Disclaimer: I forgot to add one on the first chapter. I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. I only own the content of these one shots.

Patterns

His life was comfortable, satisfying. He had routines from his Monday to Friday 9.00-5.00 job to his sessions at the gym three times a week after work, from his Sunday afternoon food shop to his Monday evening pick-up from the dry cleaners.

Even when there wasn't a routine per se, there were usually patterns. When he went out on a Friday night after work, he would inevitably pick up a girl in whichever bar or club he frequented that night. They always approached him, and there was little effort on his part- they were all too eager to please him. He rarely remembered their name, or even their face. They were all much the same- pretty, confident, trying to charm him. He had never let any of them get too attached and none of them had ever met his family. Despite Mikoto's many enquiries, Sasuke usually just told his Mother that his most recent relationship hadn't worked out. He would never admit to her that he had one-night stands, not relationships.

His Friday night saw him in a newly opened club. He was at the bar and his eyes scanned the venue over the top of his glass. The music thumped loudly, and the dancefloor was crowded, everyone jostling each other as they moved to the music. A tall brunette with dark eyes near the edge of the floor winked across at him. She swayed her hips as he watched but stumbled into a guy dancing nearby, who helped to steady her. By the time that she had looked back to the bar, Sasuke had turned away. If she wasn't sober, he wasn't interested.

He looked along the bar and realized a group of girls had gathered at a spot further along the bar from him. One of them, petite with pink hair, glanced over at him a few times. He smirked as she picked up her glass, spoke to her friends and then approached him. He always let them come to him.

She stopped in front of him, a polite smile on her face. He continued to smirk as he wondered how she was going to proceed. Would she go for the bold approach, asking straight up if he was single? Or would she start more conventionally, asking his name? With the polite smile, he guessed the latter.

"Are you okay?"

Sasuke blinked, his smirk gone in an instant. This was not an opening line that he was used to, and all he could manage in response was, "Huh?"

Yet she was still smiling. "You were looking around as though you were waiting for somebody, or you'd lost who you came in with. I thought maybe you needed someone to talk to? I'm happy to lis-…"

"What are you? A psychologist?" he interrupted, turning away and draining his glass, annoyed at her impertinence.

The girl didn't look offended. If anything, her smile grew bigger. "Nope, that's my friend," she replied with a glance at the group of friends that she had come in with. "Well, a psychology student anyway. And I'm studying medicine."

He looked at her again, trying to slot this new information into his perception of her. He then glanced at her friends, wondering which one was the psychology student. Only one was watching them- the platinum blonde. The look on her face was familiar, something in her baby blue eyes that suggested she wanted to eat him for breakfast. That was never the case. He inevitably had them eating out of the palm of his hand before the night was through.

"Do you want me to introduce you?" He dropped his gaze back to the girl beside him. Her smile was even bigger, lighting up her whole face and making her striking green eyes sparkle.

"Tsk," he frowned down at her. "You're…" He stopped himself, deciding that he didn't want to be responsible for a crying girl.

"I'm what?" she pushed. He should have known that she wouldn't let it drop. She had her head titled to the side, one eyebrow pulled down slightly as though she were merely curious about what his impression of her was.

He continued to scowl down at her. "Annoying."

She blinked, staring back at him with wide eyes while he waited to see what her reaction would be. It was rare that he ever resorted to insulting a girl but on the few occasions that he had done it, they had all had one of two reactions: tears, or shouting. Both caused a brief scene but they always stormed off after and Sasuke would get the peace that he desired.

However this girl hadn't followed any of the patterns that he was familiar with so far and she didn't disappoint now. She burst out laughing. He watched her in confusion and decided that she was an anomaly, from her unique colourings to her unpredictable responses.

"What's that?" he asked abruptly, nodding at her drink. She stopped laughing and followed his gaze.

"Vodka, blackcurrant and lemonade," she answered, holding the nearly empty glass up closer for him to see.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Finally, something predictable- it was such a typical student drink. He raised a hand to attract the barmaid's attention. "Two Grey Goose with sparklng water," he requested, handing money over as he placed the order. He could feel the girl's eyes on him as she finished her drink before turning her attention to the returning barmaid. He waved away the change and the barmaid gave a flirtatious smile. His companion opened her mouth to place an order but the barmaid turned away to serve a group of guys. The girl scowled at her until she saw the glass being slid along the bar to rest in front of her.

"What's this?" she asked, sounding startled.

"A drink," Sasuke smirked. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha."

He expected a blush, maybe even a squeal. He didn't expect narrowed eyes. "I'm not going to sleep with you just because you bought me a drink," she stated.

Sasuke could tell that she meant it but he also realized that he didn't care. He was starting to enjoy this girl's unpredictability. He found the change refreshing, and it made the usual patterns he was accustomed to seem boring.

"That's a bit of a mouthful," he answered. "What do your friends call you?"

The girl blinked in surprise once again, then laughed. "Sakura Haruno."

Sasuke raised his glass and held it towards her. "Pleased to meet you," he said. As she clinked her glass against his, that beautiful smile still on her face, Sasuke looked forward to actually spending time getting to know a girl. Mikoto might even get to meet her.