Querencia

Chapter Ten

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Sakura choked on her own spit and began coughing so hard that her face turned beet red. Hastily reaching for the water bottle in the car's cup holders, she took a big gulp. Eyes all watered from the attack she just had, Sakura turned her attention out the window and attempted to recompose herself. But that was easier said than done. Why? Because freaking Uchiha Sasuke just bluntly asked her out as if he was asking if she wanted ice cream or something.

They had stopped at a red light during the whole ordeal and it made it all the more awkward.

A heavy silence settled over them, thicker than the uneasy tension in the air. Silence had always accompanied them, since Sasuke was never much of a talker. But Sakura had usually taken on the role of the one to fill those empty rides with chatter. Now though, she could barely squeak out a single word. She shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat and wiped her clammy hands onto the material of her outfit.

Not being used to the awkward silence, Sakura glanced unceremoniously out the car's windows in order to avoid catching his side glances he would take from time to time. Eventually though, she could barely stand it anymore. Deciding that the silence had been prolonged more than enough, she braced herself and turned to face him.

As she opened her mouth to reply, her phone rang loudly from her backpack, surprisingly coming to her rescue. Sakura could barely contain her sigh of relief. She broke eye contact with Sasuke, the ringing snapping the both of them out of their revivre a moment later. Sasuke turned his attention back onto the road again as she answered the phone.

Before she could even get a 'hello' out, Naruto was already screaming her ear off. "Sakura! You have to help me! I think I killed Hinata with my cooking! She's dying in the bathroom. Please help me!"

As she attempted to calm down the panicking blonde, she would steal a glance at Sasuke from time to time. But each time she did, he looked as stoic as ever, not even fazed by what had just happened between the two of them. He seemed completely unbothered and had his eyes trained forward on the road. Sakura knew better though, she was sure that inside, he was a raging mess.

.

She felt nervousness course through her veins as she spotted him outside the interview building, mindlessly scrolling away on his phone, a suit jacket draped over one of his arm. Sakura hadn't seen him for more than two seconds in the past couple of weeks. With her tightly packed work schedule on top of the increasing intense homework, she barely had time to go outside of her dorm room. Include all of the awkwardness that had been brewing between the two of them, Sakura made little to no attempt to see him in the past weeks.

As she walked up to him, the loud clicking of her heels alerted him of her presence. She barely had a chance to open her mouth and greet him when he snapped his head up in her direction, dark eyes pinning her down in her steps. She stopped just a few inches away from him as she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, averting her gaze down to her feet. "Hey…"

"Hn."

"How have you been?"

"Busy."

"Oh, same." Sakura replied, sighing internally. Of course, leave it to Sasuke to make small talk near impossible. Taking a deep breath, she decided to just go along with it. "College has not been nice to me lately. Apparently, all of my professors think it's such a brilliant idea to schedule all of their exams in the same week. It's so annoying… You would think they would understand that I have a life outside of classes…"

By the end of her sudden rant, Sasuke had pocketed his phone and had his full attention on her, much to her embarrassment. Sakura could not believe she just made a complete fool of herself like that, acting like everything was normal and running her big mouth off. Feeling heat rise up to her face, Sakura avoided his gaze and looked over his shoulder.

But it was nice though that she was able to vent out some of her bottled up emotions that she was holding onto for the past couple of weeks. Sasuke was honestly the only person that she felt completely free to rant or talk to when she had a lot on her mind. He would always let her talk his ear off until she was out of breath before offering to take her out for something sweet to cheer her up.

Even with everything that had happened, it looked like her Sasuke was still there for her as he asked, "Have you been getting enough sleep?"

"Yeah, I've -," Sakura was cut short as she felt something wet drop onto her nose, then two, then before she knew it, the sky started pouring down rain, hard.

She barely had anytime to comprehend the situation until Sasuke had thrown his jacket over her head without a second thought and pulled her into his arms before dashing inside the building.

The two of them were out of breath by the time they made it inside. Biting her lip, Sakura tried to suppress the chattering of the her teeth as the cool air enveloped her slightly damp body. Pulling the jacket a little tighter around her body, she took a glance at Sasuke. Having given her his jacket, Sasuke had taken the full beating; the ends of his ebony hair was dripping with rain and the top half of his white dress shirt completely see through.

It was there standing in the empty corridor, that Sakura was finally able to take in what had just happened and what had lead them there. Despite the time that they had spent apart, nothing had really changed between them. She had realized that the moment it began pouring, she had ran to Sasuke for protection and Sasuke had given her his jacket for shelter without a second thought. As she watched him run a hand through his wet locks, her heart began to beat a little faster in her chest. A sudden warmth bloomed from within her chest, brewing slowly at first, then suddenly and overwhelming spreading throughout her whole body. Just looking at him scowl at his more than damp clothes, Sakura couldn't help but smile. She couldn't believe that she had managed to get through the past few weeks without him in her life, barely to be truly honest.

She reached into her purse and pulled out a couple of tissues, handing it to him. Her ears picked up a quiet mumble of a 'thank you' from him as he ruffled his hair, sending small droplets of water onto the floor.

After drying himself as best that he could even with a drenched shirt, Sasuke returned his gaze back onto her. Giving her outfit a once over, he was glad to see that she was dry for the most part. He took his suit jacket from her and gave it a good shake, sending another series of water droplets onto the floor. As he fixed the collar of her blouse, he asked, "Your pharmacy school interview is tonight isn't it?"

A shiver ran down her spine as she felt his fingers brush across her collarbone for a split second. Her mouth was too dry for her to speak. Nodding, she breathed out, "Yeah. It's actually in a couple minutes."

Retracting his hand, he lifted his chin in the direction of the interview rooms. "You should get going then."

"Hmm, I should." Sakura replied back, a tid bit hesitantly. She remained rooted in her spot, her legs not moving as she locked eyes with him.

As she clasped her hands behind her back nervously, gnawing on her bottom lip, Sasuke let out a little snort of amusement. Walking up to her, he gave her a little push in the direction of the interview rooms. "Go, Sakura. I'll be here."

.

Hearing the familiar sound of heels hitting against tile, Sasuke looked up from his phone. Just as he had assumed, it was Sakura. Meeting her halfway, he asked, "How did it go?"

She didn't even bother saying anything, instead choosing to throw her arms around his neck and hugging him close, giggling.

Her actions had taken him by surprise. He didn't think she would return back to how they used to be so quick, not that he minded at all. Hands slowly slipping down onto the lower part of her back, he hugged her close, breathing in her soft floral scent. The moment that he felt her arms squeeze a fraction tighter around his neck, he breathed out slowly, his muscles loosening up. She sighed into his neck as she melted into his hold, warming him up. Hugs like this, he had alway relished in the past but honestly, Sasuke did take them for granted. It wasn't until the distance that grew between them following the events that day, that he missed it greatly.

So reluctantly, he pulled away, yet hands still lingering around her waist. Ebony eyes locking with emerald ones, he raised an eyebrow, "I'm assuming it went well then?"

Smiling brightly, she nodded. "Made it through the first round! They'll contact me later next week for more information on the next round of interviews."

"That calls for celebration, yes?"

Shrugging, she said, "Eh, not really. Haven't made it into the program for sure yet."

"But you're one step closer."

"I am but it's not certain."

Sasuke couldn't help but roll his eyes over her incredibly annoying humble response. Draping his suit jacket over her shoulders, he led her out the door. "Fine, but there's something else to celebrate, isn't there?"

Brows pinching in confusion, Sakura gave him a blank look.

Shaking his head, he continued to lead her out. It wasn't until they were outside, passing by under a street lamp that she felt something warm envelope her hand. She felt him run his thumb over her knuckles as he tightened his hold. Shocked, Sakura snapped her head up and stared at him, but he paid her no heed as he continued to look forward. But under the light of the moon, she could pick out a faint dust of pink on the tips of his ears. Replaying their conversation in her head once more, her bottom lip dropped.

'...but there's something else to celebrate, isn't there?'

She clamped her mouth shut and she couldn't help but allow a wide smile to form on her lips as she grasped his fingers a little tighter, giving it a light squeeze.

.

Naruto wasn't really sure how he managed it but he got both of his best friends to leave the comfort of their own places, pulling their noses out of those damn textbooks, to attend his spontaneous friday night party. Wild, crowded college parties like this were never their thing.

The music was blasting so loud from the speakers that it made even his ears tingle. The bass was thumping in time with his heart beat, filling his body from head to toe with the rhythm. Over the roar of the music, the constant chattering coming from everyone was barely hearable. For even the person standing right next to him, he would have to shout back so that they can hear what he said. But that was how Naruto liked it.

Until a random red-head tapped him on the shoulder, shouting, "Are they together?"

Naruto looked in the direction that he was pointing and his eyes landed on Sasuke's body leaning against the kitchen counter as he listened to Sakura talk about something animatedly. He watched as Sasuke would lean in closer to the girl every so often to hear her words better, sometimes even chuckling. Their closeness wasn't exactly foreign news to him, his two best friends were always close like that. Turning back to the redhead, Naruto shrugged, "No, not really."

Beaming, although a little astonished at the blond's response, he said, "Really? Nice, that means I have a shot." The redhead rubbed the back of his neck, slightly bashful, "You think she'll be interested?"

"What?" Naruto exclaimed. "No! What? You can't do that!"

The redhead raised a single eyebrow at his sudden reaction, "Why not? She's not taken. You just said that she's single."

"But Sakura's kind of spoken for," Naruto began. "Everyone knows that."

"So, are they together...?"

"Well, they're kinda, sorta, almost… actually, yeah. They're together."

Confused, the redhead sighed, "But you just said they weren't."

"Well it's complicated!" Naruto retorted hotly.

And it was complicated.

He didn't have a single clue at what was going on between Sasuke and Sakura but he was sure it was something. Something was brewing between the two for sure. Judging from how Sasuke looked at her a lot less longingly and more adoringly, he bet there had been a shift in where they stood with one another. Definitely beyond a friendship level, Naruto was certain. Whether it was official or not, he guessed he'll just have to wait and see.

{A/N}: And three weeks later... I present to you, the long awaited chapter ten, whoops~ But sorry guys, life has just been busy and college + work has not been any better. Also, thank you for all your kind wishes. Accident wasn't super major, no injuries, thankfully. Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter~ And if you don't like the slow pace of the story... then that's that. I have my reasons for slowly kindling their romance :)

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Oh! Thank you for getting this story to 100+ reviews and follows~

Thanks to: Dropsofchocolate, XxXFiReBeNdErXxX, FlowSoreto, LuminaJu, crazymel2008, xXxSmartCookiexXx, 7HeartAndSoul7, Sacred3, Emily da great, asma raya, Shannon Rei D. Sumner, uchiha. sakura. 23, Larshapeach, Izzy, Blueheart 16, memyselfandI98, Jeshimashe, EverBear01, ILoveSxS, jrenamae1, and multiple guest anons.