I have no other reason for the story other than the fact I feel they could have really cute interactions. Plus, yeah, high-school AU.
"Sakura Haruno, it's nice to meet you." Stepping up to offer a hand to her mother's boyfriend of three months, Sakura discreetly looked over him, taking in the dark brown hair and kind smile he wore with judging eyes unfit for a small child.
"It's nice to meet you too Sakura-chan. Your mother has talked about you so much, I daresay I feel like I've already met you. Sasori, come over here and introduce yourself. Sakura-chan, this is my son." Hachiro Akasuna stated, releasing Sakura's small hand. He didn't notice the way it subtly clenched when back at her side, or the small upwards twitch in her lips. He passed her little test, unknowingly of course, but it counted.
"Sasori Akasuna." The older boy simply nodded at Sakura. With blood red hair and melting chocolate amber eyes, Sakura had already filed him away into the 'Pretty Boys Who Don't Even Have to Try' category.
"Now, why don't you and Sasori-kun go play outside while we prepare for dinner Sakura?" Mebuki Haruno asked gently, sending the two pre-teens gentle smiles.
"Mmm. 'Kay kaa-san. Don't spend all the time in the kitchen just kissing." Sakura hummed, already walking towards the backdoor she had seen earlier when scoping out her surroundings. Less than a minute later and Sasori had joined her, laughter following them from the living room.
"Sakura's always been a rather blunt child." Mebuki noted with fondness and exasperation in her voice.
"She seems like a good match for Sasori. Both are rather socially awkward if this first meeting was anything to go by." Hachiro finished chuckling, turning to offer a hand to his girlfriend.
"Now, shall we dance my lady?" He asked with a soft smile, his other hand starting the music he had prepared earlier.
"Why thank you, we shall." Mebuki giggled, a light sound as she stepped closer to the man.
Outside with Sakura and Sasori…
"Bets on them kissing right about now?" Sakura asked, digging around in her pocket for loose change. She pulled out a slightly smashed ring pop still in its wrapper (cherry), 63 yen, and some fuzzy lint.
Sasori sent an intense speculative look at the items in her hand. Seconds later, he nodded, trying to find some coins to match her in value.
"I'm calling it on slow dancing. Otou-san was doing something with the radio before you came." With a small smile, the older boy pulled out his own assortment of items that randomly congest in pockets. 43 yen, a loose thread he didn't know the origins off, and his own fuzzy lint.
"Spy time?" Sakura asked inquisitively after her own nod of approval at Sasori's bet. She had gotten the ring pop for free at school from a classmate's birthday goodie bag. Plus she didn't even like cherry to start with. Ino wouldn't trade her for a watermelon either.
The door back into the house was slowly cracked open just enough for a twelve year old boy and ten year old girl to slip inside. With quiet footsteps, they tiptoed towards the source of slow dancing music. Peering around the open doorframe, the two children rolled their eyes in annoyance. The food hadn't even made it out of the pan yet, smoke starting to gather lazily.
"Oi." Sakura rapped her knuckles against the wood of the frame. "Less smoochy smoochy and more yummy foody." She stated rather bluntly, finding a smile on her face when Mebuki and Hachiro jumped away from their kiss mid-dance.
"Bleh. Adults can be so stupid. Obviously the food is the concern here. Would you let your children starve? Oh, and the kitchen's on fire I think." Sakura wrinkled up her nose as more smoke poured out. Sasori stifled a laugh into a smirk from his place next to her.
"Oh dear, where's the oven mitt?" Mebuki raced to the kitchen, a blush staining her cheeks and Hachiro following close behind.
"Go entertain Sakura, and no more bets tonight Sasori." Hachiro called back over his shoulder before disappearing from view.
A pleasant silence filled the air between them. Sakura rummaged around in her pocket again, pulling out the ring pop. She waved it in front of Sasori.
"You like cherry ring pops?"
"Yeah, but not the blue raspberry ones."
"Mmm, perfect. Here, take this. It may or may not be a bribe. Now, entertainment?"
"... Do you know how to stay quiet?"
"Yup. Hand me some books and I'll be as golden as silence."
"We'll get along fine."
Leading the way up the stairs, Sasori fingered the candy, ripping it out of its wrapper. Ignoring the fact it was very lopsided, he stuck the sweet in his mouth, crunching down with his teeth to separate the edible parts from the plastic.
"I create puppets. It's kind of a hobby. My grandmother on Otou-san's side owns a little shop with her younger brother, specializing in woodwork." Sasori stopped outside a door with a cardboard red cloud outlined in white on it stuck on it. A small marionette with blank features over it hung from a hook below the cloud.
"I think… I might want to help out in the shop when I'm older." Sasori finished, a hand poised over the doorknob when he sent a glance towards Sakura.
"That's a nice thought. I think I might become a doctor or medic when I grow up, open a small clinic and work with herbs. So if you get a splinter, just come to me!" Sakura smiled impishly up at the red-head, feeling a warmth swirl below her chest to tickle her stomach when he smiled back, nodding at her simple thoughts. Opening the door, Sasori let Sakura step in first.
Sakura noted almost absentmindedly that this was the kind of room just perfect for afternoon naps. The fading sunlight of the day shone across a carpeted floor, the window stretching wide from the wall opposite the door. The curtains were neatly pulled back, a dark blue that Sakura somehow knew would set off the evening dusk in a glamorous way. A bed with neatly made red covers was placed to one side of the window, closest to her, a bedside table beside it and a short chest of drawers at the foot of the bed.
On the other side of the room was a desk clearly made for creation. Tools hung from the wall in a row of neat hooks, puppets situated on the bookshelf next to it. A half painted puppet without a bright yellow kimono and blazing orange hair cut in a short bob was propped up on the desk by the pencil sharpener.
"I was working on her before Otou-san told me you had arrived." Sasori stated quietly upon seeing where Sakura's eyes had wandered.
"Can I borrow a book?" They had already stepped into the room, the door closed behind them and rippling with cast sunlight on its surface. Sakura's eyes were already scanning titles darting up and down the rather spacious bookshelf.
"Sure. Feel free to read on my bed or a chair. I'm going to finish my project." Sasori walked across the dark blue carpet without another sound as Sakura pulled out a book and plopped down underneath the window with her legs crossed.
Yeah, they were going to get along fine.
Sasori exhaled a deep breath, straightening up in his seat and circling his neck to make it feel not so sore. After about an hour's work head bent over his desk to paint those small, tiny details on his puppet, blood circulation tended to become a problem. Glancing up, Sasori felt an odd quirk on his lips upon seeing Sakura now splayed out over the floor spread-eagle, the book propped up in front of her. He ran his tongue over his teeth, catching the last few bits of of cherry flavored candy, a frown spreading over his face.
"Sakura," He started, not concerned about the proper suffixes at the moment because he had just glanced over to the clock in his room and realized, yes, it had been an hour and they hadn't eaten dinner yet.
"Mmmm, hold on, I'm almost finished with this chapter." Sakura mumbled in a whisper, truly caught up in the world written onto the pages of whatever story she had managed to find on his bookshelf.
As Sasori knelt next to her, ducking his head to see what book she was reading, he discovered it was a manual on how to treat wood and various carving techniques.
Huh.
"You can bookmark your page now and finish it up next time you visit. Or I'll bring it with me if Otou-san plans to visit your house next. Right now, we need to eat and yell at irresponsible parents." Sasori, stood up again, taking a few steps over to snatch a piece of extra sandpaper he had set aside but not needed, and dropped it on Sakura's head.
"Mmkay." Sakura hummed, sighing as she slid the substitute bookmark in and shut the book softly. She sprung up with a smile, casually handing the book to Sasori before reaching her arms up in an extravagant show of stretching.
"Let's go tell off some idiot adults then. And food, but maybe yell at them first?" Sakura giggled, humming a little tune to herself as she stepped out of the room.
Sasori placed the book on his bed, wondering how his day had turned out so strange. Following Sakura into the hallway and down the stairs, he decided it was a strange day, but not bad.
The cherry taste from the candy lingered in his mouth as they found the (stupid) grown-ups drinking wine and chatting on the couch. Sakura had started ranting at them without him it seemed, although he didn't mind.
Not a bad day at all.