as she prepared a sterile area, smiling a little to herself.
Sasuke eyed the capped syringes and clear bottles suspiciously.
"I said, it will be fine," Sakura said again. She rubbed some disinfectant on his arm. "Now, don't tense your arm."
Sasuke looked forward as she injected the vaccine into his muscle. She pressed a cloth bandage onto the spot and moved to the other arm for the second vaccination. All the while she hummed a small melody. As she brushed her fingers across his skin, Sasuke felt a sliver of cold run down the affected arm. Her body was so close, her warmth penetrating the ice of the cell. It was mesmerizing in the same way a pool of koi was, nearly impossible to look away.
His heart was still beating his sternum with considerable force when she administered the skin test. She was right; it didn't hurt anymore than any other vaccine. Although, he was numb from her proximity. Sasuke stared at the small lump at the injection site as Sakura cleaned up her equipment.
"So, Sasuke, are you doing anything today?"
Sasuke merely stared at her.
"I mean, you know what today is, right?"
More stares.
"It's the 23rd. Of July," Sakura turned toward him. "Sasuke, it's your birthday."
Sasuke blinked. How long had it been since he celebrated something as trivial as his birthday?
"Now, Naruto has something planned for later, but since it's Naruto I'm sure it will be loud, and at least slightly annoying," Sakura laughed. She then sat on the bench he was currently occupying. She reached into her bag and pulled out something wrapped in aluminum foil.
"My mother makes really good ginger cake. I've never had any other pound cake that's ginger-flavored. It's not particularly sweet, so I think you'll like it," Sakura said, handing the wrapped cake over to Sasuke. He pulled the foil apart, exposing the soft, pale cake underneath. Sakura leaned over, placed a candle in the middle, then struck a match and lit the wick.
"Make a wish," Sakura breathed. Sasuke quickly extinguished the flame. He watched the smoke make ribbons to the ceiling, twirling and dancing around themselves.
The sun stream bathed her face. Flyaway hairs caught the light and threw it away in glittering lines. She turned her eyes toward his, her lashes covering the iris like dry grass. Her lips opened slightly. She leaned closer, her hand dangerously close to his thigh.
He felt his breath grow heavier and his heart resume the rhythm on his ribcage. Sasuke felt his body grow warmer. Sakura lifted her eyebrows and placed her hands on his shoulders and tilted her body toward his. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat. Sakura looked over him with slight apprehension. Sasuke's personal parameters sent danger signs, yet the part of his mind that controlled his emotions, his desires attempted to cancel the alarms. The result was a shudder through his body and a sigh through his lips. Sakura seemed just as unsure, just as scared. She moved closer yet again, her lips hanging near his. The emotion part of his mind spoke again, this time urging him to close that distance. He never got that chance as Sakura glided her parted lips onto his.
The contact of their skin was almost like a shadow, a phantom on his lips. Sakura kept slight pressure against him with her hands and even her legs. Sasuke pressed forward and Sakura responded. They moved their mouths together, a dance of sudden lust.
Sakura pushed him up to the wall, breaking her kiss and laying her head in the crook of his neck. Sasuke gasped like a fish out of water, drawing in oxygen at a rapid pace.
"What was that?" Sasuke breathed.
Sakura looked up at him. "I don't really know what overcame me."
He hooked a finger under her thumb, tilting her face to his. Her eyes locked with his and she trembled minutely.
"I," he whispered, "didn't really mind."
The second kiss was harsher, more solid. Sakura once again pressed him to the wall, twining her fingers into his hair. Their chests moved rapidly against each other in an offbeat, frantic tempo. He could feel her body against his with startlingly clear precision.
This time, he broke the kiss, pushing his forehead to hers. She smiled at him, one corner higher than the other.
"Happy birthday," she said sweetly. "You know, that was our third kiss."
Sasuke blinked.
"What?"
