Marionette
Everyone noticed how he manipulated her, everyone but her. AU
Disclaimer: M for language, alcohol, sexy time and adult themes. If you are uncomfortable with this, do not proceed.
Chapter 13
He was quietly straightening his clothes and pulling his sweater back on, when he noticed her picking up that stupid dress from the ground.
She frowned at the way it had been wrung into a spiral and was attempting to straighten it back into some acceptable form and structure.
Her makeup was now smeared all over her face, and her hair tangled, no longer in a loose bun.
She paused her ministrations and looked up when she noticed him glaring.
"You're an idiot," she stated. "I was getting ready to go out with Ino."
He felt his jaw click at her confession.
His expression annoyed, he turned his back on her and went into her bathroom to wash his hands.
When he came out, she was wearing the dress. It left little to the imagination and he was not pleased by the amount of exposed leg. The attention to her clavicles and neck. The exposed shoulders. It was just— she was basically unclothed, and that was not something of hers he shared with anybody.
"You can take me out instead," she said.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweater, his fingers briefly pinching the edge of the garment's gold zipper before tucking his hands away. She was back at the mirror, fixing the damage done to her cosmetics and straightening out her hair.
He shrugged a shoulder in acceptance of this.
Her eyes locked onto his in the mirror.
"But," she began.
He tensed.
"We still need to talk," she finished.
Turning back towards the room, she grabbed a tiny glittery hand purse from her wardrobe, a pair of low, red heels off the floor and then walked out the door.
He reluctantly followed her out.
Sakura was flirting with the fucking bartender. Right next to him. With no shame. Sasuke gripped his whiskey glass tightly and stared straight ahead in irritation.
So she wasn't done with whatever... this shit was yet.
After a couple more minutes of their nonsensical banter, his patience wore thin. He turned his head to glare at the imbecile behind the bar.
Sensing his ire and clearly not having a death wish, the guy stuttered out that he'd come back if they needed another round and scurried off.
Sakura sighed, "You didn't have to scare him off."
She wrapped her tongue around the straw of her cocktail and took a sip while side eyeing him.
She was perched on a leather backed barstool to his left. Her heeled feet were swinging gently, her legs too short to reach the floor.
He moved his hand to grip the back of her chair and leaned in close. The establishment was crowded, but there were still a couple unoccupied stools around the bar.
"What are you doing Sakura?" he asked, voice raspy from being silent for the past hour.
She turned her head to look at him and lifted an eyebrow.
"Still mad at you," she said.
And then she turned back to her drink and downed the whole thing.
He tapped his unoccupied fingers on the surface of the bar and then snapped at the fool working the tap to get her another one.
She leaned back into the arm behind her and purred a sultry thank you in his ear, then picked up her phone off the bar and started texting Ino.
Sasuke rolled his eyes at her antics.
Sakura peeked up from her screen as the bartender dropped her drink off and cleared her empty cup. She glanced around the bar and then turned to Sasuke and exclaimed, "I feel like people are looking at us."
He grunted, drank from his whiskey and took a slow look around.
"You're just drunk. No one is looking at us. Drink your drink."
But she wasn't wrong. He noted a handful of eyeballs directed their way, and for what? An attractive, young couple coincidentally both dressed in black. Huddled together drinking. Interacting with a discernible, intense tension were making other people uncomfortable?
Fuck them.
This was why he didn't like going out.
Sakura was now squinting at the white v-neck beneath his sweater with scrutiny and then poked her finger at the hem near his waist.
"What's that?" she asked.
He looked down, absently noting that she'd swapped her nail polish to green and shaped her nails to square.
Shoot. "Tomato."
She grinned, "Tomato?"
Sakura giggled then reached for his whiskey. He slid the cup out of her reach. But then she did that dumb exasperated pout at him, so he obliged and let her taste it.
She blanched after the liquor hit her throat and gave it back.
"It's bad."
He removed his arm from behind her chair, rested his hand on her bare knee instead, and otherwise did not respond.
If Sakura's intention was to "talk it out" while she was shit-faced, then he'd call her strategy a success.
Except for the fact that everything slurring out of her mouth at this point was incoherent.
Sasuke had swiveled his stool so that he was facing her now, and she'd done the same. He was leaning slightly forward, gripping the undersides of her knees. Part of him was worried that she was going to topple out of her seat. The bartenders had long since switched shifts. This time it was a woman, who kept pestering him to see if he needed anything. He didn't.
Sakura scrunched up her face after the woman finished pouring them more water and had walked away.
"Skank," she bellowed.
Sasuke smirked, "You're being loud."
Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were lidded. He could see her thick liner and dark eye shadow accentuated in the dim lighting.
"No I'm not."
With little grace, she pushed his hands off of her, then got up from her stool and declared that she was going to the bathroom. Sasuke glowered down at her, holding her in place to adjust the godforsaken dress on her body before she stumbled off, away from him.
He kept an eye on her from his chair until she disappeared behind the restroom door, and then he signaled at the bartender to give him the check.
The woman rang up his card, smiled softly and said, "You guys are cute."
Sasuke ignored her as she handed him the bill, his expression stoic. He signed his name on the receipt and pulled out a fat, folded stack of cash from his back pocket. He pulled a fifty off the top and left it as tip.
He could see the bartender freeze out of the corner of his eye at the action, but he ignored this too. He shoved his money back in his pocket, then stood up.
He collected Sakura's bag and phone from the bar top as she giddily stumbled her way back to him.
Sakura looped her arm through his as he led her out through the crowd and into the night.
He had parked his car around the corner from the bar, opting for an intentional walk before he got behind the wheel.
Sakura was clinging on to him, her heels click-clacking on the sidewalk.
"Are you okay to drive?" she questioned.
"I had two drinks over four hours. You had six," he responded.
She puckered her lip and frowned in confusion as they kept walking. "Oh."
"Fuck!" she exclaimed suddenly.
She came to a blaring halt in the middle of the sidewalk.
He sighed at the behavior, "What?"
"I don't have my bag!"
He grabbed her hand and dragged her along behind him, getting her to move again.
"I have it, let's go."
They moved a couple steps forward, but then she pulled on his arm, yanking him to another stop.
"But what about my phone?"
She was whining and partially getting on his nerves now. Moreso because she was making a scene, and people were starting to look at HIM like he was causing HER distress instead of the other way around.
"I have that too, come on."
She grumbled and allowed herself to be led the rest of the way to the car.
"You're no fun Sasuke."
She leaned against him as he unlocked the door, opening the passenger side to help her into the vehicle.
Did Sakura realize how often he stayed sober just to get her home in one piece? He was certain she did not spend time thinking about this. He really needed to teach her how to drive so they could switch.
Then again, he thought, alcohol fucked with his medication too much for him to ever really have fun with it anymore.
Lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice her getting aggravated as he leaned over her from the curb to fasten her seat belt.
"Fuck you!" she screamed and then she was beating her small fists against his back in hysteria.
He pulled himself away and grabbed at her hands to still them.
"What the fuck Sakura?!"
"You're—you're cheating on me!" she cried.
She was definitely making a scene now. He could feel random pedestrians slowing down as they walked past his car, eyeing his bent over form in suspicion.
"I'm not," he stated quietly.
"You are!" she shouted, attempting to pull her hands away.
Her face was blotchy, the ridiculous dress that she was so adamant on wearing had ridden so far up her thighs that her lace underwear was visible and she was acting belligerent. She was a mess.
"I'm closing the door now."
He let go of her and stood up, shutting the door in her face. He avoided looking at any of the people who were glaring at him on the street, and got behind the wheel.
Sakura's arms were crossed firmly across her chest, the top of her dress falling dangerously low.
"Since when do you smoke cigarettes?" she berated.
He groaned as he put the key in the ignition.
He fastened his seat belt and smoothly pulled out of the parking space before answering.
"I don't."
She was scowling at him as he drove, her face displeased.
"You do. I saw you at the party."
The party. The fucking party. He was going to murder Suigetsu for showing his face at that stupid fucking party.
All of his problems with Sakura were stemming from that incident. He didn't focus on the fact that maybe his problems were starting to pile up from his illicit activities instead.
"I..." he blanked.
He what? Smoked when the world was ending? Needed the nicotine when he felt like everything was spiraling out of control?
Sakura snorted, "You're full of shit."
And then she looked out the passenger side window and didn't talk to him again for the rest of the drive.
The lights were on at the house as he pulled up the drive. He side eyed Sakura, trying to assess her state after thirty minutes, but couldn't figure out if she was still wasted or if she'd sobered up.
Sakura bottling up her rage was rare, and he was not the best at controlling... whatever this was.
He pulled into the garage and parked amongst the rest of his cars. He looked at her, got out, and waited for her to stumble after him.
As she pulled herself out of the car, he came up to her and quickly adjusted her dress again. She batted his hands away in agitation.
"Stop fussing," she complained.
His expression ticked off, he grabbed her elbow firmly and led her off through the garage and up the stairs.
He was hoping to avoid Itachi, but as they reached the landing, Sakura sauntered off towards the lit kitchen without him and made the decision to destroy the rest of his evening in one go.
He followed after her in dismay.
"Itachi!" she exclaimed happily.
She'd floated towards his brother's spot at the table where he was sitting and holding an open paperback book up to his face.
"Hello, Sakura."
Well la dee fucking da. Sasuke walked past them both and grabbed a beer out of the fridge.
"Sakura's drunk," Sasuke provided as he came back over, sat at the counter and cracked his drink open.
"I wouldn't have guessed," his brother responded.
Sakura fell into the booth at the bay window and kicked off her heels.
"These shoes fucking suck, why did you let me leave the house with these?" she growled at Sasuke.
"I mean, I tried to keep you from wearing that dress but that didn't fucking stop you," he bit out. He took a large gulp of his drink, angered.
"Yeah? That's not all you did with this dress. Fucking asshole!"
His brother, who had clearly been relaxing (if the glass of wine and casual clothes had been any indication), eyed them both over the top of his book, but stayed quiet.
"Get me a beer," she demanded at Sasuke.
"You don't need another drink," he responded as he finished his.
He walked to the fridge to get himself another bottle, when Itachi said his name sternly.
"Sasuke."
He bashed his forehead into the stainless steel before opening the door. Aggressively, he pulled out two beers, walked over to the harpy that the love of his life had morphed into, and slammed the bottle on the table in front of her.
"Here."
He returned to the island counter and dropped himself back into the bar stool. He felt exhausted. He proceeded to kick off his shoes too and knocked back his drink.
Sakura was pouting again. It felt like all she did these days was pout.
"You didn't open it," she said sadly.
His brother put down his book, pulled Sakura's bottle towards himself and opened it with his wine opener before sliding it back to her.
Sakura smiled. That fucking smile that was supposed to be reserved just for him. He felt the rage bubbling in his chest, but tamped it down. She was drunk and acting like a fool he told himself. Ignore it.
"Thanks Itachi," she said happily. And then when she was looking at Itachi with some far gone, dreamy ass look in her eyes, Sasuke had had enough.
"I'm going upstairs," he declared as he stood up.
He finished his second beer and looked at Sakura pointedly. She looked back at him, sighed loudly and made to stand up.
"Goodnight, Sakura," his brother said quietly.
Sasuke let her walk past him and out of the kitchen with her beer, before turning back to his brother and glaring at him.
"Stop."
Itachi merely stared back, remained silent and then dropped his gaze back down to his book.
Sasuke trailed behind Sakura as she maneuvered herself up the grand staircase and down the hallway.
"You're not allowed to get this drunk again," he muttered.
"Hold this," she said, as she shoved her beer at him. He took it, and then watched her tear the dress off her body and drop it to the floor.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked, exasperated.
They were nowhere near his room yet. He bent over to grab the piece of cloth that had given him so much grief tonight and followed behind her.
"That dress sucks," she provided. "I actually hate it. I just knew it would make you mad."
They approached his room and he punched on the lights as Sakura glided over to his bed and dropped herself across the mattress.
He put her beer on the wardrobe, tossed the dress in the trash can and dumped her purse, phone, his wallet, phone and keys out of his pockets and onto the surface of the wood with more force than necessary.
"I'm taking a shower," he mumbled.
He disappeared into his bathroom with the door shut.
After ten minutes, Sakura got restless. She shot up from the bed and opened the bathroom door.
Sasuke's clothes were strewn all over the ground and he was washing his hair in the shower. His back was to her but she walked up to the glass, removing her bra and panties on her way.
He rubbed his eyes to get rid of the water and then turned, spotting her loitering at the shower door.
"What's your problem? Do you want to come in?"
She nodded.
He reached forward, opened the door and pulled her inside.
"Be careful," he grumbled, as she nearly tripped over the marbled step.
Sakura stepped in front of him and doused herself in the stream of the hot water. She sighed in contentment as the water soothed her skin.
He looked down at the top of her head and then reached around her for his body wash.
As he was lathering up, she turned around to face him and then unexpectedly grabbed at his dick.
He gripped her forearm to still her movement and attempted to finish showering himself with one hand.
"Hold on," he said.
She leaned forward, pressing herself against him under the water. He could see water droplets collecting on her eyelashes, her mascara beginning to run. She let her hand drop and sighed.
"Never mind. Can you just... hold me instead?"
He wrapped his arms around her body and held her against his chest as the hot water fell and dripped down the drain.
When Sakura came to the next morning, her head hurt.
She moaned in discomfort and slowly sat up from her face down position in the middle of the mattress. She was in one of the panties Sasuke had gotten her and nothing else.
It was too bright. She blinked her eyes rapidly and dropped back down.
Sasuke was already up. There was no sign of him in his room.
Blindly, she reached for her phone on Sasuke's nightstand, but her hand came back empty handed.
She moved herself into a fetal position and looked towards his wardrobe. It was resting there next to her purse.
She shut her eyes tightly and thought back to the previous night.
Had she—had she ripped her dress off in front of Itachi?
She cringed. No, no that wasn't right.
She hazily recalled sitting in the soft light of the kitchen, a beer in front of her as she bickered with Sasuke in front of his brother.
Sakura cringed again. Still, it was embarrassing.
She rolled herself off the edge of the bed, noticing that the ends of her hair were slightly damp. She couldn't remember taking a shower after getting back, but the evidence was clear enough. Rummaging around in Sasuke's drawers for a change of clothes, she then trudged into the bathroom to freshen up.
Sasuke was downstairs at the kitchen island, pouring himself some cereal into a bowl when she stepped lightly around the corner.
He looked up at her entrance, made no indication of a greeting, then looked back to his task.
She came up and sat at a bar stool across from him. In a stupor, she watched him pour milk onto his cereal.
He turned, walking towards the fridge to put the milk away. He was dressed in a white tee and light grey joggers.
Sakura looked down at her own flowy white shirt and cozy shorts and when she looked back up, he was placing a glass of orange juice in front of her.
She buried her face into her hands at the counter.
He looked at her for a moment, still kind of annoyed from her being a shit show last night, then picked up his bowl and walked off towards the main living room.
She grabbed her cup and followed him to the sectional couch, sitting adjacent from him as he shoved a spoonful of his breakfast into his mouth.
"Why are you hanging around Karin?" Fuck it, she thought. No bullshit.
He chewed, looked at her out of the corner of his eye and then swallowed.
"She… works for me." he responded.
"Works for you? Doing what?"
"Coding," he supplied
"What sort of coding?" she countered.
"Freelance," he threw out.
She took a sip of her juice, her amber green eyes focused sharply on his face over the glass. She lowered her cup.
"And you pay her for this?"
"Yes."
Sakura raised a well shaped eyebrow, her expression uncertain.
"Is—is coding a euphemism for—"
Sasuke rolled his eyes in frustration, "No. Sakura, get the fuck out of here."
She looked at him, her eyes still skeptical, then finished her drink. She put it down on the glass of the table and stood up.
"Where are you going?" he questioned.
"I want to be alone," she said, as she walked towards the stairs and disappeared from sight.
Sasuke sighed, then dropped his empty bowl onto the coffee table. The spoon clanged against the porcelain and he stared at it ricochet until it stilled in place.
Fuck.
Sakura had been upstairs in his room by herself for an hour. She'd been picking at her nails, her brow furrowed and back resting against the headboard when Sasuke came in.
She gave him a dirty look as he entered, and then she shot up and disappeared into the bathroom to avoid him.
He clenched his teeth. She was being fucking annoying.
He sat on the edge of the right side of the bed, his feet flat on the floor, his knees spread. He was staring an angry hole into the curtains of the window across from him, when she re-emerged ten minutes later. Her hair was combed through and a light sheen of silvery highlighter accented her cheeks.
His eyes followed her as she walked past him to leave, pointedly ignoring him. His hand shot out and grabbed her, pulling her to be seated between his legs.
Her back was against his chest and he felt the sudden rise and fall of hers as she started breathing fast.
He dropped his head over her shoulder, took a deep inhale at her neck and slid his hands up the inside of her bare thighs, up underneath her shirt and to her waist, and then he gripped her rib cage.
She took a sharp inhale.
"You think," he started, "that I touch anyone else like this?"
She was trembling.
He danced his hands around the underwire of her bra. He groped her covered chest and then lifted the shirt off of her, tossing it behind him on the mattress.
"That I want to?"
Her hands had fallen to rest on his knees. She couldn't speak.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her close to his body and then slid his other hand up her sternum, past her collarbone and to her neck. He gripped the skin there, her neck so delicate and small in his hand that he felt himself immediately harden.
She gasped as he angled her head to the side.
The hand at her waist had dropped underneath her shorts and was now playing with her.
He brought his lips to the side of her neck and sucked on her skin, his hand still gripped around her throat.
She stifled a moan as she reached a hand back to tangle into his hair.
"You're fucking stupid Sakura..." he continued against her neck, pulling her shorts and underwear off, throwing them to the ground.
"...If you think I'd get off on doing this to anyone else but you."
Her mouth dropped open as his fingers entered her, working her.
Her small hand fisted harder into his dark locks and he nipped at her earlobe.
The hand that she'd had on his knee had come up to grip his forearm, as he continued to move his fingers in and out of her. Circling around her clit and then back inside her again.
He could feel her pulse going haywire at her neck beneath his palm.
She was heaving and trying to suppress her sounds.
"Let me hear you."
She was beginning to shake, her pleasing noises finally tumbling out of her mouth for him.
And then she was coming in his arms, her core spasming on his digits, her whole body quivering as he held her tight.
She slumped back against him, her legs akimbo. The toes on one of her bare feet had curled with her orgasm.
He caressed her neck before loosening his grip there, then pulled his fingers out of her dripping center. She gasped at the sensation of his digits sliding out of her, but remained seated between his legs. He wrapped both of his arms around her waist.
He dropped his head to her shoulder again, kissing her skin, refusing to let go.
TBC...
