Chapter 6

August

Hinata: So, I'm struggling really hard right now.

Sakura: Is there anything I can do?

Hinata: What you've been doing. Listening to be vent.

Sakura: You know I got you.

Hinata had been going through a rough time in her own personal life it seemed, so Sakura had been chatting with her through DMs to listen and help vent for her friend. Hinata wasn't the kind to be outwardly angry or outright vengeful, so she leaned on Sakura to do that for her. In the months they had been talking, Hinata had become a close friend with Sakura and the two got along well. There was also Ino, but she was busy with her own personal life, but it felt as though the two of them would be just as close. As Hinata logged off to work on a graphic design project, something that Sakura had been urging her to do, she went back to a game she had been playing. It was a Disney game that mimicked that of a game she had always enjoyed, so she had been obsessed with it. Someone on the website she still logged in on made a thread about it. Chatting with a few people about the game, a very familiar username popped up, directly quoting one of her posts and responding to it. She felt everything pause, her fingers hovering over her keyboard as she realized that Kurama_Fox was in the chat. She had no idea what it was about this person, but something about them caught her attention.

So, she responded, unsure why this person was making her feel nervous, but not in a negative way. She never saw them and had no idea who this person was, but after she had established to Hinata once she had seen him months prior, Hinata associated it with "friendship crush". That rather than it being someone you want a romantic relationship with, you want a friendship with them. Sakura had found the idea amusing but went along with it all the same. After a few exchanges, she realized that it felt like talking to an old friend and she learned that his name was Naruto. He seemed friendly and got along well with everyone. And they instantly fell into a sort of friendship where Sakura wasn't sure how to explain something like this. Just as she was responding, her phone rang, and she saw Sasuke was wanting a video call.

"Hey handsome!" Sakura beamed into her camera, watching as she set his phone on the dashboard of his car as he was driving home. She could barely make him out in the dark, but she knew the point was more for him to see her. Setting her camera on her desk in a way so she could continue typing, she went back to her computer. "How was work?"

"Annoying. I'm ready to get back to school. How about you? I see you typing away." Sasuke responded, eyes more focused on the road than her. He had learned the hard way last time that she didn't like it when he paid more attention to her.

"I made a new friend! His name is Naruto." Sakura said with a wide smile.

"Naruto, huh? He sounds like a loser." Sasuke teased.

"Why am I not surprised that you'd go there?" Sakura giggled. "So, I know it's still a way out, but we should make plans for our winter break."

"Ah, yeah I can send you dates. Are your parents okay with it?" Sasuke asked, going from teasing to serious in seconds.

"Yeah. They said that would be fine. I still have to work my normal job, unfortunately, but you can just go with me." Sakura responded, glancing at her phone even though she couldn't really see him.

"Driving around with you all day? Sure." Sasuke said, a smirk on his lips. "Sounds like a boring time."

"Rude. Did I mention you are rude?" Sakura pouted, looking at her phone fully. "R-U-D-E!"

"Yeah, but you like it." Sasuke smirked more. "So, Naruto is going to be your new boyfriend, too?"

"Someone jealous? I figured we'd go straight to husband and wife. I don't even know what he looks like or what he's even like, but that should be fine, right?" Sakura responded, tapping her index finger against her chin thoughtfully.

"As if I'd share you with someone else." Sasuke growled, a slight hint of amusement in his voice.

Sakura grinned, a blush displaying itself proudly across her nose and cheeks as she allowed his words to sink in. She had had several different kinds of boyfriends throughout her years. During her middle school and high school years, until her senior year, Sakura didn't have the advantages that many others did. Being bullied by the same group of people who seemed to follow her had left her more alone than ever before. Boys would either commit to her under the agreement they would only talk outside of school to merely ask her on a date as a joke to appease her bullies. It had been a rough time and her last boyfriend right before Sasuke had said she had only grown into herself because he took pity on her and told her she was something when he felt she was nothing. Sasuke was different in many ways, opting to write her his feelings, as she learned he wasn't one to showcase and would sometimes tease her by holding back affection only to make it up to her in writing later when she least expected it.

It had taken her a few weeks to learn that it wasn't that he didn't care about her, but that he lacked the way to express how he felt. He used teasing that never brought her down and never made her feel bad and a smirk to display that he really did appreciate what she'd say and do. As she glanced at him now, the occasional streetlight allowed her to see him for a split second, but that was all she needed. Dark eyes and hair a contrast to pale skin were the main things she would see. Yet, she'd look at his perfectly sculpted features ranging from his naturally perfect eyebrows, straight nose, and full lips. How could someone so beautiful be into someone like her? Then she thought back to each time he'd stare at her, and she would see the look of appreciation and love shining in his dark gaze. She wondered what it would be like when they did officially meet.

November

"What the hell did I just do?"

Sasuke groaned, shoving a hand through his already unruly hair before hitting the backspace button a few times. Suigetsu didn't seem to be much better as the two of them were working on a paper for their business class. While his parents had been open to the idea of engineering, Fugaku made sure that Sasuke minored in business. As time went on, Sasuke did wonder if he wanted to fully invest time in business and go the route his parents would have wanted. It led to possibilities nearly cemented for him. Suigetsu had already told him how annoying it was to hear him go back and forth, but he didn't care.

"Dude, chill. You keep stressing out and your girlfriend is going to notice. Besides, best to not die early from a heart attack when you are going to see her in a month." Suigetsu said, rolling his eyes. "Dramatic."

"Nobody asked you." Sasuke snapped, glaring at his friend before turning back to his computer screen.

"Call your girlfriend, rub one out, and call it a night. Get back to it tomorrow." Suigetsu sighed, leaning back in his chair. "It's not due for a few days and don't look at me like that. I know what the two of you do on the phone. Nasty."

Suigetsu mumbled, leaving their living room and heading into his room. Sasuke would never admit it, but his ears were burning at the idea that his best friend heard them. Granted, Sasuke tried to be a bit more dramatic about it since he couldn't be right there, and everything was through video chat. He had to admit that the idea of physically touching her in a month looked to be more and more appealing. While he didn't mind the manner in which they had to do things now, he really wanted to touch her and feel her against him. Groaning, he leaned back in his own chair, realizing that his mind had gone in a way that it shouldn't have. Looking at the clock on the bottom right corner of his computer screen, he knew she would be asleep. It was rare when they were able to do anything as she and her roommate had a more shared space than he and Suigetsu did. However, he had seen her enough to recall her vividly, which was enough for him.

A bit later, he washed his hands, thankful that she hadn't been around so that Suigetsu wouldn't give him shit the next day. Yet, it didn't feel as great as it normally would when she was involved. Sasuke grasped the corners of the counter, looking into the mirror in his bathroom, dark eyes looking as tired as he felt. He had been putting more effort into classes as of late, had already talked to both a counselor and Sakura about his idea of fully investing his time in business, learning that he would have no issues and graduate on time. He found himself logging into the site, something he had not done in a while and decided to lurk around. Sasuke came across the username Sakura had stated belonged to Naruto. The man was around their age, seemed to have several friends based on his profile, and by looking around the site, could tell he seemed to be friendly and chatty.

Something caught his attention, and it was a few people teasing Sakura and Naruto about looking like a couple. Frowning, brows furrowed, he looked at their interaction, not seeing anything out of the norm. It was something Sakura had told him about but seeing it for himself made him understand why the two of them found it annoying. Naruto nor Sakura gave off the vibe of a couple, but rather friends of the opposite sex chatting. And she had mentioned a few times in the thread that she was seeing Sasuke. Smirking, he went back to lurking around and then noticed a message pop up on his own screen. Clicking the red image, he saw that it was Karin. Not surprised she still logged in, he read it and instantly rolled his eyes. Her instant flirting annoyed him, even though she had ceased doing so in person. He responded with a very short and blunt response, telling her that her flirting was annoying before logging off. He knew that Karin was still jealous of Sakura, having asked how it was possible she had known him for years and in person and it took someone a long way away he had never met to be the one to steal his heart.

"If you only knew just how special Sakura is."

That's what he would tell her. Suigetsu would make gagging noises while Karin would turn red from embarrassment. It appeared that Karin thought she would try to be coy online with him, similar to how Sakura would be. And he'd make sure that she understood that it would never happen. His phone vibrated and he looked over at it to see that he had a text from Itachi. He unlocked his phone, reading the message and instantly rolling his eyes. Knowing that their parents put him up to it, he declined their prodding to get him to come home for Christmas. Having already established he would be away during that time; he would constantly get hints from each of them off and on during that time. Sasuke figured they would get the hint when he didn't show up at their doorstep and in fact showed up on her own. Though, he also knew that wouldn't be as fun given that Sakura was going to be picking him up from the airport. He had already purchased the ticket, knowing it would be easier to fly in and do it that way.

Thankfully, his teacher had canceled his only class for tomorrow. He got on his bed and pulled out a book on his phone, reading and engrossing himself in the material. It was a pastime he had enjoyed for the longest time, something that he learned Sakura did as well. It was something he chose to do instead of gaming as he needed to focus on his studies at the moment. And learning that Sakura was also a gamer, though her preference leaned more into Legend of Zelda than Final Fantasy, he still finds her all the more appealing. While he could talk about his enjoyment of the 9th game in the Final Fantasy series, she would discuss her love of Ocarina of Time. Her excitement was just as evident in his own when she could talk for long periods of time about everything from theories to what is actually in the game. Her passion for games such as that, makeup, and music was something he found he loved about her.

If he had anything about her, he would change, it was how she saw herself. He noticed she would be uncomfortable at random times, usually bringing herself down in some way, which he immediately stopped her from finishing. It had taken a while, but he noticed she did it less and less, confidence taking hold of her. Sasuke had learned a bit about her during their time chatting, which allowed him to understand why she reacted the way she did. So, he would make sure that he could make her feel wanted when he finally saw her in person. Sakura had admitted she was short, but he was curious just how short she was. He was pretty tall, standing several inches above six feet, so he wondered if she was a foot shorter than him, though she stated she wasn't that short, but short enough. Smirking at the idea of looking down into her eyes, he felt excitement building at the prospect of simple physical touches. Hugging her and kissing her were the basics but being able to cuddle with her and watch a movie was appealing, which wasn't something he would normally do with a girl. Yet, any chance he could to have her close to him he would take during his time with her.

One week before meeting…

"Mom, I told you I'm going to Sakura's house." Sasuke sighed, gripping the bridge of his nose with his right hand while holding the phone with his left.

"Don't you think it's dangerous to be meeting someone you've never met?" His father stated clearly into the phone.

"I've video chatted with her. I think after months of seeing her and talking with her, I have an idea that she's my age." Sasuke spat out.

"Yes, but she could have someone with her ready to harm you, sweetie." His mother cautioned, her voice holding a slight quiver of emotion.

"I'm old enough to handle myself." Sasuke stated flatly. "The plan is in motion and her family expects me. I'm not going to back out last minute to appease you. Let me do this."

"Fine. I'll trust you to handle this." His father admitted defeat, surprising Sasuke. "We will quit asking you to come home. We will send your presents to your apartment after the new year. Let us know when you get there and how it's going each day."

"Yeah, I promise." Sasuke said, smiling to himself, bidding them a good afternoon before hanging up.

"Your parents are really overprotective." Suigetsu said with a yawn.

"I'm used to it. They trust Itachi more than me." Sasuke said with a shrug, pocketing his phone.

"I wonder why." Suigetsu said with a smirk, earning a glare from Sasuke. "I'm just saying man, Itachi does what he's told."

"Not even close, he's just better at hiding it. I don't care to hide it, Itachi on the other hand does so he doesn't have to be treated the same way I am." Sasuke said, smirking at just how much Itachi does behind their parent's back. "Itachi is far worse than I am."

"Maybe you should be like him. Hide that shit so you can do whatever."

"What's the fun in that? When I'm being outwardly rebellious, he can do what he wants without them giving it a second thought." Sasuke said with a shrug. "He knows."

"Whatever you say." Suigetsu said with a shrug, then looked over at Sasuke's desk in their living room. "So, you're serious about this girl."

"Well, meeting her will be the deciding factor, but I'm pretty serious about her." Sasuke looked over at his desk as well. "She's different."

"I also know you. You've never been serious about anyone in your life, even your friends. Sure, you're there for us, but not like this." Suigetsu said, turning back to his best friend. "Sakura is a great person, so I know you gave it a lot of thought."

Suigetsu left a moment later, leaving Sasuke to sit in their living room, taking a drink from the one soda a week he allowed himself to have. He'd have to work it off later, but it would be worth it, which is what he told himself each time. He leaned back on their couch, black hair clashing with the white fabric as his eyes stared at the ceiling fan above his head that was spinning lazily. A week from today he would be seeing the person that had managed to wiggle her way into his heart. The only person he ever laughed with, genuinely smiled at, and the only one who has seen him at his weakest. Never once had she judged him or made him feel bad for what he was thinking or going through, even when it was minor. Even if she was going through something that he wouldn't wish on anyone, she still took the time to listen to him and be supportive. Closing his eyes, he could picture her smiling face, pink hair, and vibrant green eyes just as vividly as ever.

Looking back over at his desk, the small object sitting to the side, patiently waiting for its new owner to open. He wondered what she would think when she opened the content of that small object, would it freak her out? Or would she accept it for what the meaning was? He could picture it being in her possession and how perfect it would fit her, how the meaning behind it would be as evident to them as it would to anyone else. He learned his parents had found out why they pushed for him to come home, but he refused, knowing that he needed to do this. The meaning they felt behind such a delicate gift was much more than it really was. That one, single item would depict a promise of their future together, of finding a way to make what they have work and find each other permanently. It was his promise to her that she could see every day to show her that he meant what he said. That she meant something more to him than just someone he talked to on the phone daily. And in a few days, it would join his clothing, accessories, and everything important to him when he prepared to travel to see her.