Prompt 14: Tinder
Pairings: Sasuke/Sakura, Ino/Shikamaru/Temari, Neji/Tenten
Warning: redeemed!Sasuke, slight OC
Summary: "Hey, Sasuke—what's your type?"
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
"Congratulations, Neji! You smooth fucker!"
Sasuke cringed as Naruto laughed out loud at his own statement. His idiot of a best friend swung his arm across a red-faced Neji's shoulders, both of them chuckling loudly. The two shinobi were displaying a rare moment of friendliness (considering that Neji couldn't stand being in Naruto's overbearing presence for the first few months Hinata brought the blond to her home, formally introducing him as her 'boyfriend')—definitely due to the alcohol in the latter's system.
They were currently out at the popular barbeque restaurant, having an all-boys night out in celebration of Neji's recent engagement to Tenten. None of them had seen it coming, much less the bun-haired girl herself; and Naruto and Lee had insisted that all the boys must go out to honour their fellow ninja's accomplishment. Sasuke had absolutely no say whatsoever. He would much rather be training—instead, he was stuck downing shots with his wild friends.
"Ah, we're getting so old," Chouji said, mouth stuffed with rich kobe beef. "Can you believe that we were just young genin years ago? It felt like yesterday."
At this, Lee perked up from his drunken stupor. "Our youth will never die out!" Lee slammed his cup of sake down, standing up in declaration. He stumbled on his feet, and then giggled. "Another round!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, sighing. "None for me; I'm done for tonight." Sasuke didn't know Shikamaru very well, and they weren't exactly the best of friends, but he was grateful that one of his fellow Rookies remained logical in situations like this.
"Shikamaru's just scared Temari's gonna kick his ass," Naruto all but shouted to the entire restaurant. "To think," he added, blue eyes gleaming, "Shikamaru had a thing for bossy girls! I always thought he'd liked Ino, but hey, Temari's personality isn't much different."
"Get off my case," Shikamaru muttered, ultimately deciding he needed another drink as he reached for another glass. The lazy genius wasn't one to display affection, but Sasuke could tell by a flash of something in Shikamaru's eyes that Naruto's guess wasn't far off.
The broody Uchiha drank quietly from his seat in the booth, not contributing to the conversation; instead his mind wandered. The likelihood of falling for one of your teammates was high, he thought, because you were always around them and they knew you better than anyone else. Unconsciously, an image of bright green eyes and soft pink hair began to form in his mind, before Naruto rudely interrupted by directing his attention—and all of the boys' attention—to Sasuke.
"You know," Naruto said out of the blue, "there's only one person here who hasn't found a girlfriend yet." With an all-knowing glance and a shit-eating grin, Naruto asked, "Teme, what's your type?"
Sasuke frowned. The table was silent, until—
"Yeah, Sasuke," Kiba finally said, barking with laughter. "What's your type?" Sasuke saw a curious grin coming from Lee, a slow smile forming on Neji's face, and a sympathetic look for Shikamaru as the atmosphere turned tense with anticipation.
Glaring at the both of the idiots and suppressing the urge to strangle Naruto—who was looking at him with a mischievous glint in his cerulean eyes—Sasuke replied automatically, "I don't have one."
"Are you sure?" Naruto sang. Kami, the urge to kick the irritating blond's ass was tempting.
"Fuck off," he bit out.
Lee gasped. "We cannot have one of our comrades live a life without love!" The others at the table nodded solemnly.
"You know what this means—"
"Yes, desperate times call for desperate measures—"
Before the dark-haired boy could even comprehend what exactly was going on, Naruto stood up, marched over to Sasuke, and reached right into his pocket, rummaging around for something.
"What. The. Fuck. Do you think you're doing?" Sasuke snapped, attempting to shove off the blond.
"Aha!" Naruto said, pulling out Sasuke's cellphone. Completely ignoring a now-furious Uchiha, Naruto pushed a few buttons, before revealing to everyone at the table a white screen with a picture of Sasuke.
"What the hell is that?" Sasuke demanded.
"You, teme," Naruto laughed gleefully, "have joined Tinder!"
Date #1
Name: Mirai Ikeda
Personality: cute, shy and sweet
"Um, um," the red-haired girl stammered. "It's an honour to go on a date with you!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth as he nodded in acknowledgement. They were sitting at one of the outdoor tables at one of Konoha's best cafes, and while the girl seemed decently nice and hadn't attempted to jump him yet, Sasuke felt tense and uncomfortable sharing lunch with a girl he met on the Internet.
It was Naruto's fault, really. After their group dispersed to go back to their own respective homes (or partners), Sasuke was left responsible for dragging his loudmouthed best friend's drunken ass home. It must have been the excessive amount of liquid courage that gave Naruto the strength to blackmail Sasuke into going on three dates with three different girls on that stupid thing called Tinder (which was apparently really popular, but it wasn't like Sasuke was interested in that kind of thing) until he found his "type", but that's exactly what he did.
"Why not?" the nosy boy had asked as he stumbled his way back to his apartment. "I mean, wasn't resurrecting your clan one of your main goals? There's plenty of girls in Konoha who would love to take you up on that offer."
Sasuke had snapped back, "That's none of your business."
"Maybe the rumours are true. Maybe you are gay!" The blond had laughed.
"Moronic idiot," the annoyed Uchiha hissed back.
"…Or maybe you're just waiting for Sakura-chan to notice your feelings!"
Sasuke froze. "No," he had replied, a little too quickly. Naruto shrugged, but Sasuke knew the blond knew things he shouldn't.
"Then going on a few dates won't hurt! If you don't, I'll tell everyone Sakura-chan is your ideal type," Naruto had sang, a bit too loudly, even though they were walking down an empty street. "I'll tell everyone of the secret crush you've been harbouring for her!"
Of course, Sasuke had vehemently denied it again, but Naruto was his best friend (regrettably), and knew him all too well.
"Oh yeah? Don't think I haven't noticed the way you look at her. Well of course every teammate is like Uchiha Sasuke, the good friend, who goes to his fellow female teammate's house early the morning after her busy night shift to cook her breakfast. And of course they stay out some nights, waiting for their female teammate to leave the hospital to walk them home so they won't get mugged. And let's not forget that—"
"I get it," Sasuke had hissed.
So here he was, sitting across from a girl who was too sweet it made him nauseous. He picked at his food, bored, as Mirai—as she introduced herself as—giggled and blushed like a schoolgirl.
"So, um, what kind of activities are you into?"
As if the 'date' wasn't already uncomfortable enough, the girl now was attempting to make small talk with him, even though his posture clearly indicated that he was not open for conversation. The only person who he found acceptable to talk his ear off was, well, a certain pink-haired doctor.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed.
Naruto, you asshole.
-x-
"Well?" Naruto looked at him expectantly. "What did you think?"
Sasuke gave the blond another death glare, before stuffing his hands in his pockets and muttering, "No." He'd ended the 'date' early, claiming that he had a spar with a fellow teammate—and when the girl suggested that they meet up again, he'd bluntly refused, causing an onset of tears he didn't really care for.
And it wasn't his fault that it bothered him so much that her hair was red. He'd always liked pink better.
Date #2
Name: Akeda Tomoe
Personality: bold, loud, demanding
"Is this where you're taking me?" The indigo-eyed brunette scrunched up her nose in disdain. "I'd expect more from an Uchiha."
Sasuke nearly sneered back. Out of all the girls Naruto could've chosen, he had to choose one of the most shallow, self-centred females he'd ever had the displeasure of meeting. Naruto had described the girl as having an attitude like Yamanaka's or Temari's, but this girl, in Sasuke's opinion, was much, much worse.
Naruto had arranged for them to meet in a high-end, fancy restaurant—"Not like you can't afford it, teme"—claiming that any girl would be pleased to be dining with the great Uchiha. He'd forced Sasuke into formal clothing and instructed him on how to be a gentleman, but Sasuke hadn't listened to a single word.
The girl sniffed haughtily as they approached their table, and stood by her chair, looking at Sasuke expectantly. He looked at her blankly.
"Well?" she demanded, pointing to her chair. "Aren't you going to pull it out for me?"
Sasuke snorted. "You can do it yourself." At his indifferent statement, the girl let out a loud huff of annoyance and yanked out her chair, plopping down and glaring at him.
"You know, you're not as charming as I'd thought you'd be," the girl started, narrowing her eyes at him. "And to think, that overhyped medic-nin had such strong feelings for you. Wonder what she saw?"
At this, Sasuke felt his hand clench the menu so hard that his knuckles turned white. "Don't talk about her that way," he said sharply, raising his eyes to meet hers. Throwing down the menu in his hand, he stood abruptly and turned.
"Um, where are you going?" the girl asked, a hint of panic in her voice.
"Leaving. Your attitude is horrible."
All at once, the girl's façade seemed to crumble, as she hastily picked up her dress and scurried after him. "I'm sorry, I'll be nicer," she said, eyes pleading. "I thought you liked cool, complicated girls. All my friends were so jealous of me getting picked to go on a date with you!"
Sasuke didn't let a lot of people into his life. His inner circle consisted of his closest friends, his teammates that he cherished dearly. So maybe it was that fact that caused him to step away from the nearly crying stranger, giving her a hard look. And maybe, just maybe, it was because her eyes were more indigo than viridian green that the tears didn't seem to faze him at all when she actually started panic crying.
After all, he'd always liked green eyes best.
-x-
Naruto knew the outcome of the date before Sasuke could even open his mouth.
"You made that girl cry again, didn't you?"
Sasuke simply shrugged.
"Teme," Naruto sighed. "You're helpless." Scrolling through Sasuke's Tinder options, the whiskered boy said thoughtfully, "Hey, maybe—"
"No." Sasuke said, running a hand through his ebony locks. "No more."
Naruto frowned. "You promised three dates, remember? Are you going back on your word?" he protested.
"No," Sasuke replied, scowling. "I'll choose my own third date."
Sasuke prided himself in being composed under even the most stressful situations. He was a cautious planner, ever since he was little—he liked to have his course of action carefully laid out before him, so he could understand what was required to be done and any possible outcomes. Even when he'd defected from Konoha, he'd understood the consequences of his actions and the toll it would have on his reputation.
But now, as he trudged his way down a familiar path, he wasn't quite sure of exactly what he was doing.
It was stupid, really. Completely irrational. Honestly, he didn't know if what he was about to do and what Naruto threatened to do were any different. But he finally had enough of Naruto trying to find a love for him on an app when in reality he already had someone in mind. So somehow, someway, he found the courage to go storming into Hidden Leaf Hospital—with Naruto and the rest of the nosy Rookie Nine, who were attempting to be quiet, in tow. They had been alerted by an unnecessary announcement by a loud dimwit—aka Uzumaki Naruto—who'd stage-whispered, "Hey, the bastard's totally lost it!" to nearly everyone.
Frustration filled his very being as he marched to the front desk, brusquely demanding can you send Haruno Sakura down right now because he wanted to get this off his chest (and these idiots off his case) and he was anxious but fuck, she had to have seen it coming, hadn't she? She'd always had this strange ability, even way back when they were genin, to tear him open and read him like a book. It wasn't like he was painfully obvious—he wasn't the most emotional person—but he'd given enough hints, hadn't he?
"Did you ask to see me, Sasuke-kun?"
Oh, shit.
Heart hammering and possibly feeling more nervous than he'd been in a very, very long time, Sasuke turned to see Sakura walking towards him, a bright smile on her face as she finished tying up her loose pink hair.
From the dark circles under her vibrant green eyes and her paler than usual complexion, Sasuke predicted that the rosette had been working the night shift again and was definitely exhausted. Normally, he would be over at her house in the mornings (or she would be at his) but they hadn't seen much of each other lately, and that was probably due to the high demand of her skills to tending the patients and, of course, his unpleasant dates. He remembered the rosette telling him that she needed a couple cups of coffee to keep her awake throughout the day. At most, Sakura slept around four hours a day, a feat not even he could handle without falling over. However, exhaustion didn't stop her from greeting all their friends with enthusiasm.
"Sasuke-kun? Are you here to get any injuries healed?" She asked, after Naruto released her from a tight hug and after exchanging the usual banter of friendly insults with Yamanaka.
"No."
He watched as confusion filled her features. "Um, okay." Her eyes flitted over to their fellow shinobi (and several hospital staff that seemed to be lurking around the scene) and lowered her voice, "I'm sorry I haven't been over to make breakfast lately. Shizune needed me to cover a few medic-nin training classes for her, so I've been busy with the students."
Sasuke nodded in understanding. Despite many talented medics in the Hidden Leaf Village, both Tsunade and Shizune trusted Sakura to fulfil their duties more than anyone else. The pink-haired doctor was always developing new antidotes and coming up with new surgical procedures, knowledge that all seemed to come so easily for her. Sakura was exceptional, something he'd never told her—but it was something he didn't need to tell her, because she already knew.
And when a girl as beautiful and smart and exceptional as Haruno Sakura existed, there were bound to be suitors lining up at the hospital doors.
Turning his onyx eyes sharply to her, he asked, "Are you busy now?"
"Not really," Sakura replied, suppressing a yawn. "I'm just trying to catch up with all the paperwork that's building up on my desk. There's a lot of patient files I need to go through, too…"
"Let's go," Sasuke said, grabbing her wrist and tugging her towards the exit. The rosette, clearly not understanding what was going on, froze at the contact.
"...huh?"
"We're going," the young Uchiha said, gritting his teeth, "on a date. I'll help you with your paperwork later." Ignoring the surprised gasp that resounded through the hospital floor and the loud 'WHAT?' screeched out by Yamanaka and Naruto, he turned his head to meet her shocked green orbs. A faint blush dusted her pale cheeks and her mouth hung open, as she stuttered,
"Wait- what? W-why?"
The hospital fell into a silent hush as eyes turned to the dark-haired boy.
"Because," Sasuke murmured, feeling the heat crawl up his neck, "you're the only type I like."
Naruto was the first one to break out of his stupor.
"I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT BEFORE ALLLL OF YOU! TEME, YOU SLY FUCKER!"
Fin.
note: i tried uploading this earlier to make for the last day of SS month but FFnet was having so issues, so it's August 1st and my mission failed :( i know SS month 2016 is over, but because i get random bursts of ideas sometimes for oneshots, i'm going to try to write more stories for the prompts. :)
tell me what you think? xoxo
-A
(PS: I'm a huge fan of ShikaIno so I had to sneak it in a bit haha)
