In Suna, it's always hot.

I haven't been here since I was a kid. My parents took my brother and me to the beach for a few days over summer vacation. I remember getting bad sunburn and my hermit crab ran away.

Still, though, it's weird how well you remember places you haven't been in awhile till you're there again. It's weird how good people are at forgetting the things that don't matter at the time, and remembering them full force when they do matter again. I haven't been to Suna since I was six years old. Thirteen years ago. But I know exactly where to find the Starbucks at the airport.

It was a longer flight, though, than I remember. And now that I've got a girlfriend (even hearing it in my own thoughts is fucking surreal) that shit matters. If I hadn't found Sakura again, I don't think any distance from Konoha could have been far enough. Without my family, it didn't feel like home anyways. The penthouse the team pays me to live in, the pictures I don't have on the walls, the friends I don't invite over because I don't want anyone seeing how empty this perfect life of mine is. Leaving Konoha for any stretch of time wouldn't have been a catastrophe; if anything, it might have been a salvation.

It's different now, though. I've got someone at home waiting for me to come back. I've got someone who worries about me now, who accepts me for all the shit I do and have done, who doesn't want me because I'm rich and famous.

It's different now. A lot's different now.

I miss her already. I'll shoot myself before I admit it out loud, but I miss her already. The Styrofoam cup in my hands is full of Sakura's favorite coffee as the Konoha baseball team makes its way through the crowded airport into the hot Suna sun.


I'm starting to get excited for this now. That's another thing that's different. I wasn't excited about baseball season before, even if it was my dream come true once upon a time when I didn't scoff at phrases like 'dream come true' and 'once upon a time.' It was something I accepted myself doing with a bitter sort of irony. Like 'good job, asshole, you finally made it…too bad your dead family wouldn't have wanted this for you anyways.' I was waiting to fuck everything up for the team because that's all I've ever been good at dong. Fucking things up that matter.

Seriously. Look at my track record.

Seriously.

But it's different now. There's this charged kind of energy not just inside me, but in the whole fucking team. I'm eager to get on the field again. I'm eager to get behind the batter and fuck up his at-bat. I'm eager to bare-hand a ball and gun down a baserunner. I'm eager to feel the vibrating timbre of the bat in my hands as I smash the shit out of a fastball thrown by a professional pitcher because I AM that good and I fucking EARNED this.

Naruto finds me on the team bus, he always does. He's on the phone, though, chatting loud and long all about Suna, even though we've only been in the fucking city for twenty minutes, just left the airport. He sits down next to me and I hear parts of his conversation with his girlfriend.

"…hot as hell, but you should come down and see us! We're heading over to our field now. Yeah, they assign all the teams a different place to play, and we start scrimmaging against the other teams at the end of the week! Should be great, babe! Uh, I don't know if they have visiting hours, I'm pretty sure if you wanted to come down you could."

I think abruptly of Sakura, and I imagine what she might look like on these pristine white sand Suna beaches and now it's not just my heart that misses her, but my whole body. I want her to come see me. I want her to visit me, even if I said it didn't matter.

She doesn't have a lot of money. That's always been true about her, even back in high school. She always had a job while the rest of us were fucking around blowing our inheritance money or our daddy's money or whatever. But Sakura earns every penny she has, she takes care of herself, and it's one of the things I like best about her. She's the kind of girl who doesn't need anyone; it makes you work that much harder to be one of the people she actually likes having around. That way, you know you're there because she wants you, not because she needs you.

Maybe I'll fly her out myself. I'm already making all kinds of commitments to her without really having to think about it, like the apartment key I handed over like it was nothing.

Worth it, though. To see that look in her eyes, like I gave her the world. I gave you MY world, pretty girl, whatever you want out of it you can have it just don't leave me alone.

"You know what, Hinata? You should totally bring Sakura with you when you come down! You should see the look on Sasuke's face right now, he's completely lovestoned!"

I throw Naruto the filthiest glare I can muster, but I feel it lacking the necessary venom. Sakura's gone and changed that about me, too. Annoyed, I look out the window of the bus as the driver pulls away from the airport.

"All right, I miss you, too, believe it! Can't wait to see you in the stands cheering for me! I love you, too!"

Naruto hangs up and rounds on me almost instantly.

"Didja call Sakura and let her know we got here safe?" he asks, like it's any of his business, and if he wasn't my best friend, I'd probably yell at him for intruding.

"Hn. No."

"Dude! Girls worry about that kind of stupid thing! Call her! Tell her I said hi."

I roll my eyes, but he's got a point. I have to remember that there are new rules now in this game I'm playing. I'm not looking out for just myself anymore; there's a pretty girl back home, and maybe she's sitting on my bed right now missing me and I hope she is, anyway, and she's worrying about me while I'm away living my dream. I have to keep reminding myself of that, because fuck do I love it from the bottom of my useless soul that I have a girl waiting for me.

But I ain't talking to my girl in front of Naruto, or any of these other asshole teammates of mine. So I pull out my cell phone and text her instead.

"To: Sakura

Suna's hot. Don't forget to lock your door."

And then there's proof that she's waiting for me, proof that makes me inflate on the inside because this girl must love me back. She texts back immediately.

"From: Sakura

Don't you dare dehydrate. Drink plenty of fluids and keep your ass in the gym and your eye on the ball; I don't want you embarrassing me on Opening Day striking out your first time at bat. :)"

Shit. I knew the whole time I was falling for her but now I think I've hit rock bottom.


It's a different atmosphere down here at the Suna stadiums. Just knowing all the other teams have arrived and are working hard to try and beat us, it makes all of us work harder. But it's so fucking hot, I can't help but feel like the Suna Suns have a distinct advantage over all of us. They're used to sweating their dicks off in these horrific conditions.

Still, the first day of camp goes well. Coach Gai's been working with Naruto on his pitches, and he's starting to look pretty solid. Coach Asuma's been working with me behind the plate showing me shit I never thought to learn back in high school; he's optimistic about how I'm doing and it makes me push myself hard because I really have a chance here, don't i? I have a second chance I don't deserve to make it. To leave 'reaching for the stars' behind me, to help this team I've rooted for since I could crawl, to be a part of something bigger and more important than myself.

I have a chance. It's not where I thought I'd be, calling pitches instead of throwing them. It's not who I thought I'd be, getting yelled at for texting in the dugout because my smoking hot girlfriend can't figure out how to use the DVR on the TV in my bedroom back home and needs me to explain it. It's nothing like I pictured.

It's better.

I'M better.

I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I'm also completely, dare I say it, in love with my life at the moment. If it IS going to collapse in a fiery vortex of shit and fuckery like it usually does, I'm going to enjoy every second of it before then.

So yeah. Practice goes well. Real well. I'm tired, but it's the good kind of tired. The tired that follows when you've pushed yourself as hard as you can. The tired that has me staggering into a hot shower in my hotel room a few blocks from the practice stadium to loosen the kinks in my muscles.

I feel a little better after that. I tug on a T-shirt and some shorts and thank every god in the universe for hotel air conditioning as I lay down on the bed. I lazily turn the TV on but nothing holds my interest for very long, not even televised coverage of Konoha's first day at camp. They're covering the dramatic, unexpected, last-minute position change between me and Naruto, but I don't even care. Let them be surprised or scandalized or whatever; I'm a catcher now, and I love it.

Smirking at the peacefulness in my own thoughts, I pull my cell phone out and call Sakura.

She answers on the first ring.

"Hey!" Her voice is happy and upbeat and almost breathless. I can picture the smile she's wearing on that movie star face of hers and it warms something inside me. "Sasuke, hi! How are you?"

"Hn. Good. Did you figure out the DVR?" I'm amused. She's brilliant, she's smart as hell, but she has absolutely no technology savvy whatsoever. It's easy to imagine her frustrated expression as she tries to puzzle out which remote controls which system on my admittedly impressive collection, the way she must be pouting over her incompetence, the way she'll bite her lip and…

"Nah, I gave up," she giggles. "Whatever. I don't know what's wrong with a VCR, honestly. You just press record."

"Tch. Useless."

But fondness coats my voice like a salve.

"Enough about that, though! I'm watching the highlights from your practice today, Sasuke, you look incredible!" Coming from any other girl in the universe, that might be a testament to my looks. But I picked a girl who knows the shit out of baseball, and the compliment carries a lot more weight. "It's great that you have a pitching background, your throw to second in the fifth inning looked like it had to be 100 mph! And when you tagged the runner going to third in the bottom of the eighth? Sasuke you look like a pro already!"

"I AM a pro," I remind her, smirking.

"How's Suna? Probably beautiful. It snowed today after you left, Sasuke! Snowed!"

"It's hot. It's too sunny."

"You have the opportunity to travel the world, and all you do is complain!" she scolds me. Annoying, annoying, annoying and MINE. "Get out there and enjoy yourself! Just not with other girls, or I'll kill you."

My smirk widens. I can't resist an opportunity to tease her.

"Too little, too late."

"Excuse me?"

"Sakura I'm a professional athlete. I've got girls dangling off me everywhere I go. But if it makes you uncomfortable, I can ask the four in my hot tub to leave."

She's got me teasing her. Who the hell am I these days?!

"No, no, no, you go enjoy yourself," she tells me, pissed and amused all at once, the way I like her best. "Just remember I have a key to your place and I will ruin your life. And the five guys lying with me on your bed right now will help me do it. You think Konoha's Minor League team is gonna stick to warming the bench for you this season?"

Something primal rises in my chest, this crazy kind of caveman possessiveness; I sit up a little straighter, grab the phone a little tighter, and growl into the speaker, "Nice try, Sa-ku-ra." I snarl her name the way I know she likes, and she gasps a little on the other end, tries to keep it quiet but I hear it anyway. "You're on my bed right now, huh?"

She catches the fevered arousal in my voice and almost purrs back, "And I wish you were here with me."

Her words are innocent in and of themselves, but soaked in suggestion. Much like Sakura herself. It's only been barely 18 hours since I slept with her and I feel like I'm starving now.

"I'd pound you right into the mattress if I were," I growl into the phone, and she gasps again. "You fucking little tease. That bed's for you to keep warm till I get back. You alone. Understand?"

Sakura sighs exaggeratedly. "A scolding, huh? Boo. And just when it was getting to the good part." Then, she laughs. "Well, if I figure out how to use Skope or whatever, we can see each other at least over the computer, right?"

"It's 'Skype,' Sakura," I sigh impatiently, but this is a whole new avenue I haven't even thought to explore yet. Getting to actually see Sakura's face while we're apart? The possible sexual implications of this are not lost on me, because I'm 19, I'm healthy, and my girlfriend's fucking gorgeous and a wildcat in bed. "But yeah. Figure it out. Then I can make sure you don't have the Konoha Minor League team in and out of my apartment."

"Penthouse, Sasuke," she corrects me.


Sakura tells me good night an hour or so later; I hear the exhaustion in her voice and know she's got a lot on her plate right now, besides me. And I love that about her. I love that she's her own person. She's got her own dreams, her own wishes, her own desires; she's working on a premed major, she's got a busy social life, she holds down a job and an apartment, she plays softball…

Anyway. I let her go, and miss her a little harder. It'll be a month before the team heads back to Konoha, but when I mentioned that to Sakura, she scoffed at me like I was being ridiculous.

"Sasuke. PLEASE focus on what you're doing! This is amazing. This is the coolest thing that could possibly happen to you. Enjoy it. Konoha will still be here when the month is up."

She's right, the meddlesome little thing. So I lay back down on the bed (it's comfortable for a hotel) and shut my eyes; we've got a hell of a workout planned, one that's gonna kick my ass even harder than it was kicked today. I'm some kind of insane person, the kind of insane person who thrives on punishing, grueling workouts that leave me bruised and broken only to keep coming back for more.

Like an abused girlfriend.

Sakura figures out Skype. I'm pleased. It's a nice surprise after the workout to end all workouts, a text telling me to let her know when I get back to the hotel, so we can try it out. And I can't believe these are the kinds of things I have to worry about now: how to teach my girlfriend how to use an Internet program so I can see her face more often.

I shower and turn on my laptop and open the program and there she is. She must've just gotten out of softball practice because her cheeks are flushed and her hair's thrown up in a messy, careless ponytail unlike how impeccably-styled she wears it any other day. She looks surprised to see me on the screen, and lets out a delighted shriek.

"I see you!" she exclaims, thrilled, a smile on her face that lights up Suna all over again, even though it's dark. An excited laugh. A fluttery round of self-applause. "I figured it out! This is awesome!"

I smirk, amused by how proud of herself she is. "Hey."

My mind immediately drops to the gutter. It's not my fault. She's the best sex I ever had, and prior to my leaving, I was getting it from her every day. Multiple times. Her experience and my experience and this terrifying connection between us all combine to make me starving for her, and I am a split second from telling her to take off her shirt and let me see underneath when the door to my hotel room is thrown open.

"Hey, asshole!" Naruto says cheerfully, a cup of instant ramen in his hands as he sprawls himself out comfortably on my bed like he owns it. I glare at him, but his attention is caught by the girl in the computer. "HI, SAKURA! HOW ARE YOU?"

Sakura giggles. "Hey, Naruto. Saw you on TV today! Stellar pitching, absolutely stellar."

"BELIEVE IT!" Naruto grabs the laptop out of my hands and has no idea how close I am to ripping his head off. "Didja see me strike out Kotetsu?!"

"Sure did," she replies, clearly amused by his stupid reactions, and all I want to do is murder him for interrupting.

Still, though. Since I introduced them a month ago, Naruto and Sakura have gotten along like crazy. I won't ever say it out loud (much like most of the things I'm thinking on a minute-to-minute basis) but I like the friendship we've got going. Naruto's intrusive on my relationship with Sakura without meaning to be, she's overly tolerant of it, and I'm not as pissed as I should be for his constant cockblocking. He's not a threat to me. The three of us, it's comfortable. It's like it was always supposed to happen, our friendship.

So I sit and stew in my irritation as Naruto regales my smoking hot girlfriend with a long-winded, mostly-fictionalized account of his strikeout of one of the best batters on our team. And there's another practice tomorrow so I ice down my knees when Sakura orders me to, and I mentally tick off another day in my head until the team heads back to Konoha.

I'm enjoying myself, I really am. This is my fucking dream, and I'm living it.

But there's something waiting for me back home that's even better than this.

A bossy, snarky, technologically-challenged annoyance that's looking more and more like my dream come true every day.


note.. Well, I really couldn't resist a Sasuke-crazy-in-love chapter. Build him up buttercup baby, and all that. Problems to come, though. I promise.

I also promise a happy ending because I literally can't type anything else.

And to answer the question: since the Phillies are out of contention this year, I will be rooting for the Giants in the World Series. I can't stand the Cardinals for eliminating the Phillies last year, plus Hunter Pence, my beloved (who is playing like garbage since he misses me) now plays for San Francisco. And if someone gets to have a ring this year, it better go right on his handsome finger.

SIGH.

Love you guys. How'd I do?

xoxo Day-Z.