I wrote another version of this years ago in my Korean fandom, so if by any chance this seemed familiar, I might have written that too lol I hope you'll enjoy this two shot!
Warning: Sasuke's a little OC.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Tissue Paper
by cheerry-blossoms
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It was unusually full and noisy at Coffee Bucks. The supposed-to-be sanctuary for Sakura had suddenly transformed to a typical café inside the malls. The establishment is located streets away from the university so most of their customers are the working class who were too busy to stay long inside. The solemnity the pink-haired found in the café was what made her walk all the way to this place from her university. Thankfully, Naruto, one of the staffs, had managed to reserve them a table outside the café.
At first, she found the new setting odd. The crew was busy running here and there attending to the customers' demands and cleaning the place. Girls her age were chatting rather loudly using high-pitched flirty tones while taking a glimpse on him, the new cashier of her favourite café.
To be honest, she would have done the same thing. She admitted she, too, was having a big crush on the new guy whose deep coal orbs that intently stared at her while she's stating her order, almost making her feel like she was being undressed. 'Sasu' – according to his name tag – is a very attractive man. His aristocratic features would make anyone question his presence in the café as an employee. Although, in contrast to his co-workers, he never smiles; in fact, he always looked jaded and unwilling. Despite that, his indifference did not deter girls from dropping by the café.
While Sasu was restating her orders, Sakura could not help but admire and try memorizing every detail of the cashier's handsome face. If Ino, her best friend, did not hit her on the back of her head once Sasu was done, Sasu would have noticed that she was drooling. Of course, she was quick to wipe the tiny amount of liquid on the side of her mouth.
She even unconsciously said her friend's name instead of hers when asked, earning a judging look from Ino.
"Why don't you talk to him?" Ino calmly asked while munching on her donut and typing on her laptop. Obviously, her best friend would do the honors of teasing her on her newfound love interest. She unfortunately has a popular best friend who changes her lover every month.
An introvert, no boyfriend since birth and a proud virgin, that was how everyone knew Haruno Sakura. Embarrassing as it may be to admit, but she had her fair share of admirers, too. However, none of them have caught her interest, unless the guy looked like the rockstar Sasori, who was her everything—not that Sasori was aware of her existence.
Now, much to her surprise, the arrival of the newest cashier of her favourite café disrupted the balance of her life.
Unable to take Ino's teasing anymore, she stood up and grabbed her things, purposely ignoring her friend's calls as she headed back to her dorm, several blocks away from the café. As much as she's attracted to Sasu, her feminist principles scream she should never make the first move. No.
^o^
"Hey, can you clean table 7 outside?"
"No."
"Eeehhh?! 'Tachi-niisan, Teme doesn't want to help me clean!"
"Just help him clean. You're not doing anything now, anyways."
"Fine."
Grumbling, he strode outside and headed towards table number 7. Fortunately for him, what was left for him to clean are used plates, a plastic cup and few tissue papers. It was neater than the other tables. After lifting the half empty plastic cup (while ignoring the flirting whispers to him), his eyes caught a scribble in pink on a tissue beneath the cup. He picked the paper up, raising an eyebrow after reading what's written on it.
"Sa...ku...ra...?"
~0~
Finals month was hell. Too many papers are given to them for their minor subjects, quizzes take place every day, projects and practical exams for her majors are lined up, and thesis is added to the stress before the judgment week. All of these are to be achieved within thirty days, which was why she chose to sacrifice sleep. Hinata, her classmate, had invited her to go to a spa this weekend.
Sakura's excitement to pampering her skin vanished when she heard her phone beep, signaling a new message. She initially thought it was Ino so she ignored it, but glancing at the lock screen (having Sasori as her background), the unknown number seemed to have piqued her interest.
Normally, she would have deleted it immediately; however, something told him that he should check this one out. She also had an excuse to stare at her wallpaper.
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From: 0xx-xxxx-143
Hey.
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It amused her seeing the last three numbers of this one are similar to hers.
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To: 0xx-xxxx-143
Uh... hi? Who is this please? =))
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This is definitely not Ino because if it were her, the introductory text would be: Hey there, beautiful. ;)
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From: 0xx-xxxx-143
I'm Suke.
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Suke? It must be a nickname. Daisuke? Sanosuke? Syuusuke? Ryosuke?
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To: 0xx-xxxx-143
Hi, 'Suke' =) how did you get my number?
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Also, this one is a guy. The lack of enthusiasm and emoticon made her think so.
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From: 0xx-xxxx-143
Written on a tissue paper.
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Tissue paper? How did her phone number ended up written on a tissue—Ino.
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To: 0xx-xxxx-143
Do you know me? Like in person?
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What kind of question was that? Of course the other would reply that no, he doesn't know her, and then they would 'get to know each other.'
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From: 0xx-xxxx-143
Maybe.
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Maybe? That was not the answer she expected. Who is this 'Suke' guy? There are lots of 'Suke's in Konoha alone. What if it was just a prank? Some jealous nobody in school wanted to stain her reputation so they came up with this whole textmate thing and then will spread to everybody once she started flirting back. Kami, she would not let that happen.
She had to make sure this Suke person had no dark intentions.
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To: 0xx-xxxx-143
Why text me then? And where did you get the tissue?
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If this person will reply 'Because I want to know you more' and other similar cheesy lines, then their conversation had to end. If not… she will just have to come up with a decision.
Almost too immediate, the message tone filled her room.
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From: 0xx-xxxx-143
Bored. Got it from Coffee Bucks. Table 7.
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She gawked at her phone for a while. That was the 'if not' she was not prepared for. No matter how much she convinced herself this was just a prank, the way 'Suke' replied made her think otherwise. It was as if he's indeed… bored.
And really, Coffee Bucks? They were there a while ago. She will really call Ino about this.
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To: 0xx-xxxx-143
Oh. I assume you're a guy?
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She hated how fast 'Suke' replied. It was either scripted or impromptu. Obviously, the latter was the case.
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From: 0xx-xxxx-143
Maybe.
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Definitely a guy.
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To: 0xx-xxxx-143
Haha. You're a guy! =D
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To be honest, she had no idea on how and why she started playing with this mysterious sender. It just seemed… fun.
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From: 0xx-xxxx-143
Annoying.
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And I was called annoying. She thought angrily. What was she supposed to reply to that? Replies like deserve to be ignored. But because she was being nice and curious, she opened up another topic instead.
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To: 0xx-xxxx-143
What's your first name? =)
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From: 0xx-xxxx-143
It's a secret.
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She pouts at her phone as if the other person will see her doing it. Realizing it, she shook her head and pressed her lips to a firm line. How can this guy infuriate her, yet intrigue her at the same time?
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To: 0xx-xxxx-143
Afraid to reveal your identity? =P
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Oh. My. Kami. Did she just tease? It might pass as flirting. Ino will celebrate with the other students in the building if she saw her reply.
Her cheeks turned red whilst she tried canceling the sending of the message. It was not in her nature to tease – or flirt – and it might give herself a bad impression to 'Suke,' especially this Suke is a guy. First impressions should always be good, for her.
Slumping on her seat, she almost threw her phone on her notebook, rubbing her palms on her face in irritation. She instantly sat straight after hearing the message alert tone.
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From: 0xx-xxxx-143
No. Where's the fun in it if we know each other?
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She sighed in relief; 'Suke' did not seem to take her question as something flirtatious. She reminded herself to stop being playful. But what can she do? This was her first time.
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To: 0xx-xxxx-143
Well… that's… true… Geez, are you a genius?
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One advantage of texting was the other person could not hear how nervous you are through your voice.
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From: 0xx-xxxx-143
Who knows. So, textmates?
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Was it weird she found it cute that it was Suke who asked her first?
She thought for a while, enough for 'Suke' not to think she's having second thoughts… because she wasn't.
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To: Suke
Sure =)
^o^
She and Suke started sending random text messages to each other every day. It was too often that she got distracted a lot by it. Sometimes while in class, her phone will vibrate and she would clamp a hand on her mouth to stop from laughing at whatever joke CornySuke – her nickname for her textmate – had texted her. Ino will glare at her for her weirdness (because Haruno Sakura does not text during class), but she just ignores it.
It was fun, though; having someone new to interact with, especially that she found it thrilling to discover CornySuke's identity and personality through their texting.
Their conversation would usually start by one asking how her day was. Usually, she would be the one to text a lot. She liked telling the other about her day – whether it's good or bad, she would always text him that. Weirdly, Suke seemed interested for he would always ask about it or will send her some snarky comments.
She was surprised at first, but she got used to it eventually. SnarkySuke can also be tolerated.
But whenever she will ask for a meet-up, Suke declined. It would send her sulking the whole day that she will vent her frustration out on Ino or Hinata.
There are also times when both of them are playful. It happened usually during dull Friday nights and both had nothing important to do the next day. Suke told her he's a student at Konoha Arts University, the school nearest from Coffee Bucks. Sakura studies at Konoha Science University.
She was on her stomach, her elbows supporting her upper weight, swaying her legs as she typed her question.
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To: Suke
Hey, are you crushing on someone?
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It was a random question because she could not think of anything else. It was nice talking about love lives, even though she does not have one. She had served as a love doctor to Ino for many times already.
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From: Suke
No.
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And why was she disappointed?
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To: Suke
Why not?
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From: Suke
No one caught my interest yet, I guess.
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To: Suke
Am I not interesting? =)))
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She was flirting, yes, she knew. It was the one thing she wanted to avoid doing with mysterious Suke, yet she got too comfortable with the man to step past the boundary.
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From: Suke
Lol.
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Suke always replied like that whenever she attempted to flirt.
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To: Suke
Now what am I supposed to reply to that?
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When Suke did not reply for about twenty minutes, she got worried that she had annoyed the other, yet again. But it was just a joke! Well, maybe half. Still, should that be the end of their conversation?
Then, her phone vibrated and she almost fainted.
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From: Suke
You're interesting.
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As she gaped at the screen, she admitted she might be developing an unhealthy crush towards her textmate whom she had not met in person, yet.
TO BE CONTINUED
I re-wrote this during midnight so there surely are errors in there. Will just check them later!
IDK if someone uses Suke as his nickname, but... meh, I need it for the story lmao.
Will just fix the next part then I will post it soon!
Please let me know your thoughts? I appreciate reviews very much! Helps me improve as a writer :)
Thank you!
Aria