Fifteen

Her last final exam of the semester was Sasuke's. Several girls in the class, Karin being one of them, had cried upon turning in their exam, although Sakura wasn't sure if the tears were related to the test, or to losing Sasuke as a professor. Sakura had shot a secret smile at him the moment Karin had exited the room, looking longingly over her shoulder at the man behind his desk.

Sakura had finished the test almost thirty minutes ago, but something was keeping her in her seat. This classroom had pretty much changed her whole life, and this was her last day in it. Part of her was nervous, maybe a little scared, even. Sure, she had Sasuke's number, and sure, she saw him sometimes out of class. But class had been her guarantee. She saw him three times a week, every week. She didn't think that class ending would hurt their relationship…realistically, it should make it better, right? There wouldn't be a rule preventing them from being together anymore.

Still, Sakura chewed the end of her pencil, unwilling to stand from her desk and turn her last ever exam into Sasuke. She was overwhelmed by the finality of it all. She had been dreaming of this day for weeks, dreaming of the day that all the red tape would be gone and she could be with Sasuke without risking getting him in trouble. But now? She sat frozen in her seat as one by one, students marched up to the front and handed in their papers.

Sasuke had fixed her with a questioning gaze more than once, one eyebrow raised nearly imperceptibly as he silently seemed to ask, "what's wrong?" Every time his eyes had caught hers, Sakura had dropped her gaze immediately to her finished exam. She wasn't sure what had gotten into her, but suddenly turning in her test felt like an impossible task.

She stared blankly at the exam bubble sheet. One hundred questions, one hundred bubbles. Sakura counted them all and then counted again, counted them vertically, then horizontally, then forwards, then backwards. It had to be painfully obvious to everyone in the class that she was stalling, but Sakura could only hope that no one was paying her any attention.

"Time's up," Sasuke's cool voice interrupted her thoughts. Sakura looked up to see a student, the last student in the room, handing in his exam and scurrying out the door. She had somehow managed to sit there for the entire two-hour testing period without noticing.

Sasuke climbed the stairs to her row, still giving her that questioning look. "Since you failed to turn in your exam in the allotted amount of time, I'm afraid you'll be receiving a zero."

That snapped Sakura out of her daze. "W-what?!"

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed, snatching the papers up from her desk and giving her a look that told her he had been kidding.

"Geez, don't say stuff like that," Sakura mumbled, gathering up her worn-out bag. "You'll kill me. Heart attacks run in my family, you know."

Sasuke shot her another look, this one saying he wasn't amused. "Come on. You should get out of here and enjoy being done for the semester."

Sakura stood and followed Sasuke down the steps to his desk. "Are you staying here over the winter break?" Sakura asked from behind him.

"For some of it," Sasuke replied, adding her exam to the stack on his desk. Clearly, he wasn't going to elaborate.

"Are you visiting your family at all?" Sakura pressed, hoping her curiosity wouldn't come back to bite her. Sasuke didn't tend to enjoy conversations about his family, it would seem.

"Yes," he answered shortly. "For a few days."

"Oh, well that's…nice," Sakura kicked her tennis shoe-clad toe into the ground, feeling a little awkward. "Me too."

"Why didn't you hand in your test earlier?"

…she should have known he was going to ask her that.

"Um, I wasn't sure if I was done?" she scratched the back of her head and looked away from his piercing gaze. "It was a pretty hard test…"

"I never took you for a liar, Sakura," Sasuke frowned, gathering up the exam sheets and placing them in a box.

"I just," Sakura began, unsure of what she should say. "I just wasn't sure what would happen, you know, now that your class is over. Things are going to change and I…I just hope it's a change for the better."

Sasuke dropped the box back onto his desk, folding his arms across his chest, scowl set deeply into his face. "What are you talking about?"

Sakura blushed, she hated when he looked at her like that. So intense. "Um, I mean like, you know, with us. Class was a big part of how we see each other, and it's over now."

"Oh my god," Sasuke ran his hands through his gloriously disheveled hair and almost gave Sakura a different kind of heart attack all-together. "You're worried about us not seeing each other?"

"Well, yeah," Sakura blushed harder, confidence waning. "I mean, kind of."

"I know you've told me that calling you stupid is rude, but you make it so hard not to," Sasuke sighed to the ceiling.

"Hey!" Sakura snapped, punching him lightly on the arm.

His hand immediately clamped down on hers, pinning her fingers to his bicep. "I have no intention of not seeing you, stupid."

She tried to be mad at him. She really did. And if she thought he really meant it when he called her stupid, she would have been. It was just how he was. It was like every time he said something sweet, he had to sprinkle in just a little bit of asshole to maintain balance.

"Really?" she asked finally, when he had been staring at her long enough for her knees to feel weak.

He rolled his eyes. "Really. I'm getting an apartment off campus soon. It'll be easier for you to visit me there. Even though you're not my student anymore, you won't have to be uncomfortable coming to see me in the faculty building all the time."

"That's really sweet of you, Sasuke-kun," Sakura beamed up at him, noting the slight blush that colored the very tips of his cheekbones.

"Hn," was all he said, averting his gaze to the wall.

Typical.

She'd tried on about a hundred dresses, and Tsunade still wasn't happy.

Poor Shizune stood next to the doctor, about ten dresses piled in her arms. Sakura nearly cried when she saw them all. "Uh, Tsunade? Don't you think this is a bit…excessive? Shizune looks like she's about to fall down."

"No, no!" Shizune gasped from behind the massive pile of clothing. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine!"

"See? She's fine," Tsunade snapped. "Try on this black one," she snatched the top dress from Shizune's pile. "And Shizune, hand those to me and you go sit down."

Sakura tried not to roll her eyes as she took yet another dress into the fitting room to try on. They'd been at this for hours. As usual, the dress was gorgeous and Sakura thought it looked great, only to be met with the disapproving glare of Tsunade when she left the fitting room.

"Damn," Sakura sighed. "You're not easy on the ego, you know that?"

"Oh, hush," Tsunade tutted. "It's not you, it's the dresses. Just try these last three and I'll pick from those. Fair?"

"I guess," Sakura pouted dramatically, taking Tsunade's chosen three and heading back to the fitting room. She reminded herself that she should be grateful, she would never be able to afford dresses like these without Tsunade

If the woman didn't pick one of these, however, Sakura wasn't sure that a dress was worth this continued torture…

The Christmas party was only a day away, and it was taking all of Sakura's resolve to avoid telling Sasuke that she was going. She was curled up by his side on his couch, watching a Christmas movie that she had begged him to watch, and she was so excited she almost let it slip. She wanted it to be a surprise so bad that she somehow managed to hold it in.

Sasuke had fallen asleep almost an hour ago. His head was tipped back against the back of the couch and he was breathing deeply. Apparently, Christmas movies weren't his thing. Sakura watched him for a while, eventually reaching out to link her fingers with his own, pleased when she felt him tighten his grip a little. He had stayed true to his word, and the pair had seen each other nearly every day since class had ended. Sakura would be going back home for the break after the party, though, and so she was spending her last evening on campus with Sasuke.

He looked so different outside of class, somehow. More relaxed. Instead of dress clothes he was wearing a t-shirt and sweats, and his hair…well, his hair was kind of the same. In sleep, his face was unguarded, his forehead wasn't pinched, and his lips weren't frowning. He was somehow even more beautiful than usual.

Sasuke sighed deeply in his sleep arm snaking up and around Sakura's shoulders, bringing her closer to him on the couch. Sakura smiled, tucking her head into the crook of his neck as she turned her attention back to the movie.

She didn't see the gentle upwards tug of Sasuke's lips.

Sakura fell asleep like that, tucked under his arm on his couch. She woke up once in the middle of the night, the movie had long since ended. She made to stand up, trying to gently slip from Sasuke's grip without waking him.

"You're leaving?" Sasuke's groggy voice froze her.

Sakura nearly melted when she looked back to see him rubbing his eyes sleepily, like a child would. "I don't have to."

"So don't," he said, tugging gently on her arm.

And so she didn't.

"God, Ino," Sakura sighed. "Stop crying, will you?"

"You just look so beautiful," Ino wailed, ruining her own makeup as she applied a final sweep of mascara to Sakura's lashes. "I can't believe you're going to a fancy party to meet up with your model boyfriend. What did I do wrong?" She cried, shaking her fist at the unknowable universe.

"Calm down, Ino," Sakura chided, trying to keep her laughter in check. "It's not that big of a deal…"

"Not that big of a deal?!" Ino screeched. "Why does all the good shit happen to you? You don't even understand how big of a deal it is!"

"Ino!" Sakura scolded, standing and approaching her gently as one might approach a wild animal. "It's okay, I get it. It's a big deal. I'm just nervous, that's all."

"Nervous?!" Ino's mood changed immediately. "Why are you nervous? You look absolutely stunning, babe! You're going to knock his socks off."

"It's not just that," Sakura mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck self-consciously. "This party is with people way outside my social-class. I'm going to feel weird."

"Oh, Sakura," Ino's face immediately softened. "You're going to do fine. Tsunade will help you and you look beautiful. You'll fit right in."

"You sure?" Sakura asked, shooting her friend an appreciative smile.

Ino laid a hand on her best friend's shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "I'm positive."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto's raspy voice was accompanied by frenzied knocking at the door. "Open up!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at Ino, turning to open the door for her loudmouthed friend. "What is it, you fre…woah. You look adorable."

Naruto stood in her doorway, dressed up in a black tuxedo with his hair actually styled for once in his life. He had a bowtie hanging untied around his neck. "Can you help me tie this torture device?" he asked, gesturing towards the tie around his neck. "Hinata isn't here to help me and I have no idea what to do with it."

"Come on in," Sakura grabbed his hand and pulled him into the room. "Ino, do you know how to tie a bowtie?"

"No, but YouTube does!" Ino held her finger up in the air before scurrying to her laptop. "Hang on, Naruto, I'll save you."

"Thanks," Naruto grinned. "You look awesome, Sakura-chan!"

"Thanks," Sakura blushed a little. "I'm glad you're going to be at the party with Hinata, I might need to hang out with you guys depending on how things go."

"Sure thing, Sakura-chan!" Naruto beamed. "I'm just glad I'll be there to keep an eye on that Sasuke guy. I promised your dad that I'd make sure he's good for you, hehe."

"Oh my god," Sakura slapped a hand to her forehead. How typical.

"Forehead!" Ino yelled from behind her laptop. "What did I say about touching your face?!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Sakura held her hands up in surrender.

Ino grumbled something under her breath, likely derogatory, before turning to Naruto. "Alright, get over here blondie."

Sakura and Tsunade got to the party twenty minutes late, as Tsunade had insisted that it was imperative to snub Danzo in any way possible. Sakura had been all too happy to oblige, this Danzo guy seemed like a creepy brat. Granted, she had only met him once, in Sasuke's office, but still…he had seriously rubbed her the wrong way.

Butterflies fluttered in Sakura's stomach as she remembered the text she had received from Sasuke only moments before they had arrived.

I miss you, it had said.

Three simple words, but they were words that had been surprising coming from Sasuke. She didn't think she would ever get tired of the rare moments when Sasuke told her how he was really feeling. Their scarceness made them all the more special.

"I'm so glad that you're here," Tsunade grumbled under her breath as they approached the admittedly beautiful house. "I wouldn't be able to make it through this without you. And gin. Gin as well."

Sakura merely rolled her eyes at her mentor, taking in the splendor of the massive house as they came to the door. There was a huge roundabout out front with a fountain in the middle, valets bustling around it, taking cars from the guests. The landscaping was beautiful, with perfectly trimmed hedges and bushes and dozens of pots of red carnations sprinkled about. A butler greeted them at the front door.

A massive, sparkling, crystal chandelier hung overhead in the entryway, and Sakura was sure that it cost more money than she would ever make in her lifetime. The white marble floor was spotless, and there were two sets of grand stairs on either side of the room leading up to a second level that overlooked the entryway. Sakura was suddenly dizzy with how far out of her league she was. In the financial world, she was likely much more closely aligned with the serving staff.

"Tsunade," she began with a dry mouth and slightly shaky hands. "I'm not so sure if it's a good idea for me to be here…"

"Oh, hush," Tsunade chided, taking Sakura by the arm and leading her towards the bustling sound of people in the other room. "We talked about this, you'll be fine."

"I'm way out of my league here!" Sakura was embarrassed to feel the tiniest prickling of tears. "I'm going to have no clue how to act."

"Just act like yourself, you're overthinking this," Tsunade scolded, still with her arm looped tightly in Sakura's. "You don't have to do anything special, these people aren't royalty. Plus, I'm just dying to see the Uchiha boy's reaction to you in that dress…"

"Tsunade!" a blush overtook Sakura's pale features.

Admittedly, the dress did look pretty good. She had Tsunade to thank for that. Without her, she'd have been stuck wearing her prom dress from senior year, which she had bought for $20 at a dress shop that had been going out of business. It was two sizes too big.

Instead, she was dressed like a princess. The gown was a deep, maroon color that made her eyes sparkle even brighter than usual. It was relatively simple – it had a detailed, lacy top with spaghetti straps and a silky skirt with a slit up one side. Sakura had initially protested but was eventually convinced by Tsunade and her fervent encouragement. Encouragement in this sense meaning whining. She had a pair of simple sparkly stud earrings in and a delicate silver chain necklace with a tiny silver butterfly around her neck. It had been a gift from her parents when she graduated high school.

The room they entered was massive, and appeared to be some form of ballroom. It was packed with people all dressed to the nines, mingling and chatting over cocktails and appetizers. The long back wall was lined with several glass doors that appeared to lead to a balcony outside.

Sakura had never seen so many well-dressed people in her life. There had to be hundreds of them, but the large room made the group seem smaller. She recognized some local politicians and business people, but the majority of them were largely alien to her. No sign of Sasuke.

No sign of Naruto, either. She caught a glimpse of Hinata's parents, but neither Naruto nor Hinata was with them. Sakura frowned, she was hoping to find Naruto or Sasuke right away. She had no way of knowing how long Tsunade was going to say sober…

She did see Kabuto, however, and she grimaced. He was standing towards the edge of the party with a skinny, pale man with long dark hair. Seeing Kabuto in the company of such a creepy looking man made him all the more alarming to Sakura. She made a note to keep an eye out for him.

"Ah, Tsunade-San. Wonderful to see you could make it," Danzo appeared in front of Sakura and Tsunade, smiling coldly. "Who is your lovely guest?"

Sakura's eyes locked with the man standing before her, narrowing only slightly when he all but leered at her.

"This is Haruno Sakura. She works for me at the clinic," Tsunade replied stiffly, clearly not caring enough to fake politeness. "She's going to be a doctor someday."

"How very fascinating!" Danzo cooed, eyes straying a bit from Sakura's face. "I do believe I've seen you before. Was it in Uchiha Sasuke's office perhaps?"

Sakura grit her teeth at the sound of Sasuke's name coming from the man's lips. "Yes," she did her best to keep her voice civil. "I believe so."

"Right," Danzo's smile never faltered. "Well, the Uchihas are here somewhere, you'll have to be sure to say hello to him. I'm sure he'd love to see you again."

"We'll let you tend to your other guests," Tsunade smiled at the man (it was more like a grimace), as she reclaimed Sakura's arm and led her away from him. "Sorry about that Sakura, he's such a creep."

But Sakura wasn't listening.

Because there was Sasuke.

And on his arm was a beautiful blonde-haired girl, clinging to him for dear life and looking at him like he had hung the moon for her.

AN: OOPS CLIFFY MB HEHE. Sorry… Luckily, chapter 16 is pretty much finished so I won't keep you guys waiting for too long.

I changed my username to loonymoony, previously loonymoony17. When I made this account years ago, loonymoony was taken, but it's free now so I jumped on it :D ;)

I made a twitter, (mostly to thank ceejss for linking my story and drawing amazing art), but I think I'll use it to interact with readers/post snippets too, so follow me loonymoonyff if you want! I made a tumblr, but I'm not really sure if I'll use it yet. I'm on Pinterest as loonymoony as well, but I don't have too much posted there.

Standby, I promise chapter 16 will be here soon! Leave me a review and let me know what you thought of this one ;) *devious laughter*

Love, loony :)