It pissed him off. It really did. And what pissed him off more was that he didn't know what pissed him off the most.
They'd changed. All of them had. They'd all gone and grew up… without him. They'd left him behind.
Sasuke flopped face first onto his bed, his level of pissed off-ness rising more and more due to the fact that there was absolutely nothing he needed to be pissed off about.
Except for the fact that he was not only an easily forgettable prude with no childhood to speak of but that… that they had left him behind. And why? Why? So he'd been gone for awhile, so what? Hadn't they made promises to him? Separately and as a team? Did promises mean so little to them? Did he mean so little to them?
Fuck.
Stupid thoughts. Stupid emotions and over reactions. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why was he so damn upset and letting something so… so… stupid drive him crazy!
The more he thought about it the more pissed off he got and the more pissed off he got the more he thought.
A vicious cycle.
So vicious that he was going to go to Sakura's apartment, kick the door in and demand an explanation from her.
He got about halfway there when he realized that doing so would A.) Make him look like a lunatic. B.) Further alienate him from Sakura, and Naruto, when he found out. And C.) Probably result in the same awkwardness –and possible humiliation- as when he went over there with Naruto, only differences would be no idiot, and Kiba instead of Neji. That and Ino may or may not be present.
His frantic, angered running slowed to a stunned halt and then a 'I-can't-believe-I-almost-did-that' dismayed sprawl to the ground. What did he hope to accomplish? What could possibly be gained by busting into Sakura's home and screaming at her like it was her fault he felt like he did?
God he felt pathetic. Sasuke slumped forward slightly and stared at the ground. What was he supposed to do? He wanted… he wanted something from her and he wasn't entirely sure what.
And then, like a conveniently placed segue, he heard a voice.
"Sasuke?" He blinked, head turning slowly to see Sakura… huddled under an umbrella wearing a corset, 'fuck me' boots, fishnets and not much else. He blinked several more times. Why did she have an umbrella? Oh… it was raining. That made sense. "Sasuke… what are you doing?" His mouth opened and for awhile nothing came out.
"…thinking." He managed feebly. And she smiled. It wasn't overzealous or insincere or girly or anything like that. Just a small, friendly, innocent smile that clashed horribly with the hooker garb she was wearing.
"Would you like to think somewhere dry? With coffee?" She held out a lace clad hand and Sasuke didn't realize he grabbed it until he was on his feet under her girly umbrella walking hand in hand with her towards her apartment.
Some things are better left unsaid.
"Make yourself comfy." She said shaking the loose water off of her umbrella before leaning it next to the door. "I gotta change out of this before I suffocate." Sakura said beginning to undo her corset as she walked towards her bedroom with a confident fluidity he'd never seen in her before. She didn't even close the door behind her. Not that he was looking or anything but he did catch a glimpse of her walking fully nude from one side of the room to the other. She either didn't realize he would be looking or didn't care and Sasuke seriously doubted the former.
It, the feeling that she didn't care if he saw her naked or not, brought back his roiling pissed off-ness. Did she think so little of her body that she'd just go and show it to anybody and everybody? Didn't she have any respect for herself? The tawdry slut...
"Sasuke." His attention snapped to Sakura and he caught the clothes she threw at him in reflex as opposed to actual thought. "Some dry clothes." She said crossing her arms and smiling. "Don't want you catching a cold now do we?" The small friendly smile didn't clash with her gray t-shirt and pajama bottoms. At least not as much as her Goth slut outfit had.
"...thanks." He mumbled and silence reigned for a minute.
"Aren't you going to change?" A rather serpentine and strangely seductive grin was on her face that would've gone perfectly with her fishnets.
"Privacy would be nice." She laughed and walked into her kitchen making a point of keeping her back to him. Figuring that was as much privacy as he was going to get Sasuke peeled his shirt and pants off.
"Did you want coffee? Tea? Water? Chunky milk?" The last one made him pause for a moment mid way through pulling the white t-shirt on.
"Coffee's fine." He heard himself say as he completed the task of clothing himself and wandered into the kitchen.
"Have a seat." She offered not looking away from the cupboard she was rooting through and not wanting to be difficult -for once in his life- Sasuke took what she offered and sat down. Several minutes later she removed the oldest coffee maker Sasuke had ever seen and plugged the ancient thing in unconcerned about the wires poking through the plastic in several places. "So Sasuke." She flopped down next to him and the smile was a dangerously playful one. "What's on your mind?" The look on his face was not a trusting one nor were the thoughts running through his head.
What could she possibly want from him? Friendship? Pah, she'd offered that to him on several occasions and he'd all but spat at her. Sex? No... she already had plenty of guys -and probably girls- to answer her every beck and call. So what? What else was there?
"Sakura... why are you doing this? We're not children anymore." They both knew that the second statement left several things unsaid but understood. She gave him a sad, pitying smile and Sasuke had a sudden, violent, urge to smash her table against the wall.
"Sasuke." She reached out to touch him and he jerked back as if he was afraid of contracting cooties from her. The smile got sadder. "The day you left, I meant every word I said to you. I may not love you the way I once did but I still love you. Not matter what happens, to either of us, I will always love you and Naruto. You both mean more to me than you'll ever know." She paused to let that sink in. "I wish you could be as open with me as you are with Naruto. I know... that in the past... as well meant as my ah... 'affections' were, they really only succeeded in alienating us. I hope this isn't too little too late but..." Another pause, this time he could see her mentally groping for the right wording. "...but can we be friends? There's still a lot of things... a lot of... of feelings I have to sort out, but I want us to be friends."
And suddenly it all came crashing down on him, what he'd wanted from her since he'd learned of her sexcapades.
Closure.
How convenient that she was offering it to him.
A warm, fuzzy feeling like cheese in the sun rumbled around in his stomach and he offered her an actual, genuine smile.
"Sure, Sakura."