animal i have become
theeflowerchild
one
Sasuke isn't sure how it happens, but it's very fast. One minute, he's staring out the window, watching the fluffy clouds and the clear blue sky, thinking how lovely of a night it will be for a run, and the next minute, he's suffocating.
His heart has always been fast, but he's sure he's pushing 200 beats per minute when Kakashi introduces the new girl. His ears are clogged. His mouth is dry. He's halfway between not breathing at all and hyperventilating. He's sweating.
Kakashi frowns. "Everything alright over there, Sasuke?"
Quickly, he says, "inhaler," and runs out of the room, slamming the door behind him. There's no inhaler. Sasuke's skin is so tight, he wants to crawl right out of it. He forgoes his coat and walks right out of the office, directly into the icy winter. It's not as cool as he would've hoped, and he's absolutely boiling. He doesn't think he's ever been this hot.
He runs toward the woods, and when he makes it past the initial trees, into the thickness, he shifts, clothes ripped and shoes left behind. He shakes his withers and wipes his muzzle in the dirt. He howls.
He's imprinted.
On a human.
Sasuke runs until his stomach hurts, runs until his paws are caked with dirt and his fur is wet with mud. He runs until he reaches his backyard and shifts, naked and angry, before entering his house through the back. He takes the coldest shower his pipes will allow and he still feels achingly hot, his skin steaming and his forehead sizzling. He wishes he could dissolve with the water, swirl down the drain, and never see the outside world ever again.
When he's as cool as he thinks he's going to get, he calls Kakashi and lies about an asthma attack. The man is as empathetic as he can be, and tells Sasuke to take his time and feel better, to relax and let him know if he'll be able to come in tomorrow. He grumbles and disconnects.
Sasuke sits, still naked and confused, on his bed. He thinks of pink hair and green eyes, peach skin and a petite body. He hadn't even caught her name. The last thing he saw before running out of his office as fast as humanly possible was pink, pouty lips set in a grim line and fine eyebrows knitted in confusion. The rest of her is a blur, but he feels her.
Sasuke feels this girl. He feels her beating heart, and her relaxed pulse. He feels her clammy hands and tapping foot. He feels her nervous smile and her sparkling eyes. He doesn't need to know what she looks like, or what her name is. He feels his mate.
He swallows hard. What will his pack leader do when he finds out he's imprinted, and imprinted on a human and not another wolf? Orochimaru will kill him, or worse—what will happen to this girl? This poor girl who has no control over this situation, who has no idea what's happening because she's a human. A human girl. A human girl that he has imprinted on.
He shakes his head. Nothing is going to happen, because nobody is going to find out.
He slams his fist on the bed. He makes a run for his window, shifts to the ground, and doesn't return to work until the following Monday.
"We're very happy to have you here, Sakura," her new boss, a middle aged, silver-haired man with a mole on his face and a charming smile, tells her. "I look forward to working with you."
Her grip tightens on her notebook. "Me too! I'm so grateful for this opportunity, Mr. Hatake."
"Call me Kakashi, and I'm happy to hear it," he says. She follows him into a small conference room. "You'll be shadowing a few of our more tenured editors for the next few weeks, before we give you some of your own work. Soon you'll be dreaming in yellow highlighter!"
She laughs. "Is it sad that I already do?"
"Only a little." He winks. "I'll be sure to commiserate elsewhere."
The rest of the team follows in, and Sakura is introduced to her new coworkers: Kurenai, a fiery copy editor, Hinata, a shy legal editor, and Shikamaru, an exhausted-looking senior news editor. They all shake her hand kindly and offer their congratulations. The last editor, who Sakura knows must be the senior fiction editor—which is her absolute dream job, spares her nary a glance before slumping in his chair.
She frowns immediately. He's rude, and handsome, and rudely, handsomely large. He has messy hair and dark, deep set eyes. His cheekbones and jawline could cut diamonds. He has pretty, plush lips and pale, flushed skin.
Kakashi begins to introduce her, and the giant, rude man starts… choking?
"Uh, Sasuke?" Shikamaru asks, an eyebrow raised.
"Everything alright over there, Sasuke?" Kakashi asks, a little awkwardly.
Sakura hears this Sasuke mutter something like, "inhaler," before rushing out the door at a speed she might call inhuman. The door slams shut, and everybody stares at each other.
Kurenai is the first to laugh. "I have to say, that doesn't happen often."
"I didn't even know he had asthma," Hinata offers softly.
Kakashi shrugs. "Well, sorry about that Sakura—I was going to have you shadow Sasuke, but since he needs a moment, I'll send you off with Shikamaru."
"What a drag," he mumbles, much to Sakura's bemusement, before he ushers her out the door with a swatting hand. "I didn't have anything planned for you until next week, but we'll find something, I'm sure."
"Thank you," she says with a pretty smile. Shikamaru smiles, too, if only a little, and directs her to a small cubicle. He grabs an extra chair, and they begin.
The rest of Sakura's week goes by quickly. She enjoys getting to know her coworkers; she likes her team, all friendly and interesting. Shikamaru makes her think, Hinata tells the best stories, and Kurenai makes her laugh.
Sasuke doesn't come back.
"He must be very sick," Hinata says with a frown. "We have to get him flowers."
"Does Sasuke look like the type to want flowers?" Kurenai asks. "Get him a cigar or something."
"He has asthma," Shikamaru says with a roll of his eyes. Sakura laughs. "I'll pick up some flowers after work. Everyone can just Venmo me ten bucks."
Kurenai shrugs, and Hinata nods. Sakura uses this as a friendly way to exchange numbers with her coworkers. She sends ten dollars for a man she's never met, a man that rushed out of the room at what seemed like her presence.
Though that's not possible. It just seemed like it.
"Hopefully you'll get to meet Sasuke on Monday," Hinata says sweetly. "He's very nice."
"Not the word I'd use," Shikamaru huffs. "But he's fine. Good at his job."
"A little private," Kurenai adds.
"Maybe you just over share," Shikamaru counters, only for Kurenai to huff and push him.
"Senior fiction editor, is like, the dream." Sakura sighs. "I can't wait to pick his brain."
"Good luck with that one," Kurenai huffs. "He's not much of a talker."
"Again," Shikamaru quips, "maybe you talk too much—"
"Enough," Hinata decides, not unkindly. "They do this a lot. Don't mind them."
Sakura laughs at the sudden change in who she thought was the shy girl's demeanor. Their other coworkers cease their back and forth with nervous grins. "Not at all."
Sakura is the first one to say goodnight, not much to work on past her shift, but she's sure she'll be one of the last ones to leave as the weeks pass on. "Have a good weekend!"
She takes the long way home, new to town, testing side streets in her tiny sedan. She gets a little lost, and eventually finds the house she's renting. Her roommate's car is already in the driveway, she notices with a frown. There won't be any cooking in her underwear tonight.
"Hey!" she calls into the house after she unlocks the door.
"Sakura, yo!" Karin calls from the kitchen. Sakura stops in her tracks and inhales deeply; the house smells incredible, warm and earthy. "Hope you don't mind, I used your chicken!"
"By all means!" she calls back. Sakura may be good at many things, but cooking is not one of them. She's fine with Karin using any of her groceries if she continues to make the house smell like this.
"It's almost ready," she says, and Sakura watches her work the skillet like she works a highlighter: effortlessly.
"It smells amazing," she gushes.
"Somebody had to cook in the house," she muses. "Did you lock the door?"
Sakura shrugs. "I forgot. I'll get it in a minute."
"Better go now. Don't want the wolves getting you," she teases.
"Wolves?" Sakura asks, eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"You didn't know? We're surrounded by wolves out here," she says. She begins plating their dinner. "I'm shocked you haven't heard them howling."
"I can sleep through anything." She grins sheepishly. "Have you ever seen one?"
"Once or twice." She places a plate in front of Sakura, which she kindly thanks her for. "They don't come out in the streets, really. And they're huge! Like, biggest you'll see anywhere."
"Really?" She laughs, and then moans. "Holy shit, Karin, this is amazing."
"Thanks." She offers a winning smile. "Seriously, though, the ones I've seen are like, the size of freaking miniature horses—but thicker. No, really, stop laughing, I mean it!" Karin swats Sakura, who's nearly doubled over in laughter.
"I believe you, I believe you." Karin frowns when she keeps laughing. "I'll keep the doors locked, I promise."
"You better," she grumbles. "I'm not getting eaten by wolves just because you can't turn a lock."
"There will be no wolves in our house," Sakura promises, and the tuck into their dinners with giggles.