sticks and stones
xiii: read: just stfu and get with the program.

A little before midnight, Sakura saw Lee to the door.

She knew he was waiting for their usual goodbye; a shy smile, and maybe even a hug, before he gave her the thumbs up sign and went on his way. But somehow, she felt he deserved more than that.

"Is something the matter, Sakura-san?" Her boyfriend looked concerned.

She shook her head, her smile weak. "No, nothing. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Well…" She played with her fingers, averting her gaze to the floor. "Just close your eyes for a sec, okay?" She flushed deeply at the thought, heartbeat speeding up just a little. Her eyes darted towards him. "No peeking!"

Lee, looking a little taken aback, did as he was told.

They both stood there for a long moment—Sakura, contemplating, and Lee, with his eyes closed. Finally, she shuffled a little closer to him. His body shifted ever so slightly to adjust to their closer proximity, but his eyes were kept shut the entire time. Sakura tentatively raised herself to her tiptoes and placed two hesitant hands on his shoulders.

She could not believe she was actually going through with this.

Very shakily, she pressed her lips to his for the shortest of moments. When he opened his eyes again, he looked absolutely shell-shocked and speechless. Actually, it was quite amusing.

"Sakura…-san?" he asked weakly, voice suddenly raspy.

She smiled shyly before looking away, hiding her steadily darkening cheeks. "I think you should go. Your parents are going to be worried."

There was a pause when neither of them moved. Finally, she heard his body shifting on the floor as he reached for the door. "Goodnight, Sakura," Lee said softly.

She felt a warm emotion welling up in her chest, although she wasn't sure what it was. She looked up just in time to see the door closing behind him.

"Goodnight, Lee."

"Alright, are you guys ready to partay?" Naruto asked, grinning.

Ino laughed excitedly. "You did not just say that." She looked a lot happier tonight, he noticed, compared to when she broke up with Kiba. Naruto liked a smiling Ino much more than he did a crying one.

"Partay," he repeated for emphasis. "Par-tay."

"Shut up, dobe."

Sasuke, too. Even Sakura. In fact, Naruto thought, today was like some sort of magic spell. Everyone just suddenly brightened up.

He liked his friends so much more this way.

It was…different.

Not a bad kind of different—just different.

Kissing Lee was different from kissing Sasuke—they were opposite ends of the spectrum—but she liked that. Each of them gave her different feelings. Perhaps, right now, she couldn't differentiate them yet, but it wasn't as if she had to figure it out right away.

"Sakura." She looked over at Sasuke, a feeling a tingling emotion in her stomach. She could still remember when he kissed her that one day in his dorm—

"Yeah?"

Sasuke shifted closer to her on the couch, his voice lowered. "What did Lee talk to you about?" His lips were set into a scowl—in a way, it was kind of cute.

Unexpected tears sprung to her eyes as she smiled softly. "He wanted to…break up with me."

If he was surprised, he didn't show it. "And why's that?"

"Something about mistreating me…me not being happy…a bunch of crap, really." She sniffed a little, rubbing her nose sheepishly. "Before, I thought that I'd be happy, being free of him—but when it came down to it, I suppose I just can't let him go."

There was silence for a while. "Everyone moves at their own pace. How do you feel?" It might have been her imagination, but he sounded a little strained. She was probably hallucinating, or something; Sasuke would never be strained in any way, shape, or form.

"Alright. I made him promise that we'll still be going out until tomorrow ends."

"Why tomorrow?"

"Just…preparing myself, I guess." A little ways in front of them, near the television, Naruto and Ino were arguing over which horror movie to watch. "It would've been too abrupt tonight."

She thought she heard him mutter something under his breath, but she wasn't sure.

Ino then promptly plopped on the other side of Sakura, while Naruto raced into the kitchen to make popcorn before the previews of the movie ended.

"Ready for the all-nighter, you guys?" their blonde friend asked enthusiastically, turning the volume on the television to its highest. She felt Sasuke's body flinch a bit beside her—surely, he was afraid for the future of his house, the way things were going.

"Yes," Sakura said, grinning, all traces of her tears gone.

She was going to make the best of tonight.

Okay. She could do this. She could do this.

She'd done this before. She'd let it be known to Naruto that she has feelings for him. It wasn't as if she hadn't done that before. And, unlike Kiba, she was sure that Naruto would do anything in his power to keep her happy.

A grotesque face popped up in the screen, and she and Sakura let out simultaneous screams. Ino grabbed onto Naruto's arm in a death grip, genuinely terrified.

"That's the sixth time," Naruto complained beside her. "You're going to rip off my arm soon."

…She couldn't do this.

Something in Sasuke made him wish that Sakura would cling onto him as much as Ino did to Naruto.

And something else in Sasuke made him want to vomit at the thought.

He was beginning to think that he had a multiple personality disorder. As of late, it seemed as though he was arguing with himself ("I said I want a mocha." "I always get black coffee, bitch."), and second-guessing himself as well. When it came down to it, it was kind of annoying.

Grab onto my arm. Or my hand. Or something. It's there for a reason.

No. That was a joke. Don't touch me, you sick girl.

There was one thing that Sasuke hated the most, and that was being indecisive. Not being able to draw a line as to where his feelings started and ended was frustrating. Seeing Sakura and wanting to smile and scowl at the same time made it difficult for his lips. Out of the corner of his eye, he glared at the pink-haired girl.

I can't believe she didn't want to break up with Lee. That's offensive.

Good. Now I'll have a reason to not do anything to her.

He thought for a while a the horror movie played on, and finally decided to stop being indecisive.

It was just bothersome to be all annoyed about it. Granted, Sasuke was better at being angry and impassive and all, but it wasn't always a nice thing. It was a lot easier and more pleasant, he noticed, to just let himself be happy (in his own Sasuke-ish way) around Sakura.

So until he found a better reason to be happy, he wouldn't mind if Sakura was his reason to smile.

(Er, smirk.)

The hours of the night wasted away…

"Give that, teme!" Naruto screamed as he reached out for the Boardwalk card that was in Sasuke's hand.

Ino giggled, and shifted her body a little closer to him. He didn't seem to mind. Or notice.

Sakura offered a spoonful of her chocolate ice cream to Sasuke. "It's not going to kill you."

"Hn." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and turned away.

"Come on, just try! I bet you've never even had chocolate ice cream before."

"Because it looks like shit."

"…Thanks for ruining my appetite."

"Good. All it'll do is make you fatter, anyway."

And so Sasuke experienced Sakura's hidden wrath.

"You and Sasuke are going to make a great couple."

"Shut up, Pig. He doesn't like me."

"He does! Look at the way he glances at you every two seconds."

"He doesn't."

"Why don't you actually look and check for yourself?"

"…Okay, he does, but that doesn't signify anything."

"Heh."

"And what about you and Naruto? I know you guys have something going on."

"…We don't."

"Don't even start that with me."

Pause. "Well…I do kind of like him, but that doesn't mean that anything's going to happen. He's too stupid to even realize that I'm a girl."

"No, he's not! He thinks you're one of the hottest girls he knows. And plus, it's good that you're over Kiba, right?"

"Yeah, shut up, Forehead."

"You're welcome."

"Turn it up," Sakura said.

"Turn it down," Sasuke demanded at exactly the same time.

They glanced at each other.

"It's fine just the way it is," she finally grumbled in defeat, slumping deeper into the couch, and subconsciously leaning towards Sasuke's body as the hours of the late night (early morning? She had lost count a little while ago) wasted away.

Naruto was already asleep, head resting in Ino's lap, who didn't seem to mind in the least. Her fingers were playing with a lock of his hair.

"Sakura," Sasuke suddenly said. He hadn't said anything to her since she and Ino had put on the chick flick. "How are you feeling?"

A part of her wondered why he was asking this, but some (stupid) voice inside her said that maybe, just maybe, what Ino had told her earlier was true. But she didn't really want to think about it—it was a little overwhelming.

She smiled, somehow knowing exactly what he was referring to. "Better. A lot better, actually." Tonight had showed her that even if she lost Lee, he'd still be a friend—and she still had Sasuke, Naruto, and Ino. And even without a boyfriend who cared about her to the other end of the world, she could still be incredibly happy.

"Good."

It was silent for a while, before she muttered something about borrowing his shoulder for a while before resting her head on it and promptly closing her eyes. Sasuke was comfortable. Sasuke was warm.

Sasuke was Sasuke.

And that was just enough.

…and resulted in something indescribable.

She spent the entire day with him.

Up until now, Sakura didn't realize how much about Lee that she didn't know. Like how he loved squirrels, and how often (which was really often) he was at the gym, working out. She didn't know he had two close friends at his college, who was Hinata's cousin and Tenten, a sweet Chinese girl. She didn't know anything.

And despite this, he still cared about her and listened to her complain and talk about her life. When it came down to it, he knew—and probably memorized—every single detail about her, while she didn't even attempt to get to know him.

It was probably a little late to feel guilty, though.

They went to the mall, just like their very first date. They had hot dogs, saw the most recent martial arts movie that Lee had been yearning to watch for a long time, and took pictures at the photo booth.

Needless to say, it was one of the best days of her life. Even if it was with Lee.

And, of course, when everything came to close at the end of the day, things had to be said.

"We'll still be friends after this, right?" she asked as they stood outside her door. He had always walked her home; before, she hated it because she didn't want to be seen with someone like him, but now, she couldn't be more grateful.

"Of course! Your beauty is healthy for the soul."

Despite herself, Sakura blushed. Why was she always appreciating things too little, too late?

A smile stretched across her lips. "I'm glad. You really are an amazing person. Even if…we didn't work out." God, she was saying such lame things. This was stupid. "For the record, you were a great boyfriend. I was the one who wasn't putting enough into the relationship."

He shrugged. "I was the one who forced into it. I'm sure Sasuke-kun would never do that."

Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "What?" Surely, she didn't hear him right. He didn't just mention Sasuke—mentioning Sasuke meant that he knew what was going on—

Ah, shit.

"Sasuke-kun is a good person," he continued calmly, much to her surprise. "He may be in denial, but when it comes down to it, he'll take care of you."

Well, okay. This was beginning to get a little awkward. "Uh, thanks." Commitment, she realized, was something she'd never been great at—and it'd be a long time before she was. And when she was, if Sasuke was still there, still feeling the way everyone said he did now—then maybe, she'd take a chance.

"I am quite serious, Sakura-san." Lee regarded her with a steady gaze.

She smiled uncertainly. "Thanks…" Her voice still trailed off as she averted her gaze to the ground.

"If he asked, would you be his girlfriend?"

The question caught her off guard. From Lee, it was the strangest thing; before, he wouldn't tolerate any talk of Sakura's boyfriend that wasn't him—not even as a joke. But to bring it up himself, now—

"I…don't know." She played with her fingers. "Probably not."

"And why's that?"

"I'm just not ready." She shifted uncomfortably, not really wanting their conversation to go this way. "Well, I think I should go now. I'll see you around, alright?"

Lee's expression softened. "It's a promise." She unlocked her front door, and looked back at him, smiling lightly. The weight on her shoulders seemed to completely disappear when he grinned and flashed her the thumbs up sign.

Well, Lee would always be Lee.

To text, or not to text. That was the question.

Sasuke stared at his phone, contemplating the number of things he could say to her. She should probably be home by now. As of today, her relationship with Lee was no more.

To text…

Sakura. Marry me. I don't have bushy eyebrows.

…or not to text.

I think I've liked you for a long time, but I haven't realized it until recently. I know I have a stick up my ass, but thanks to you, it's disappearing. Slowly.

That was the question.

Ugh, enough with the Shakespeare references. He had enough of it at school already. Speaking of which—he hadn't completed his project yet. Maybe he should start working on that; school started in a couple of days…

Maybe he should finish it with Sakura. Yeah.

Anyway. The problem at hand.

To text, or not to text…

I can't go all the way to say I love you, but I can say that right now, you're the one that's keeping me smiling after all of the shit that's kind of been happening to me. Er. Smirking. Yeah. So marry me. Please.

He pressed the send button.

…That was the question.

The question that she'll hopefully say yes to.

A/N: This is a little on the cheesy side, but oh well! Next chapter will be the last!

This is a little irrelevant, but I'd love it if you all went to my poll. I know I've been having, like, 984039 lately, and I do apologize. I realize that I pretty much only write for the Naruto fandom, but I do have other manga/anime that I like—FMA being one of them. FMA is actually probably my favorite, which is why I've never written for it—I can't do it justice. But as of late, I've been wanting to write one. So yeah. I digress. POLL, please!

P.S. …I don't know what crack I was on when I came up with the chapter title.