The last part.
"Hey, I didn't know that pizza place opened already!"
Even at the decibel level that his friends spoke, Sasuke still found that he couldn't stay focused on whatever they were saying. It was all a distant humming in his ears, background noise to his inner thoughts.
In fact, if he put his head down on his arms that rested on the table, he bet he could fall asleep. The dark circles under his eyes were beginning to grow.
It had only been a week since Cherry, or Sakura rather, had left his home. He should not be feeling the way he did.
Naruto had already told him with the grace of an elephant through an antique house that he was being 'more of a bastard than usual.' It was true his fuse was a little on the short side lately, but it didn't mean it showed that much. Though…he did snap at Itachi the day before yesterday when he made some wise crack about still being single. He didn't attribute that to missing his cat though.
He also didn't label not sleeping as missing his cat. It didn't matter that no matter how late it got or how many times he tried to drift off that he found he couldn't sleep. He tried to will away all thoughts generated about her, but nothing ever worked. He had even pretended that she was still there, on the pillow next to him, but his mind knew better.
He sighed. He missed his cat.
He had gotten used to her, and before he could stop it, she was a stability point in his life. Now, he was having trouble functioning without her around. He thought it ridiculous himself, but after playing the denial game for a week, he couldn't ignore the negative effects he was suffering from.
She wasn't even his cat to begin with. She wasn't even a cat at all.
Sasuke tried to look alert as his friends interacted around him. It was a good thing he didn't normally say much. That way, unless they really looked at him, they wouldn't be able to tell anything was off. They were meeting in the park, in the area where a bunch of picnic tables were strewn about for people. He had only agreed to come along because he no longer had anything better to do sitting at home, and he hoped that maybe some fresh air would convince his body to let him sleep tonight.
It hadn't helped that, during her brief encounter with his sheets, her scent seemed to cling to the fibers. He barely slept the first night at all. It was sweet vanilla and something that just screamed home to him, and he couldn't get away from it. It had conjured all sorts of images for his mind to mull over, and now every time he thought of Cherry, how she was as a cat, it was replaced with the image of Sakura as he saw her last.
He had endured three nights of this before he resolved to wash the sheets, but even that hadn't helped in the long run. He could still see the images as clear as ever when the closed his eyes, and he also started seeing Cherry as a cat in certain spots around his house.
He was going insane. This had to stop.
"So you guys'll never guess who I ran into today!" Sasuke found himself listening as Naruto spoke up, still lamenting on what he was going to do about his problem. A murmured 'who' rang out in the crowd, and Naruto grinned. "You guys remember Sakura?"
This instantly had Sasuke paying more attention to what was going on. As ridiculous as it sounded, Sakura was his cat. Or his cat was Sakura. Or something. He mentally shook his head. He wasn't thinking straight.
"Hey! Yeah." Kiba spoke up. "I remember her. She still a looker?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively as he grinned.
Sasuke mentally snorted. He could testify to that one. She was definitely nice to look at, not that it was any of Kiba's business. Or his actually. Where did that thought come from?
Naruto returned the grin with one of his own. "You bet. She disappeared to med school right after graduation. Actually, according to what Ino said, she's been gone this last month on some sort of thing for an internship too. She just got back a few days ago."
Sasuke tried not to look interested as he listened. At least he knew she came up with a viable story. He was glad she didn't tell the gossip queen (some things never changed) that she had spent the last month as a cat living with him. Very glad. He wasn't sure how well everyone else would take it.
He was sure that there would be a variety of exclamations in the event of the news getting out. The only one that probably wouldn't comment much on it would be Neji, if only because, out of all of his friends, Neji and he respected each other's business too much to intrude. Neji was not here now, however, so he couldn't have counted on any support if the cat had been let out of the bag.
"Can you believe she's been living out on Fire Avenue the whole summer? Talk about bein' a stranger. From what I heard from Ino, she's been pretty busy anyway. That's why Ino never brought her up. Seems like Sakura stuck with the same die-hard study habits she had in high school. I got her number though, so she'll probably be dragged out with us sooner or later!"
That earned a chorus of agreement from the group.
Sasuke was mildly intrigued about what would happen when the next time he and Sakura were in the same room together.
-
-
Two hours. Sasuke had tried to fall asleep for the last two hours.
He had even turned in slightly earlier than normal, in an attempt to get a head start on the tossing and turning he knew he would do. It was only half past midnight now. On a normal day, he wouldn't have even gone to bed yet. He was a little tired of this.
He rolled over, away from his TV, and as if on cue, he imagined what a head of pink hair would look like laying on his sheets. Even though it was gone, his memory could still fabricate that vanilla-home smell, and it teased his nose like a passing breeze. He groaned and rolled over onto his back.
The sense of peace he had while owning a cat was gone. He missed that content feeling that used to be abundant. Now, it simply felt like he was missing something. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to be able to continue on with his life like something wasn't lost from it. Why wouldn't the thoughts leave him alone?
To think, about a week ago, he had been in a similar position as this. He had a cat, was happy with life, and was just going on with figuring out what he wanted. A week ago he had a beautiful woman sprawled on top of him, responding to his kiss like she belonged there…
He groaned again. He just couldn't win.
Well, he thought, at least she hadn't been naked. He didn't think he would have ever be able to sleep again if that happened. He briefly wondered why it hadn't, but he chalked it up to being the result of whatever magic she was put under. If he decided to even believe that tale in the first place. Her garb had consisted of something one would expect to wear at a clinic or something, so maybe she had been going home from there at the time?
He rolled over onto his other side, hoping that if he presented his back to that side of the room, those memories would take the hint and leave. He could see his clock from here, and he watched five full minutes tick by before he decided something had to be done.
Sitting up, he flicked on the light and rubbed as his eyes. This whole thing had to be put to rest, easy or not.
He got out of bed and started towards the living room. He couldn't believe he was about to do this.
Who knew though. Maybe something good would actually come out of it.
-
-
Sasuke didn't really know why he was here.
Okay, so that was a lie. He sort of knew why he was here, but he didn't know what he was doing here now. Sure, it may not have been very late for him, but other people (normal, non-cat people) were probably asleep. He stared at the door in front of him, labeled three-oh-seven, and wondered again what possessed him to come here tonight.
The hallway was quiet, and the two floors below in this apartment complex were the same. The hallways were lit with standard wall lights that came on at the appropriate time of the day. It hadn't been hard to listen as Naruto gave out her address to the group in the hope of reconnecting everyone, but it still surprised him that he was actually here.
He wasn't sure why he remembered the address in the first place. Here he was though, in front of Sakura's door.
He sat there for a few minutes, choosing now to think through his rash choice. He could always go home and pretend like this never happened, like he wasn't being slightly stalkerish by hovering outside of the door of a woman he had lived with for a month as another entity and then kissed and scared out of his house. She would never have to know.
He paced a little, going from side to side as he debated what to do. He really wanted to sleep though, and if he continued to mull over this unfinished business, he was going to run himself into the ground. If he just got this over with, he could finally have the peace he wanted.
But would it really be peace? He couldn't stop the little voice inside his head from speaking up. Part of his gut twisted as he thought about it. A part of him didn't want to settle this, in case everything was forgotten and he lost that content feeling forever. He didn't mind sharing his space with Cherry. He had gotten used to her being around, and he liked it after a while. It had taken a month, but it didn't change the fact that he did.
He thought about getting another cat for a brief moment, but then discarded the idea. For some reason, he had a feeling it was more due to the fact that it was Cherry, or Sakura, as the cat. He wasn't sure getting another one would feel the same, and if he couldn't have the same content feeling that he had, then he didn't want to go that route.
What did he want then? If not to go back to the way things were, then what?
He didn't know. After contemplating over the issue for a while, he still didn't have an answer. It was like a tide, he thought. One moment it was floating close enough to touch, but right when you stretched a hand out, it slipped through the fingers and back to low tide.
Stopping his pacing, bringing him in front of the door again, he sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere with this. He didn't even know what he wanted to say to Sakura, if he even wanted to say anything. That decided it. He was just going to go home. All he was accomplishing here was making an idiot out of himself (even if nobody was watching him), and Uchiha's were not idiots.
He turned to go when he heard the sliding of a bolt behind him. He froze, and he didn't miss hearing the quiet gasp that was let out from the apartment resident. Turning around slowly, he met emerald.
Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other for a moment, no sound coming from either one. Sakura still had a slightly surprised look on her face, and it didn't take Sasuke long to notice the dark rings that circled underneath her eyes. He was surprised she was even up, and he really hoped he didn't wake her in some way.
Why was he here again?
He wondered how she even knew he was out here. As far as he knew, his steps had been quiet, and he hadn't uttered a word. Did spending so long with him give her psychic powers or something?
"I thought I heard something. The third stair from the top on this level squeaks."
She heard that? He was slightly impressed. Was that a side effect from being a cat or what? He shook the thought away. He was not here to ponder her being a cat.
She probably wanted some sort of explanation, even though her face didn't hint towards it. He didn't blame her. If some strange guy that he hadn't seen in a long time was in front of his door at one in the morning he'd probably want some answers too. Well that was great, only he didn't know what to say.
He rubbed the back of his neck. The tips of his ears were not turning red. "I…" He trailed off and reverted his eyes to the ground. The carpet in the hall was an interesting shade of green. Glancing back up, he caught the smile that spread across her face. Her eyes softened, and she relaxed her hold on the door. He almost forgot to breathe.
Sensing his discomfort, she spoke. "I've been used to staying up late for a while I guess." She smiled wider for a moment as she let out a light breath, like she was sharing an inside joke with herself. He supposed she was used to staying up because he did. "I was…used to a lot of things."
Her smile dropped, but she wasn't frowning. It looked contemplative, if anything. He decided that she definitely seemed like a thinking type.
"Yeah. Me too." He offered one of his rare smiles when she looked at him, in an attempt to dispel the awkwardness that had come between them. He tried really hard not to think of last week.
She smiled at him again and gestured to her slightly ajar door. She hadn't closed it. "Would you like some tea?"
Sasuke found himself nodding. It's not like he could sleep anyway. Besides, he was a little curious about the girl that was his cat.
-
-
When Sakura had invited him into the living room, tray of tea in hand, she had taken a seat on the center cushion of the couch in front of the coffee table. Instead of taking the seat in the arm chair to the left of the couch like he thought he probable should, he surprised himself by taking a seat next to her. He thought it might be because he was used to being so close to her, no matter what form she was in. It just felt right, and she pulled him to her like a magnet. Who was he to fight it?
He didn't know how long he had been here, but he found himself not regretting his decision anymore.
He found that he liked to listen to her talk. The conversations were mostly one sided, as his habit of not speaking much hadn't changed, but he didn't mind. Her voice was soothing, and it put him at ease. He found himself relaxing for the first time all week.
Actually, now that he thought about it, being with her now didn't feel any different than when she was curled up on his lap as Cherry. Technically, she was the same person, only now she could hold an intelligent (and he was right, she had way better things to say than the guys) conversation with him. He still didn't really want to think about how the whole cat thing was possible, so he decided to ignore that little detail.
As the night wore on, he participated a little more in talking, realizing that spending time like this was hardly different from when they used to. He opened up little enough to not be distant, but not too much that he sounded like any of the others. There were bits of his personality that weren't going to change.
He found Sakura easier to talk to too. That may have been related to the fact that he had a month's worth of time into it already.
It didn't seem to matter to her that he said so little though. When he did say something, he didn't miss the way her eyes lit up and her smile widened. When he was actually able to make her laugh, he decided that that was the sweetest sound he ever heard, and resolved to hear more of it.
She also didn't seem to have many hang-ups about personal space. It could've been that it was just him, and she practically knew him already, but he noticed she sometimes put her hand on his arm as she spoke. That connection spoke volumes to him. As Cherry, she had done the same thing to get his attention or when something was off. He remembered when he had women troubles and she was there for him, doing what she was doing now, only with less words.
A few things became clearer for him.
"You know, it's the strangest thing, but I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a week." He had noticed the circles earlier, and even though they were less noticeable when she was smiling, they were still there.
"Me either. You weren't there to sing me to sleep." He was referring to the purring, naturally, and it sent Sakura into a fit of giggles.
He liked that things seemed easy between them. It was almost like she had never left, or that she had always been there. He was content now, with just the two of them sitting here drinking tea and talking. She seemed happy. They were just spending time together.
Maybe some things were that simple.
She was a medical student. She got busy sometimes, like he did, and rarely did anything but bury herself in her work. She was smart, dedicated, and beautiful, and he looked forward to learning anything more about her. She was the type of person he could see himself spending time with regularly.
In that moment, Sasuke made another decision. He decided what he wanted.
It had gone quiet, but she still had her hand on his thigh. Picking it up, he held it in both of his hands before looking at her. She looked at him in question with her head tilted to the side, just like she did as Cherry on their first meeting. He took a deep breath, hoping he wasn't making a mistake.
He swooped in to kiss her softly, but pulled away quickly before he could get carried away. He didn't move back very far, and he could feel her breath against his lips. He was almost tempted to kiss her again, but he remembered that he hadn't exactly gotten a reaction from the first one yet.
She reacted favorably the first time, and one good turn deserved another most of the time, but he didn't know what she would do now. He mentally prepared himself for a slap that could very well come and was relieved when it didn't.
He might have been being a little forward, but he had a month's head start right? From what he thought, very little had changed. He searched her eyes, seeing the confusion at his actions melt away as a smile bloomed on her face. She gripped his hand a little tighter, as he was still holding it, and Sasuke relaxed a little. At least it looked like she wasn't going to hit him.
"Would you like to go to dinner tomorrow?" His voice was just over a whisper. They were still merely inches apart. He glanced over to the clock on the wall. "Well, later today?"
He didn't breathe as it was silent for a moment, thinking that maybe he read her wrong. She pulled back a little, but he was relived as her smile stayed. He watched as she brought her unoccupied hand up to his face, not being able to help the small flinch. She paused for a second before laying her hand on his cheek, looking like all her wishes had been granted.
"I'd love to." She spoke just as soft as he had, and before Sasuke could mentally cheer his success, she was kissing him again, and he forgot just about everything else.
-
-
Later, when the clock had passed four in the morning, the soft like from the living room as still visible, but the room's occupants did not get up to turn it off.
On the couch, Sasuke was using the soft armrest as an impromptu pillow, a calm look on his face as he slept. Sakura was laying on him, head resting on his chest, also fast asleep. He had a hand on her back, holding her to him while the other remained intertwined with hers. Sakura's other hand was fisted in his shirt. They would later say it was the best sleep they had ever gotten.
A lifetime's worth of struggles melted away as they got the rest they deserved, weary from the journey of getting what they wanted.
-Fin
And there we have it. Thank you to all who read. I hope you liked it. Let me know if you think I should continue this theme with other pairings. =^.^=
