Hey everyone! New day, new chapter. You may have noticed multiple notifications for this update and I want to apologize - I had some continuity issues in the last chapter I just scrubbed out at the same time as publishing this chapter. Thank you chillaxin101 for catching that for me! This chapter is a fun one and was a quick write, so I hope you enjoy it.
What You Want
CH 7
"But you should be careful."
Telling someone to be careful should only be said when they're about to take part in some sort of extreme sport or if they're handling spicy foods. But to tell someone to be careful when they're hanging around your friend? Who the fuck does that? What does that even mean? How was she supposed to be careful? A condom? A new address? A restraining order..?
Sakura aggressively flipped under her sheets for the hundredth time that night as she steamed over these questions. She knew Naruto probably had positive intent behind his warning, but she was left alone with no guidance on how to move forward. Staring at her ceiling, she wondered what else he knew about her and Sasuke. If she had to guess, she'd say he also had to know about the sex club and the one time Sasuke took her with him. Did he think she was just a future meal for Sasuke simmering on the back burner? How many other women had he given such an ominous warning to?
She let out an open-mouthed sigh.
Looking over at her clock, she could only groan when she saw how absurdly late it was. Her mind was showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon and she was desperate for sleep, but even more so for answers. She dragged her phone closer to her face and scrolled through her contacts with eyes squinting against the light.
"Be careful."
"Fuck being careful, I'm always careful," she grumbled to herself as she clicked to dial.
There were exactly two rings before he answered. When she heard his gravily voice, she shot straight up in her bed. What did she think was going to happen?
"Hello?"
"Why did he tell me to be careful?"
She could hear Sasuke's audible sigh and the faint rustling of sheets followed by a door clicking. "Who told you to be careful?"
"Naruto did."
There was a pause for a moment and she could only picture him pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Sasuke, I have so many questions."
"That's fair."
She could hear the exhaustion in his voice but she couldn't bring herself to care. She was self-aware enough to know it was slightly manic of her to attempt to engage this man in conversation at three in the morning, but she had a lot on her mind and if anyone was obligated to lend her an ear, it was Sasuke.
"I don't want to be afraid of you." Her eyes grew warm with emotion but she refused to let the feeling evolve into actual tears.
"I don't want that either." The sincerity in his voice was soothing. She wanted to hear him in person.
"I can't sleep," she lamented. "Can we meet and talk?"
"Sakura," he sighed again and she knew he must have been checking the time right then if he hadn't already. "You and I both have work in the morning."
"Exactly, so how do you think I feel about this lack of sleep thing?" Even though she knew she was being unreasonable, she was frustrated and emboldened by her own desperation.
"I can be there in about fifteen."
She blinked in the darkness of her apartment, unsure if she heard him correctly.
"Really?"
There was more rustling from his end and a soft grunt. "Shoes are on. You better be awake when I get there."
Her phone beeped as soon as he ended the call, leaving her with just her thoughts and the consequences of her impulsive actions.
Sasuke was on his way to her apartment.
He would be there in fifteen minutes.
She was in her raggedy pajamas and had a rat's nest of hair atop her head.
She gasped and then sprung into action.
Practically lunging from her bed, she dove into her dresser drawer for joggers and a clean shirt. Guilt for being so dramatic started to build, but at that point, she knew it would only do more bad than good to tell him not to come over. Her heart was thumping in her stomach like a drum. She paced the apartment as she waited for him to get there, combing her hair back into a less chaotic bun as she did. Was he seriously going to have a productive conversation with her at this ungodly hour? She pictured him showing up to his hectic job just hours later with dark circles under his eyes and having her to blame for them. It was about half-past three when she heard the buzzer calling from downstairs and cursed her own stupidity. She could have waited like a normal person for the next day to talk.
When he reached her door upstairs, she felt unexpectedly calmer to see him in the flesh again. He was wearing the same black jeans and bomber jacket from their day trip which seemed kind of odd, but she wasn't in a position to start criticizing his outfit.
"I'm so sorry," she blurted out as he let himself into her space. He didn't say anything back, but he did shed his jacket and settle down on the couch he had slept on once before. "Uh, do you want anything to drink?"
He couldn't have looked any less impressed, but she wasn't sure what to make of that in the ridiculousness that was the situation at hand.
"You can make some coffee later," he deadpanned. "But for now, let's talk about what's going on."
It was still so hard to believe he came over so quickly, but she knew it was not the right time to gawk in awe. She sat down beside him on the couch and took a deep breath while she gathered her thoughts. In her flustered rush to make herself presentable, she didn't stop for a second to formulate any actual questions to ask him. The pressure was suddenly crushing her and she was swamped with embarrassment.
He seemed to take note of her churning anxiety and rested his temple on his fist. "Start with the basics. What happened after I left?"
She calmed down enough to start there as he suggested and folded her legs underneath her. "Naruto said he wanted to talk to me about something, so I invited him up."
Sasuke visibly stiffened. "You invited him into your apartment?"
She couldn't help but raise a brow at this. "He's your friend, should I not have done that?"
"No, it's fine," he grumbled, a hand running through his messy locks. "Keep going."
"Well, he told me he knows about your incubus curse and that I saw it." Sasuke nodded as he took in this information, but she couldn't tell how he was feeling behind his measured expression. "And right before he left, he told me to be careful."
"Fucking dumbass," Sasuke bit out. She could see his jaw flexing and his knuckles go white with anger. "Doesn't know how to mind his own fucking business."
"So," she started to say as she prepared to meet his eyes. "Do I need to be careful?"
Endless midnight pools sucked her in the second he looked at her. "Do you think you aren't being careful already?"
The warmth from earlier started building in her eyes and she willed herself to calm down. "I don't know, do you?" She took a shaky breath and cupped her forehead as though to keep her sanity from spilling out. "Should I even be seeing you at all?"
She watched as the little warmth that was in his eyes extinguished. He looked up at the ceiling for a second before getting up to pace the apartment.
"It sounds like what you're really asking is if there's a risk I'm going to try to fuck you against your better judgment."
The bluntness of his response paralyzed her and was only further exacerbated by the fact that he was absolutely right. As much as she wanted to trust him, she was still afraid.
And she could tell he was hurt.
"You know I don't want to hurt you," he said, his voice slowly increasing in volume. "I intentionally only see you after I've taken care of the damned curse for the week."
He continued to pace as she chose her next words carefully.
"Then why were your eyes red in the car when you dropped me off?"
He froze where he was standing, his face out of her line of sight. The guarded mask she had grown familiar with was back in place, but she could tell he was struggling with it.
"I didn't like Naruto touching you as he did."
She shifted on the cushion. Was he upset out of concern for her or because he didn't want someone other than him touching her? Regardless, his visible agitation at the moment was unexpected. She was staring at the creases in his shirt from the long day they had together when something else clicked.
"Sasuke," she called him to get his attention from wherever his mind was wandering. Meanwhile, her nerves were forming another dreadful pit in her stomach. "When you dropped us off here, did you go home after?"
He held her gaze for what felt like a century before he answered. "No."
She nodded, preparing to ask the inevitable follow-up question. "Did you go to see the woman who knows about your situation?"
Another pause.
"I did."
"Is that where you were when I called you?"
"Yes."
The first thing she felt was a pang of jealousy, but almost instantly it morphed into anger. Anger at herself. This wasn't her boyfriend. This wasn't even a guy she was actively hooking up with. What right did she have to be jealous of some other woman who was trading time on her life in exchange for a fuck with this guy?
"Does that upset you?" He asked, a critical eye focused on her.
"No," she lied. "But I'm still confused. Why did that set you off? Why were you so mad at Naruto for that?"
Sasuke scratched at his jaw, the stubble audibly catching. She wanted so badly to hear him say that he was jealous, not wanting her to be with anyone else, that he was the one who was struggling to maintain a platonic friendship.
But he didn't say that.
"Naruto was trying to taunt me because I can't have inconsequential hookups as he can."
She knew he wasn't trying to imply that she was an inconsequential hookup, but her heart ached as though he did. It was hard to find words after that, so she focused on keeping a neutral face while nursing her wounded ego.
"What happened to all those questions you said you had for me?"
His prompting helped her shake off the pain and pivot, at least for the time being. He made his way back to the couch and slung his arm onto the back of it, his hand inches from her shoulder. It was like he was taunting her, although she knew it was all in her head at that point.
"How much does Naruto know?"
He blinked lazily at her, as though bored by the question. "All of it."
Her brow furrowed. "Even the sex club?"
"Even the sex club."
It was taking too much of her attention trying to avoid touching his hand, so she just let her shoulder fall where it would against the couch and his fingers. When they made contact, he didn't pull back.
"And he's...okay with all of this?" She had a hard time believing someone as vocal and full of heart as Naruto was content with just letting his best friend leech off the lives of women until the day he dies.
"He's constantly trying to find a cure or something to undo this so I can stop." His eyes glazed over as he seemed to become lost in thought, but his fingers unconsciously started to move against her shoulder. "He's obsessed."
It was discouraging to hear after years of searching they weren't any closer to breaking the curse than the day Sasuke found himself under its control. She wondered if she could offer any of her research skills to help, but had a feeling it would only be in vain.
"I've come to accept that this is just who I am now," he confessed. "And it's something I just have to live with."
Her eyes widened. Now that was bullshit.
"You have to be kidding," she blurted out. "You're accepting that you're just going to need to rob people of their mortality through sex until you can't anymore? Seriously?"
A deep frown formed at his lips and his arm retracted. "It's very easy for you to judge from the outside, but I'm going to advise you to take a minute to reconsider."
Despite his warning, she continued talking. "Don't you want to be in a relationship with someone one day? To find love?"
"What's the point?" He snapped. The venom in his voice sent her sitting farther back, but she refused to look away. "Whether I have this fucking curse or not, I'm not interested in relationships. I'm managing just fine on my own and with my current situation."
"Sasuke…" Her heart was breaking all over again for him. What kind of way was that to live?
He sighed, calming down from his second outburst. "I appreciate the concern, but I need you to let this be my burden to carry. And as for Naruto's half-baked warning…"
She watched intently as he reached out to brush back a wisp of her bed head she failed to pull into her bun earlier. "I want you to trust that I wouldn't do anything to put you in danger. You have my word."
"I can try to do that."
"Thank you."
Out the windows, the sky was starting to lighten from its inky black hues to a gradation of deep blues. As if on cue, Sakura yawned. She really should have made that coffee earlier, whether Sasuke meant that as a joke or not.
"If that's it, I'll head out now so I can go shower and change before I head into the office."
Sakura offered a small smile before he shifted to get up. "Thank you for coming all the way out here."
"Just don't make a habit of calling like that if you can help it."
She blushed from embarrassment but was wholeheartedly grateful for his lack of hesitation to come to check on her. The only other person she could think of who would do the same for her was Ino, and even she would have put up more of a fight over it than he did.
"Have a good morning," she laughed as he walked out.
"Get some rest, I'll see you soon."
"This feels wrong," Sakura grimaced.
Ino shrugged. "It's definitely shady, but I don't think it's that big of a deal."
They were side-by-side at a nail salon getting a fresh gel manicure a day later, something Ino had unintentionally put off for one too many weeks while Sakura only perked when Ino told her the salon had a weekday special. It was right in the middle of their hand pampering that Ino decided to drop a small bomb on Sakura.
Asuma was a man who thrived in social settings and liked to use this to his advantage when working with more conservative clients and to reel in new ones. Because of this, he regularly hosted happy hours and events for his firm and their clientele. With the weather warming up, he figured it was time to take to the river and throw a yacht party. A yacht party that Sasuke immediately declined to attend.
"It's going to be all of the top clients, so Asuma wants all his top people there with him." Ino pulled back a hand to examine her newly lacquered red talons. "Sasuke has to be there."
Sakura was visibly conflicted. "If he said he doesn't want to go, he must have a good reason for it. I don't feel like it's my place to try to pry and convince him to go to his own work event."
Ino closed her eyes for a moment and grew quiet. She seemed to be struggling to maintain her composure and Sakura couldn't help but sense something was off.
"I don't understand why Asuma's putting this on you to fix."
"He's not." When the young sugar baby opened her eyes, Sakura could see a film of unshed tears coating her blue eyes. "I'm putting this on myself to show him I can be helpful in ways besides getting him off."
The nail technicians finished, but Sakura wasn't ready to get up yet - not after Ino said that.
"What do you mean? Are you guys in a fight or something?"
Ino shook her head. "I wish."
She gestured for Sakura to follow her to pay before walking out. She'd tell her everything, just not there. Both women were silent as they made their way down the sidewalk. There was a coffee shop a block away that Ino felt more comfortable sitting at instead.
"So," Ino started with a deep exhale, a latte in front of her. "A few weeks ago I started to notice Asuma was texting me less. When I asked him if everything was okay, he brushed it off and said he was just busy with work."
Sakura bit into her lip, dreading where this conversation was going. She knew Ino was completely smitten with this guy, money or no money, so seeing her so uncharacteristically fragile broke her heart.
"But it only got worse. Our daily texts became every other day, and then more sporadic than that. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to annoy him after he already told me he was busy, but when I was at his place the other night and he fell asleep, I checked his phone."
"Ino…"
"He's seeing someone else. An older woman."
Sakura's hands cupped her mouth in shock. It wasn't the most unexpected surprise, but still horrible. Ino took a shuddered breath before sipping her drink. She was holding back tears again and Sakura could only imagine what she looked like when she was alone in her apartment, finally free to uncap her pain in private.
"I finally asked him about it," she continued wistfully. "And he asked me what I thought was going to happen. When I told him I thought we could have a future together, he said we could, but what he really wanted was a partner. Not just an arrangement."
"Oh, Ino… I'm so sorry," Sakura whispered, reaching across to hold Ino's arm as the woman wiped at the few tears that escaped.
"I'm not stupid, I know right now what we have is an arrangement," Ino grumbled. "But is it so wrong that I was secretly wanting more?"
"No!" Sakura assured her. "That's not wrong at all!"
Ino's hands suddenly reached out to clutch Sakura's. "Please, Sakura," she begged. "I know it seems like a dumb strategy, but it would mean the world to me if you could just do this one thing. At least then I could say I did something for him."
When they eventually parted ways that day, Sakura had agreed to talk to Sasuke about the yacht event. She knew there was no way Ino's role in Sasuke's attendance would actually turn the tide in Ino's favor, but it would at least mean a lot as a gesture in their friendship.
So she texted Sasuke.
'Hey,' she wrote. 'Do you think we could get dinner tonight?'
'Out of groceries or something?' He was teasing her, but she couldn't help but smile. She was also very aware of how quickly he responded.
'I'm responsible, I got my groceries this morning. I need to talk to you about something that's time-sensitive.' She actually did need to get groceries, but he didn't need to know that.
'Are you okay?' She could feel his concern through his text and in the back of her mind remembered how shamelessly Kiba would never dare to ask her that, even when she was dropping the most obvious hints that he should.
'I'm fine, I didn't mean to worry you.'
'I can be out of here at 6 if you want to meet me at my office.'
At exactly ten to six, Sakura was standing a few yards outside Sasuke's office building, a glossy black skyscraper with the most intimidating height. There was a lofty marbled lobby inside with a posh seating area, but she chose to keep her distance and wait outside. Thinking about how Asuma apparently viewed Ino in their relationship, she couldn't help but wonder if Sasuke had a similar way of thinking. He allegedly wasn't looking for a relationship, but that didn't mean he wanted someone to think he was with her and assume he was unavailable.
The weather was nice, anyway.
While she stood off to the side, she watched a casual stream of sharp suit jackets and tailored pants suits streaming outside on their way home or possibly off to the bar for a martini or something. A few minutes after six, Sasuke strolled out in his own bespoke suit with a leather briefcase in hand. She felt her breath catch, always taken aback by his dark and devilish good looks.
Once he spotted her, he turned in her direction. "There are chairs inside you could have waited in," he commented.
"Yeah," she folded her arms over her chest. "I just felt weird going in there."
He raised a brow and stood in front of her with his free hand in his pocket. "Are you hiding from someone?"
"No," she laughed and stared down at her suede booties. "I honestly didn't know if you wanted to be seen with me at your place of work."
"Don't be stupid," he berated her. "Only an idiot would think like that. Any man would be lucky to have you visit him."
She looked up at him, not at all expecting such an oddly sweet response. Judging by the dusting of pink on his cheeks, he didn't appear all that prepared for it either.
"Let's get moving," he quickly added. "There's a good sushi place this way. We can talk there."
Once they were seated in a cozy booth in the back of the bustling restaurant, Sasuke ordered a variety of rolls and dishes for the table. He said he missed lunch that day and preferred to just get a big order in right away.
"So do you want to tell me what the fire is?" He poured them both a small cup of sake that came out almost immediately. Sakura ran her fingers around the tiny ceramic vessel, very aware of his penetrating gaze fixated on her.
"I want to start by saying this might come off as a weird request, but it would mean a lot to me," she explained. "And to Ino."
Sasuke rested his elbows on the table and his chin behind his hands as he listened. She swallowed hard, already anticipating his annoyance that she knew would follow. Getting involved in his business like this went against every instinct in her, but this wasn't for her - it was for her best friend.
"She's having some trouble with Asuma and wants to prove she can be helpful to him. She said there's a happy hour thing Friday and that Asuma really wants you to go…so..."
She trailed off when Sasuke put his hands on the table and then took a long sip from his sake. He still hadn't said a word, but somehow that was worse than him scolding her for poking her nose where it didn't belong.
"She asked you to get me to go on the yacht outing?" His tone was flat and unenthused.
She nodded as she bit into her lip.
He let out a light snort. "I thought you were going to ask for a loan or something."
Her mouth fell open at that. "I'd never ask you for money!"
He shrugged. "You could if you needed it."
She blushed and looked away. "Sasuke, come on."
"You work yourself to death every day and I have the means to help you out."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing and was grateful the food was being brought out so she could compose herself again. Where was this coming from? Had he been thinking about this ever since she texted him to make plans that morning?
"Isn't that what Asuma does for Ino?" She choked on her first piece of sushi when he said this. So much for that composure.
"You know that's different, Sasuke."
"That's not necessarily true." He plucked a tuna roll from one of the many plates. "You're both good companions. She just provides for him a little differently."
Her face was bright red at that point and she came to accept that it would probably stay that way until she got home that night. "I think you're making quite the stretch by saying that. You and I are good friends, that's it."
He put his chopsticks down to focus on her. She stopped what she was doing as well to offer her full attention in return.
"I don't like, and much less trust most people. I put a high value on our friendship."
"I do, too." Her heart swelled in her chest. "But you don't need to pay for my friendship. I like hanging out with you."
Sasuke relieved her of their eye contact as he refilled both their sake cups. As he did, she sat back in awe of the bigger picture playing out before her. How was this real life? Her, a nobody grad student, being taken out to dinner on the regular by this gorgeous and successful Wall Street hunk, and being offered all the spoils of a sugar arrangement in exchange for a platonic relationship? Sure, he had a damning secret that scared her shitless, but still..!
"As long as you don't start trying to pay for dinner, I can compromise."
It was her turn to snort. "With your tastes, I wouldn't even try on payday, trust me."
"Does that still technically make me your sugar daddy?"
For the second time that night, she choked. "Sasuke..!"
He smirked with smug satisfaction. "Tell me I'm wrong."
Her face somehow managed to get even more red, challenging the scarlet pattern on her dress. "I-I, that's not, we're not-"
Clearly enjoying himself, the sadistic Sasuke kept going. "Have you ever called someone 'daddy' before? I'm sure there's a store on the block we can drop in if you'd like some new shoes to make it official."
"Sasuke, stop," she begged. At that point, his joking was starting to turn cruel.
"Hn," he grinned more to himself at her. "Fine, but just know you can ask me if you ever need anything. It's not an issue."
She cleared her throat, trying to drown out any images he conjured in her mind of her actually calling him 'daddy' and the heat it was creating in her core. At the very least, she didn't want to give him any further satisfaction in knowing how much he affected her.
"So this work event thing," she pivoted back. His expression darkened a bit, which is when she realized he was to some degree trying to distract her from the original conversation.
"I want to help you, but I can't go Friday."
"Can't or don't want to?"
He looked directly at her as he chewed a piece of sashimi.
"I don't want to get into it."
She thought of Ino, her heart breaking at the table that morning, and knew she couldn't accept such a weak answer.
"Sasuke, you don't understand. This is going to crush Ino." She reached across the table and grabbed his wrist. His eyes followed the action and locked onto where she was touching him. "I know it sounds silly, but this would mean the world to me if you could help with this one thing."
Sakura eventually retracted her hand, unsure if she went too far but unable to really care. She promised Ino she would help her and she didn't want to let her down.
"Fine," Sasuke finally gave in after some time passed. Just as she was about to gush with gratitude he held up his hand to stop her. "On the condition that you go with me and let me get you a dress for it."
Her eyebrows shot up as high as they've ever gone. "Are you being serious right now?"
He folded his hands back in front of his chin again. "I am. Take it or I don't go."
She threw herself back in her seat. "I could understand asking me to go with you, but the dress..?"
"You won't let me get you something nice, so this is how I'm going to get what I want."
Once more, she couldn't believe this was her life. "Okay, fine. But just know I think this is really weird."
He looked smug again. "I can live with that."
They finished almost everything on the table and were waiting on the bill when Sasuke pulled out his phone. He rarely did when they were at dinner together, so she figured he was looking at something to do with work. When he put the device down to sign the check, she saw it was anything but work.
"Are you looking for stores right now?"
"This week's busy for me, I figured we could find you an outfit tonight."
It was New York, after all, so high-end shopping wasn't hard to find in Manhattan. Once they were done in the restaurant, he escorted Sakura down a few blocks to where a few boutique stores were lined up.
"Which do you want to check out?" He asked, partially distracted by an actual work email.
"Uh," she looked between the shops and was instantly paralyzed with indecisiveness.
Dark eyes flicked up from his phone. "Let's try here," he suggested, guiding her with a hand on her back to the closest boutique.
Polished floors, perfectly diffused lighting and the most delightful musky floral aroma greeted them as they stepped inside. There were two store attendants inside in crisp black shift dresses that looked as though they belonged in a clothing ad rather than in a store. Without checking, she already knew everything hanging on the curated racks around them cost more than anything in her closet. She squirmed awkwardly next to Sasuke, who looked right at home.
"We're looking for some cocktail dresses." As soon as Sasuke announced this, the closest of the women immediately perked up.
"For her, I'm assuming?" The modelesque beauty gave Sakura a not-so-subtle once-over.
"Yes, it's for a yacht outing, so something appropriate for that." Sasuke's phone pinged again for his attention. He glanced at it before turning to Sakura. "I need to make a call to the office, so I'm going to step out for a minute. I'm not sure how long I'll be."
Sakura nodded, not sure what to do next. "Do you want me to look for something specific..?"
He smirked down at her. "Whatever makes you happy."
She smiled back at him, admiring the glimpse of warmth in his eyes she caught. He broke their eye contact to turn to the attendant and held his credit card out. "Put whatever she picks on this and some shoes while you're at it."
"Sasuke," Sakura groaned. He was already walking outside before she could object.
With the black card in hand, the attendant smiled at Sakura. "Why don't we get started?"
A half-hour went by and Sakura estimated she had tried on at least a few thousand dollars worth of dresses on, which wasn't all that many with the designer price tags to consider. There were a couple of wrap dresses, a boxy mini dress, a curve-hugging floor-length dress, and her favorite - a low-back maxi dress.
"This is stunning on you," the other attendant cooed from the side. "You have to try these, too."
Sakura stepped into the strappy red kitten heels and couldn't believe how comfortable they were compared to what she had been buying out of DSW. Now that she had a taste of the good life, she mourned for the inevitable disappointment of every pair of shoes she'd put on after that night.
Looking in the mirror, she had to admit she did look good. The breezy black dress had a beautiful botanical print that complimented her pink tresses and popped against her fair complexion. She did a quick twirl and admired the way the fabric of the long sleeves and dress hem flowed around her. It was perfect.
"Maybe Naruto was right." Sakura turned to see Sasuke walking towards her, his eyes drinking her in from head to toe. "You look gorgeous."
She blushed at the compliment. "You really don't need to do this, I have other dresses at home I could wear."
He smirked. "No disrespect to your other dresses, but I doubt any are going to look as good on you as this one does."
Later that night, Sakura sat on her bed with a glass of wine, staring at the dress hanging on her closet door. Sasuke didn't let her look at the receipt, but a quick Google search told her the dress was over $500 and the shoes another couple hundred bucks. Even though she believed this was his way of expressing gratitude for their unorthodox friendship, she couldn't help but feel a little dirty for letting him buy the outfit for her. She didn't even want to tell Ino.
Ino!
She pulled her name up on her phone and gave the depressed woman a quick call. In all the unexpected twists and turns of her dinner, she completely forgot to tell Ino that Sasuke agreed to go to the happy hour.
"What's up, forehead?" Ino answered, much to Sakura's annoyance. She chose to be the bigger person and ignore the old nickname.
"I have some good news, I had dinner with Sasuke to ask him about Friday and he agreed to go."
"What!?" The sheer volume of her scream on the other side of the call made Sakura cringe with pain. "How did you make that happen? Asuma said there was no way!"
"I explained to him how much it would mean to you and me," she explained. It wasn't the full truth, but it also wasn't a lie.
"I'm stunned."
"I'm going with him, so I'll see you there Friday, pig."
"Thank you, Sakura." She could hear the blond choking back tears again. "Thank you."
That Friday, Sasuke was somehow stuck working later than he anticipated and asked that Sakura meet him at the dock instead of the office. There were a few others with him, so they were just going to take a car together.
Ino was going early with Asuma, so she knew she could count on the blond bestie to keep her company until Sasuke got there. She thought about taking the train, but knowing how much was spent on her outfit, she didn't want to risk any miscellaneous subway gunk getting on it. The car she ended up calling rolled up to piers only a few minutes later than she expected, but from a distance she could already see the silhouettes of a dozen or so people on the sizable yacht she was headed to.
She checked the low bun set at the nape of her neck one last time before getting out and heading up to the vessel. There was an odd sense of deja vu around the event, she realized. The first and last function hosted by Konoha Associates she attended was their holiday happy hour that she met Ino at before Sasuke swooped in to save her from that creeper who tried to proposition her. Remembering that night brought on a feeling of unease. Would that same man be there? And that other weirdo, Kabuto, could he have been invited as well? She really hoped Sasuke wouldn't get there too much later than her.
A man in khakis and a white polo shirt greeted her as she reached the giant luxury boat and checked her ID. There was a guest list, she learned, and shouldn't have been so surprised. What wasn't a surprise, however, was how many of the guests that had already arrived were men. The back of the boat where she boarded had an open deck and cushioned benches along the edges in front of a fully opened interior, where she could see a hefty buffet table of horderves and a bar. The yacht was scheduled to be out on the water for a couple hours, so she figured she'd explore the interior at some point. Up above there was a second deck and even more guests, but that would have to wait. She looked out across the lineup of dinner jackets and sunglasses and let herself take a moment to admire the sun starting to set off on the horizon.
"This must be my lucky day," a familiar voice declared. "Sakura, how are you?"
She turned around as slowly as she could manage before facing one of the only two men she was hoping not to see that night. "Ebisu, right?" She ground out a strained smile. "Good to see you again."
He looked polished in his suit, but that glint in his eye made her weary.
"You look gorgeous," he smiled, taking his time to 'admire' her dress. "Are you here with Asuma's little friend again?"
Sakura nearly jumped from her skin when a hand clasped onto her shoulder, but when she looked up to see that stoic mug she'd grown attached to, she knew she could put her guard down.
"She's with me," Sasuke said as he walked up from behind Sakura. His suit jacket was sharp and flawless, his tie a deep navy blue that she knew had to be pure silk. "Turns out that dinner last winter went better than expected."
Ebisu's eager smile melted into a frown instantly. "That's wonderful, Sasuke."
"I'm going to take Sakura inside for a drink. Can I get you anything?" The biting dryness in Sasuke's question was a clear enough indicator that he had no intention of getting Ebisu anything except a good reason to stay away from the young woman beside him.
Ebisu got the message. "I'm quite fine for now. Great seeing you, Sakura."
"You as well," Sakura squeaked out just as Sasuke pushed her ahead of him inside.
"Couldn't wait a fucking second to corner you," Sasuke growled under his breath, his hand still gripping her shoulder.
"Hey, hey," Sakura tried soothing her heated companion, twisting around to put her hands on his chest. "Take a deep breath, it's fine. He's gone, it's done."
Sasuke closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he took the prescribed breath in. While he did, Sakura ran her hands down his shirt to smooth out the fabric to calm herself at that point. His hands soon reached in to grab hers, both of them realizing how stressed they had just been through the entire exchange.
"Forgive me," he muttered, his hands still clasped onto her smaller ones. "I've had a long day."
She smiled up at him sympathetically. "Let's both get a drink."
It was a full bar with an impressive list of options as well as a signature cocktail. Sakura took a chance on the fizzy tequila drink while Sasuke went straight for an Old Fashioned.
"Make it a double," Sasuke added as the bartender got to work.
"That kind of day, huh?" Sakura tried to joke with him, but the lack of a response she got in return worried her.
She knew Sasuke wasn't much of a warm and fuzzy kind of guy, but there was an unusually cold vacancy in his eyes that evening that she hadn't seen before. When Asuma spotted the pair and called to his top analyst, she watched as the man molded a more tolerant expression before turning to face his boss.
"And here I thought I was hallucinating before we even left the dock!" Asuma's voice bellowed.
"Asuma, Ino," Sasuke greeted the two as they approached.
Sakura reached out to grab Ino's hand and was shocked by the vice grip she got in return. Ino was glowing in her off-the-shoulder dress and had a cheeky smile she couldn't seem to turn off.
"I'm glad you had a change of heart about coming tonight, there's a new prospect I want to introduce to you that's joining us." Sasuke nodded with understanding. They may have been on a party yacht, but that didn't mean they weren't working. "Excuse us, ladies."
As the two men walked off, Sakura gave Sasuke a small wave. The second they were out of earshot, Ino grabbed her friend by the shoulders.
"Ow, Ino!"
"He told me he was impressed! With me! He's happy!" Ino cheered.
"That's so great!" Sakura forced a smile to her face, still not confident this bandaid was going to hold her relationship together. "You seem so happy."
"I am," Ino breathed. "I bought myself some time to figure out my next plan."
Sakura froze with her drink still on her lips. Next plan..?
"What do you mean? You don't want to be with Asuma anymore?"
Ino looked over her shoulder before back at Sakura. "I do...but the writing is on the wall. I'm almost twenty-five years his junior, so it makes sense that he wants a companion closer in age. I have to accept that."
"Wow, Ino…" Sakura didn't know what to say. Everything Ino was saying made almost too much sense, but she could see the hurt written across her friend's face as clear as day. "You seem surprisingly okay with this."
"I'm absolutely not," Ino sighed. "But there's plenty of other successful guys out there who'd love my company. Look around!"
And she wasn't kidding. In the time that they had been standing around talking, another dozen or so guests arrived and were mingling about. The pair snaked their way through the growing crowd to get some fresh air and enjoy the view. Sakura looked around every once in a while to spot Sasuke, successfully doing so every other attempt.
He still had that worn look on his face, only tweaking it when Asuma or a client addressed him. She caught him knocking back his drink and excusing himself to get a refill, so she took that as her chance to check in on him. This was his work event, but she still couldn't help but feel guilty for him having to go through with it.
"Hey," she said, flashing a timid smile as she saddled up beside him at the bar. "You doing okay?"
"Hn." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Never better."
The bartender poured him another stiff cocktail which Sasuke took a long sip from as soon as it was in front of him.
"Did you want to have something to eat before you go back out there?"
This time, Sakura was on the receiving end of a glare. "I can take care of myself, Sakura."
She was completely taken aback by his uncalled-for rudeness. She may have convinced him to show up, but that was no excuse for the attitude.
"Alright, forget I said anything." With that, she stormed off to find Ino, leaving Sasuke to stare bitterly into what was left of his drink.
"You okay?" Ino asked, immediately aware of the heated anger steaming off of the pink-haired grad student.
"Sasuke caught an attitude with me for no reason," she grumbled as she looked off at the sunset.
"Well, now's your last chance to leave. We're leaving the dock now."
And she was right. Just then, the yacht captain gave the horn a quick blow and Sakura saw that the deckhands had cleared the ropes tethering them to the dock. It would be about an hour out on the water - just enough time to get a good view of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline, then back to the pier to sober up and head home. She wondered if it was enough time for her and Sasuke to smooth over their little spat from earlier.
Sakura turned to her good friend and sighed. "Can we get something to eat?"
"Thought you'd never ask, I've been eying those crab puffs since I got here."
Much to her surprise and relief, Sakura and Ino ended up having a great time on the yacht. Both Sasuke and Asuma were so caught up in their conversations with their guests that they didn't have much time to find their dates in between mingling.
Of course, it didn't help that they had intentionally snuck off to a fairly hidden corner toward the back of the upper deck with a bottle of sparkling wine Ino convinced the bartender to slip her. The pair laughed at one another as they poured the fizzy drink in their mouths, reliving a bit of their college glory days.
"So what's really going on with you and Sasuke?" Ino snagged the bottle back with a mischievous glimmer in her eye. Sakura knew she should have seen this coming, but that couldn't be helped. "Tell me you guys are actually fucking. You said you're not, but I can't buy that."
"I told you," she groaned. "We're really just friends."
"Friends with benefits?" Sakura leaned her head back against the wall behind her with a light thud and Ino gasped. "Oh my god, I'm right! Right? Tell me I'm right!"
"No," Sakura deadpanned. "But I will tell you something really weird that I wasn't sure I was going to admit."
Ino leaned in wide-eyed and thirsty for whatever juicy details she was about to divulge. Sakura winced, realizing what she was about to tell her was not as exciting as Ino was probably hoping for, but at least it was something.
"He's been telling me he isn't interested in relationships or pursuing anything beyond a platonic friendship with me, but he did insist on buying me this dress and these shoes for tonight."
"Stop it," Ino gawked. "I didn't want you to take it the wrong way and say something earlier, but I noticed that is a very nice new outfit you're wearing."
"It's weird, right?" Sakura took back the bottle and finished it off.
"I say ride it out, honey. You never know where it'll take you. And if after some time you're over it, pass him my way."
The pair had a decent buzz going by that point as they drifted past the Statue of Liberty. Ino rested her cheek on Sakura's shoulder as they stared up at the monumental woman above them. From a short distance away they could hear groups of people gathering to take pictures with her in the background while they had the chance.
"I think I should go find Sasuke," Sakura eventually said.
Ino sighed. "I guess I'll go find Asuma and see how he's doing."
The pair helped each other up and squeezed out of their hiding spot to return to the party. Looking out across the deck, Sakura could see Sasuke's head above most of the others around him. Aside from his height, his hair seemed to be even more disheveled than usual, so he was hard to miss.
The closer she got, the more undone he appeared. His tie had been loosened and skewed just enough to be noticeable. His jacket was unbuttoned, revealing a series of wrinkles towards the lower half of his shirt where he probably had re-tucked it after multiple trips to the bathroom. Even his eyes seemed hazy and his cheeks even had a wash of color across them. If she had the chance to put money on it, she'd bet whatever she had in her bank account at that moment that he was flat out drunk.
The only thing that could make things more precarious was who he was talking to...and that finishing touch on the perfect storm was none other than Kabuto.
From a distance, she could see it on Sasuke's face that he was disinterested in whatever it was the silver-haired man was babbling about to him and another man next to him with strong eyebrows and a bowl cut. The closer she got, the more angry Sasuke's expression appeared to become. By the time she was within earshot, the worst was about to unravel.
"And so for that reason, I fancy myself a whisky over wine guy any day of the week," she caught Kabuto saying. "There's just too much hype behind wine! And ugh, all these overindulgent ways we describe it. Honestly, it's entirely overrated, especially if it's made in the States versus Europe."
"What do you mean, what's wrong with American wine?" This was the man between the two that she didn't recognize. Sakura thought about stepping in then, but there was an odd tension between Sasuke and Kabuto she wasn't prepared to step into.
"It's just not done right. There's something that's always just missing the mark by just enough to turn me off from it. Take Sasuke's family's vineyard, for instance," Kabuto grinned.
Sakura gasped as she watched Sasuke's face darken further, his features growing more and more menacing by the second. She looked to his hand holding the glass in front of his torso and saw the remaining brown liquid trembling with his rage.
Kabuto was either intentionally taunting him or a complete idiot not to notice how enraged the man was.
"The Uchiha vineyards have a decent selection of your typical reds and whites, but anyone out in California even could tell you they're cheap brews-"
Kabuto would have finished that thought with no problem at all if it weren't for Sasuke's fist interrupting him. The immediate crowd around them was stunned by the swift right hook the taller of the two landed and didn't know how to react.
Sakura pushed her way to them and panicked as she saw Sasuke stagger forward a few steps, chest heaving. He was a big guy, so it took more than a few drinks for him to get tanked like most people, but they had been out of each other's line of sight for some time after their spat - plenty of time to get a few refills of his double Old Fashioned.
"Sasuke," she called to him as soon as she was at his side. His eyes slowly trailed over to her and she struggled to see the man she had grown so familiar with. Instead, she saw someone different - a child. A scared child on the verge of a tantrum. "Let's get you downstairs and away from everyone."
"Come back here, you bastard! Fight me, if that's what you want!"
Sasuke froze where he was standing and Sakura desperately tugged on his arm. "Don't listen to him Sasuke, you've already done more than enough. This isn't the place for that."
He sneered over his shoulder at the man with the bloody nose who was inviting him back to make matters worse. Someone had run down to get the attention of someone working on the boat to tend to Kabuto and Sakura feared for Sasuke if he were to go after Kabuto again. Could he lose his job over this?
"Please, Sasuke. We're almost back to the dock. I need you to take me home," she pleaded. She was willing to say anything at that point to get him to stop glaring at Kabuto like a predator ready to pounce.
"Let go of me, Sakura," he growled. "I have to knock the shit out of this piece of trash, fucking talking about my family like that..!"
She lunged to stand in front of him, blocking his path back to Kabuto while the other guests watched with bated breaths. Every second that passed was an opportunity for Sasuke to charge past Sakura and escalate everything to a point of no return...more so than it already was.
"Sasuke, please look at me, come on, he's not worth it. Will you please look at me?" She begged and pleaded again.
This time he did look at her, and once he did, he couldn't look away. She locked eyes with him and refused to divert her attention to anything else until she could see the Sasuke she knew return to her.
"I want to sit down," he mumbled, exhaustion laced through his words.
"I'll help him down the stairs," offered the man with striking eyebrows as he appeared by her side. She looked over at him with nothing but gratitude. With about a foot of height over her, there was no way she was going to be able to help Sasuke down herself.
"I'm Rock Lee, by the way, a pleasure to meet you."
"Sakura," she replied as she watched the young man sling Sasuke's arm over his shoulder and guided him to the stairs. "Do you know Sasuke?"
"Yes, I'm his junior analyst. I started working with him a few weeks ago."
Aside from the small group that witnessed the punch on the upper deck, the rest of the guests were none the wiser. No one even seemed to notice the very drunk Sasuke being helped down to the main deck. That was the beauty of alcohol, Sakura supposed.
One of the yacht staff members popped up by Sakura and Rock Lee the second they got Sasuke seated on a bench at the end of the boat. "Is he in need of medical care?"
"No," Sakura half-yelled over the sound of the music and engine as they started maneuvering to dock. "I just need to get him home!"
Sasuke was quickly growing more and more exhausted but had the wherewithal to try and lean back to look like a normal human while the yacht guy was looming over them. If he decided Sasuke needed medical attention, it would cause a whole scene and world of embarrassment for Asuma and the team.
"She's going to take me home, I'm fine."
The man in the polo only seemed half-convinced but decided it wasn't worth the trouble. Like clockwork, the boat reached the dock and within minutes was tied off for folks to start leaving as they pleased.
Sakura caught sight of Ino and Asuma approaching just as she and Rock Lee were getting ready to help Sasuke up. From the looks of it, Asuma was livid.
"What the fuck happened up there, Uchiha? You lose your temper like a little toddler?"
Ino looked over at Sakura with a face full of regret, unable at that point to intervene. The truth was that Asuma was within his rights to be scolding Sasuke - he did punch someone right in the face at a work function.
"Answer me, are you a little baby, Uchiha? Or a man? Which is it?"
Sasuke glared at his feet. "I'll call him to apologize tomorrow."
"Are you a little baby or a man?"
When he looked up at Asuma, Sakura felt as though he was glaring through not just Asuma but every single one of them around him. He wasn't all that sober himself. She was afraid.
"Sir, I'm going to help Sakura get him to their car," Rock Lee interjected as he helped Sasuke to his feet. Sasuke, meanwhile, was still holding Asuma in his burning glare.
"Sasuke, I want to go home."
As soon as he heard Sakura say that, he broke his glare and looked away. She offered him a reassuring smile before Rock Lee escorted him down the ramp and off the dock. Sakura pulled out her phone to call an Uber when she heard Asuma yell behind them.
"Make sure he gets better by Monday so I can properly kick his ass myself, you hear me?"
Sakura and Rock Lee simply waved goodbye to him.
"Uh, Sasuke?" Sakura started saying as she turned to face the road. "What's your address?"
"152 East 87th," Sasuke grumbled, swaying slightly against Rock Lee.
Rock Lee cocked his head under Sasuke's arm. "You don't have your boyfriend's address?"
It was Sakura this time who got to wield a glare. "He's not my boyfriend."
"O-oh," he stuttered. She could see the wheels turning but he didn't say anything else. "My mistake."
"This is our ride," Sakura announced as a black sedan pulled up to the curb. "Thank you for helping us out."
Rock Lee beamed. "Sasuke has been generous in teaching me how to be successful, it's the least I could do to repay him."
The drunk hedge fund analyst managed to toss himself in the back of the car on his own and Sakura climbed in next to him after wishing Rock Lee a good night. It made more sense to take him to his own apartment rather than hers, she figured. At least at his place, he could get changed and fully settle in ahead of the nightmarish hangover he was sure to face in the morning. On top of that, they were already in Manhattan, so going to his place was guaranteed to be a shorter ride and less of an opportunity for Sasuke to get sick before they got out.
"Fucking hate that piece of shit," she heard him mumble to his window.
"I know," Sakura sighed. "But maybe you shouldn't have hit him."
He pulled his temple off the glass and turned to her. "I should have ripped his throat out for what he said."
Seeing him grow enraged again, she chose to stay silent the rest of the ride. She only nodded after that and anxiously waited until they made it to his building. As soon as they did, it took every ounce of self-control not to let her jaw drop.
It was one of those luxury high-rise buildings she'd always see around Central Park but never dreamed of actually going into. The car rolled to a stop and Sakura was relieved to see Sasuke moving to get out of the car on his own. There was a stumble somewhere along the way, but he was able to walk alongside her as they entered the gaudy gold and navy lobby.
"Wow," Sakura couldn't help but say as she looked up at the twenty-foot ceiling and the chandelier almost as big as a car dangling above her head.
Sasuke only grunted back as he shuffled to the elevator and hit the tenth floor. As the mirrored doors shut, he stiffened and gripped the railing. "Shit," he cursed.
"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, helpless beside him.
"I need the bathroom," he said through a clenched jaw.
The second those doors cracked open, Sasuke was rushing through with his key in hand. Sakura ran behind him down the hall, praying he made it inside so he at least wouldn't throw up in the carpeted hallway. Seconds later, he managed to unlock his apartment door and disappear inside. As she closed the door behind her, she could hear his gut-wrenching as he emptied it in the nearby bathroom.
She leaned her back against the door and let herself take a deep, calming breath. This was fine. All she had to do was make sure he drank some water and electrolytes, laid down in his bed, and had painkillers for the next day. She could do that. It was going to be fine. Perfectly fine.
'Blecchh..!'
Absolutely fine.
With the sound of him puking all his Old Fashioned's down the drain in the background, Sakura made her way to the kitchen, black marbled countertops and all. It was fairly minimalist in its design, much like the rest of the apartment she could see. This made it all the easier to quickly find the glasses and pour a glass of water before checking the fridge for a sports drink or something.
She knew he was no stranger to heavy drinking, but she was still surprised to see a portion of the fridge that seemed to be dedicated to a number of Pedialyte bottles and small bottles of electrolyte drinks. Moving to the counter, she didn't miss the bottles of B6 vitamins next to a few other supplements. Was this a regular ritual of his?
After a few minutes had passed, the nauseating sounds from the bathroom quieted and Sakura dared to get closer with the glass of water in hand.
"Sasuke?" She tiptoed to the door and gave a light knock before cracking it open. "You okay in here?"
He groaned from where he was huddled over the open toilet. A sluggish hand reached up to flush the bowl.
"I brought you some water," she told him in as soft a voice as she could manage.
"I must look pathetic to you right now," he grumbled. "A grown man, puking like a kid because he couldn't hold his liquor."
"You had a rough day," she countered, crouching down in the doorway. "It happens to the best of us."
He looked at her out of one eye that peered up from his arm. "You don't need to say that."
"It's true," she insisted. "Come on, sip some water."
He begrudgingly took the water glass from her and tried a few sips as he sat up with his arm propped on the toilet. She felt sorry for him, but also wished she could sneak a picture of him in such a rare form, tie completely loose and hair chaotic even by his standards.
"Sasuke," she addressed him, his bloodshot eyes shifting to meet hers. "What happened out there?"
The corner of his mouth twitched and his brow furrowed. "I had too much to drink and Kabuto set me off."
She stared at him through the partially opened door and leaned her head against the frame. "I feel like you're not telling me something."
Sasuke put the glass down and ran a hand through the mess that was his hair. When he met Sakura's eyes again, she could see a world of sorrow in them.
"The reason I didn't want to go to the happy hour wasn't just because I hate mingling. It's the anniversary of my parents' and brother's deaths."
Her breath caught in her throat as he said this, the sadness in his eyes only darkening before he looked away. "Sasuke," she breathed. "I'm so sorry."
He swallowed, resting his eyes in his hand that was propped up. "I don't like telling people about it because it's none of their business, but I usually spend the day by myself if possible."
All the guilt Sakura felt from before for asking Sasuke to attend the event came crashing down on her again, but tenfold. It was her fault he was put in such a strenuous position while being so emotionally compromised. She was suddenly full of shame and regret.
"Had I known, I would have never asked you to go," she explained. "I wish you had told me, but why didn't you just turn me down?"
His eyes were still shielded by his hand, but she could see the corner of his lips turn upward for a moment. "I don't think I would know how to say no to you, even if I wanted to."
It was too much in that moment when she heard him say that. Before she could stop herself, she lunged through the door opening and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders as tight as she could. She knew she was crying, and probably holding him too tight for someone who had just thrown up, but she didn't care. When she felt him turn his face into her neck and the dampness she knew were his tears on her skin, she knew he didn't care either.
As they sat there on the tiled floor, the smell of vomit and whisky permeating around them, tears quietly streaming and staining their expensive fabrics, they only clung to each other tighter. For just that night, they let everything go.
Once their legs had fallen asleep and their arms grew stiff, one pulled away from the other as they sat back.
"You should probably take a shower and try to eat something before you go to bed," Sakura suggested, wiping the mascara she knew was probably pooling under her eyes.
She moved to stand up before helping him up. Even more exhausted than he was earlier, Sasuke yanked his tie and jacket off and then started unbuttoning his shirt in front of her. Unlike the other time he undressed in front of her back in her apartment, she knew he was simply on autopilot, but that didn't make the act any less sexy.
"I'll be out here when you're done," she called over her shoulder, scurrying away to hide her blush.
Cooling off a bit, she wandered over to the living room to take a rest while she waited. It was a beautiful space with a collection of mid-century modern furniture in various neutral colors against the breathtaking view of Central Park outside his floor-to-ceiling windows. She kicked off her heels before stepping onto the plush ivory rug and fell onto the long leather sofa. It was a hundred times more comfortable than her own bed and a thousand times more comfortable than her couch, she thought to herself with envy. The fact that he actually managed to sleep on her couch with a piece of furniture like this in his possession was mind-blowing.
The sound of the door cracking open caught her attention, so she peered over the arm of the couch to see what was going on. As soon as she did she rammed her eyes shut behind her hand.
"Sasuke..!" She yelled.
He had walked out of the bathroom entirely naked, his clothes folded over his arm, the only thing blocking his crotch from her line of sight. Seeing those damned tattoos across his arms and torso on top of such sculpted muscles made her weak.
"I'm gonna use my shower," he explained. "Help yourself to whatever you want."
As he walked past the living room to his bedroom door, she shamefully snuck a peek at him from behind. Men's butts were entirely underrated in her opinion.
When she could hear the tell-tale sound of water running from the other room, she decided to take a better look around the apartment. It was so perfectly designed and decorated, it could have been a page straight out of an interior design magazine. There weren't too many personal items around, but that only made the few picture frames sitting on the bookshelves stand out more.
One frame had a master's degree in it, another held a house nestled in a forest of pine trees, and a third was of Sasuke with whom Sakura assumed was his family. His cheeks were slightly fuller in the photo, but his smirk was the same one she had grown to miss when it wasn't around. Looking at him then, she realized he looked much closer to her age in the picture than he did in the present day - how old was he anyway?
There was another young man beside him with his arm slung over his shoulders who seemed about as old as Sasuke currently was, his hair long and tied back behind him. On either side of the two was an older couple, the man looking quite serious while the woman had a much kinder face that reminded Sakura of the glimpses of warmth she occasionally saw in Sasuke.
As she stared at the lovely photo, her heart eventually cracked with grief as she remembered Sasuke crying just minutes earlier in her arms - this was his family he no longer had in his life, the reason he was in so much pain.
Lost in her own thoughts for however long, she didn't hear Sasuke emerge from his quarters until he was standing just a few feet behind her.
"That was the last photo we took together about ten years ago," he said over her shoulder.
She could smell the warm and musky fragrance of his body wash and immediately felt intoxicated by it. His arm reached around her for the frame as he pulled the photo closer to her, his chest ghosting behind her.
"That's Itachi, my older brother. His widow and kids have had the vineyard now for the last couple of years."
She nodded, trying to ignore the goosebumps forming under the warmth of his breath in her ear. He put the frame back on the shelf before stepping away. When she turned, she saw he was in the kitchen in a tight t-shirt and black sweatpants, grabbing a banana from a fruit bowl.
"Are you hungry?" He asked, mouth full in the process.
"I ate, unlike somebody else I know," she teased, padding over to the marble kitchen island across from him. He smirked, turning around to grab a bottle of Pedialyte from the giant stainless steel fridge.
"Well, I appreciate you helping my drunk ass home."
"I'm still sorry I put you in that situation tonight," she admitted as she leaned onto the cool stone. "I'll get out of your hair and head home."
He made a grunting noise of sorts before she could turn to get her shoes. When she looked up at him, she noticed he seemed slightly uncomfortable, if not downright awkward. "You don't have to rush out if you don't want to."
She blinked at him a few times, trying to understand what was going through his head. Did he not want some space after such a long and horrible day? Didn't he just want to go to bed and be done with it? Staring at him a little bit longer, it dawned on her that maybe he didn't want to be alone on this somber day, that he might actually want someone to keep him company.
She threw him a warm smile. "Maybe I could eat after all."
The rest of the night fell into place with nothing but ease and without any pressure. Sasuke toyed with the idea of cooking something, but Sakura called him on his buzzed bluff.
"You might feel better after vomiting but I don't trust you're sober enough to cook," she laughed as Sasuke stared into his fridge.
He shot her a glare, but she knew it was an empty threat at best. Without any energy to fight, Sasuke popped open his food delivery app and passed it to his younger guest. "Pick a place," he instructed.
She landed on a pizza shop, a choice Sasuke easily agreed with as he flopped on the couch. By the time Sakura sat on the opposite end, he had a basketball game up on the giant flatscreen. She figured it could have been worse.
It felt strangely easy to relax on the couch there with him and she attributed part of that ease to how average Sasuke seemed then. Even though he lived in a castle by comparison to where she was shacked up, it was refreshing to see him half alive on his couch in his designer sweats while nursing a bottle of Gatorade against his chest.
Bzzt..!
Groaning as he did, Sasuke pushed himself off the couch to shuffle to the intercom. The pizza delivery was downstairs, so he slid on some sandals he kept by the door to go down and grab it. Sakura helped herself to the cabinets to retrieve a couple of plates and a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge.
When he came back up and they started to chow down over the coffee table, it was impossible to stop herself from wondering what it would be like to spend most of her Friday nights with him like that.
Since they had established another layer of trust that night, she figured she had earned herself a few more questions about his personal life. Did he really want to stay single forever or was he just avoiding another opportunity to be as hurt as he was over the loss of his family?
It was a bold move, but something about the unexpected turn of events that night lit her courage on fire. She turned to get his attention, her question ready to go, but… Sasuke was dead asleep. Having turned horizontal at some point, he was completely knocked out and just starting to snore a bit as well.
The adrenaline that had been building inside of her dissipated instantly as she watched his chest rise and fall rhythmically. Maybe it was for the best she didn't pry, she considered.
She got up to take the rest of the pizza to the kitchen when she caught sight of his phone on the coffee table, the screen lighting up with a text. For whatever reason, he didn't have the text previews turned off, and right then she wished he had.
It was a message from someone named Karin. 'You done with that HH yet? Come over. 3'
Her heart clenched hard in her chest as though this Karin person was strangling it herself. She looked over at Sasuke again, throwing salt in her own wound. This was the reality of the situation, though. Even if he did want to consider dating over hookups, he was still burdened by his curse. The curse she couldn't afford to risk her life for.
She continued taking the pizza to the kitchen and swallowed her sadness as she slipped on her shoes by the door. She'd continue being his friend as best she could, but she had to face the facts that deep down, she knew she wanted more. She needed a plan of action.
What she needed was to be careful.
She wiped the counter with a mindless push and pull of her arm, her mind anywhere but at the cafe. After she headed out from Sasuke's, she decided to take the train after splurging on the car to get there from the happy hour that had turned sour. The trains, of course, were running slow. Her train in particular had issues on the track and was stuck in the tunnels for what felt like a lifetime. By the time she got home, it was hours past her intended bedtime, and even later once she took a shower and hit the sheets. To top everything off, she had work the next morning. She wondered if Sasuke woke up feeling half as shitty as she did.
"-kura, did you hear me?"
"Huh?" She looked up and saw her manager staring at her from the other side of the counter, an amused look on her face. "Sorry, I zoned out there for a minute."
"More like an hour. I don't expect it to get busy again for a while and the next shift will be here soon. Why don't you head out early? You seem beat."
Sakura berated herself in her mind. She was almost certain she was at least staying vigilant enough to get through the workday, but even her absent-minded manager noticed she was out of sorts. Not in a position to reject such an offer, she graciously thanked her boss before gathering her things to leave. She poured herself a to-go cup and headed out.
Having less than a full night of sleep wasn't an incredibly rare occurrence for her, but finding herself in such an emotional crossroad was. She had hit a wall with Sasuke. She wanted to believe she could both be there for him as a friend and keep her heart guarded, but the anguish she felt seeing that text from the person named Karin was evidence enough that she was setting herself up for a most devastating failure.
She sighed and texted Hinata who was going to meet her at the library for a study hour. She didn't yet know how her decision to create some space between her and Sasuke would play out, but she figured she'd at least be able to give her studies a bit more attention.
The caffeine boost kicked in as she sat next to the dark-haired woman who always seemed to have the kindest smile for her. She looked particularly lovely that day in her lavender blouse and lipstick.
"Did you get all dressed up for me?" Sakura teased as she pulled her notes out from her bag.
Hinata blushed. "I went to go see Naruto for lunch before this," she confessed.
Sakura's mouth fell open. "I completely forgot about him! So that's going well I take it?"
She nodded in response. "We've been talking nonstop since that trip to Beacon. He's been really wonderful."
There was a fleeting pang of jealousy, but Sakura swatted it away as she gave Hinata the biggest smile she could muster. "I"m so happy for you, that's awesome."
"And you?" Hinata asked, causing Sakura to cringe. "Anything new between you and Sasuke? I've been wanting to text you to ask but decided it could wait."
"Uh, well," she stumbled on her words. She didn't want to lie to Hinata, but she also didn't want to say anything that would travel through Naruto back to Sasuke. "Nothing new, still just good friends. It's fine."
She could feel Hinata's questioning gaze on her even as she cracked her notebook open and started on their studies. Fortunately, she didn't ask anything more on the subject and turned to her book instead.
They kept at it for almost an hour before Hinata broke her concentration to answer a text. Sakura saw her brow lift with what looked like surprise. "Everything okay?"
Hinata sighed as she tapped a response back into her phone. "Yeah, sorry. I'm supposed to meet my cousin later before a family thing, but he's asking where I am now. Looks like his last meeting of the day canceled."
"We can wrap up early if you want to go meet up with him now," Sakura offered. She was running out of steam again and felt like everything they were reviewing was going in one ear and out the other. If Hinata needed to bounce, that just meant she could head home and crash that much sooner.
"I'll just ask him to meet me here so we can cram another chapter in."
Reluctantly, Sakura agreed. By the time they were mostly done, she noticed a gentleman approaching their table. When she lifted her eyes to see who it was, she suddenly so glad Hinata insisted on staying.
"Hello," the polished and fair-eyed man greeted.
Hinata looked up and smiled. "Hey, Neji. This is Sakura, my friend from class I was telling you about."
"Nice to meet you," Sakura greeted him, extending her hand.
He returned the gesture and shook her hand, his palm so soft against hers. When he released it, his eyes lingered a bit longer.
"This is my cousin Neji. He works at a law firm in the area."
"So if I get into any trouble, you're the guy I should call?" The joke fell flat, but Hinata looked like she was holding back a laugh at her friend.
"Anyway," Hinata giggled. "We're just finishing up this chapter, do you mind waiting?"
"Not at all." Neji pulled out the chair next to his cousin and put his shoulder bag on the ground next to it. "Maybe I'll learn something myself."
The two women continued on under the inquisitive gaze of this Neji guy, his focus much more zeroed in on Sakura than anything else. As Hinata recited a list of notes they needed to memorize, Sakura's eyes kept flickering up from her notebook to the shameless face of the man across from her. She could feel the heat at the back of her neck and knew she probably had some color on her face to match.
"I'm going to use the restroom real fast and then we can go if that's okay?" Hinata asked, pushing her chair back as she did.
Neji barely looked up at her. "That's fine. I'll be here with your friend until you come back."
Hinata looked at Sakura with a fine brow lifted, but then ultimately shrugged and turned to head off when Sakura offered a timid smile.
"So, public health, huh?" Neji asked once they were alone.
Sakura nodded. "Yep, and fortunately almost done."
"If I had to guess," Neji started saying as he folded his hands on the table, "this coursework keeps you quite busy."
Sakura sighed, closing her books in front of her. "Yeah, but I make sure to make time for myself when I can."
"And for your boyfriend?"
She reddened and kept her eyes focused on the books as she slid them into her bag on her lap. Was he really going there right after they just met? "I don't have a boyfriend, actually."
"Perfect. Then I'd love to take you out to dinner sometime this week. What do you say?" He had the same sirene features as Hinata, but there was a glint in his light eyes that she couldn't help but find alluring.
"I could make that work," she smiled back, her cheeks still warm.
He looked over his shoulder and saw his cousin on her way back to them. His hand reached into his jacket and pulled out a business card to hand to the confounded woman across from him.
"Text me your availability and we'll make it happen."
Sakura ran a finger along the sharp edge of the card, the embossed name on the cardstock bold and glossy. She vaguely thought to the other business card the other man in her life had given her and wondered if she would stow this one with it. She smiled up at the lawyer, ignoring the pit in her gut.
"Consider it a date."
Lots going on in this chapter, don't you think? Unlike the last chapter, this one just seemed to come together much easier. So here we are - more clarity behind Sasuke's story and a crossroad Sakura had to make a decision at. I'd love to get your thoughts on this twist and turn, so thanks in advance for your review! Till next time :)