The lights that flickered over Sasori's head were exactly three seconds away from sending him into a murderous rage. His target would be the cashier of this forsaken convenience store. The young teen had given him the side eye over his thiccc glasses too many times for his liking—and Sasori had noted how his hand moved beneath the counter. He imagined the scrawny finger with yellowed, ungroomed, fingernails hovering right above the panic button.

Trust me kid, I'll give you something to panic about.

Sure, Sasori had been standing in the same general location for forty-five minutes starting at nine-thirty PM the past four days—but he had good reason to be.

Sakura Haruno frequented this blasted, germ-infested, station for sustenance that was far beneath her at least once a week after her four-thirty AM shifts that always lasted too long. It was a science—no. How she acted was an art. But it crippled his soul.

He hadn't seen her much in at least a week and the lack of affection, and body to feed, was killing him. He'd made her favorite meal at least thrice only for her to get home too late to eat it. Claiming she'd grabbed something from the 8/12 store on her way back from her shift.

But not today. He smirked. The light flickered again. And the teen opened his mouth, revealing his braces and receding gums.

"Sir I have to—" The bell chimed.

In walked the love of his life. Dressed in her emerald scrubs he'd bought her for Christmas—the red patches were a decoration surgery gave her, not the festive timing of the set. The bags under her eyes could only be described as knock off designers. Still beautiful, but not good enough quality to be belonging with the rest of her.

Sakura yawned and slammed her foot into a Creeces candy stand, sending a few of the chocolate peanut butter treats to the ground.

She bent down to pick them up, her reusable lunch bag thunking as it hit the ground.

Ah, she's skipped lunch again. He shook his head and straightened out his cardigan, the Poach one that Sakura tried often to steal, citing that he didn't deserve to have such nice, designer things. He'd give it to her, but watching her get worked up got him worked up and that was all the reason he needed to keep the cardigan out of her grasp.

He looked at where he was standing. The drinks section. He glared at the teen as he quickly opened the case and grabbed a square shaped smoothie bottle. A Plue Fachine, a stupid name for a stupid drink he was sure. And nothing as good as what he could make for her.

"Ma'am are you alright?"

Sakura turned to look up at the teen, the bags of chocolate she'd knocked to the floor now resting in her arms as if she were planning on buying them.

Not on his Polex watch she wouldn't.

"Oh, hello darling. Don't you look wonderful?" He cooed, walking up to his beauty and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

The teen looked ready to die. "Sir—"

"Hi?" Sakura mumbled, rubbing her eyes as if she didn't truly believe that the man standing before her was, in fact, Sasori, and not some mirage caused by stress and the flashing light bulbs.

"This lunch bag feels heavy, didn't have time to eat lunch?" He asked, cupping her cheek, caressing it with his thumb.

"I'm sorry." She started before looking away, towards the chip aisle, not the counter, to yawn.

"Don't be. How about I cook you up something nice and hot? We can enjoy ourselves afterward." Sasori plucked the bags of candy from her arms and tossed them back into their display case.

Sakura was light in his arms as he swooped her up, clearly not eating enough for the energy she was putting out.

She was so used to taking care of everyone who didn't deserve it, that she forgot that she needed care herself. Her selflessness was something he couldn't understand, but that was alright. It made it all the more worthwhile when he was the only one to dote on her.

He scanned the smoothie bottle himself, as the teen was huddled in the corner whispering harshly into a phone—a horrible gossip. On the phone when he should be working? Sasori shook his head, left a twenty on the counter, and carried Sakura out of the building and to his car, which he had left running to keep warm for Sakura.

"911 what is your emergency?"

"Yes, hello? I think I just witnessed a kidnapping."