Title: let's make a deal
Summary: She is going to obliterate Naruto for being this late. Again.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Prompt: roommates au
Rating: K+

"Late as usual," Sakura mumbled as she saw Naruto's car pull up in the driveway at last. How long had she been waiting? Three hours? Four? She shook her head, and wiped the sweat from her brow, lips mulling. "Did he expect to leave me with all the work again? I swear I'll give this idiot a piece of my mind if he comes in with a sorry-ass excuse!"

She started heading towards the front door then, grabbing the water bottle sitting on a stack of yet-unpacked boxes, brows furrowing all the more when she heard the blonde burst from the entrance of their new home.

"—like her I swear, Sakura-chan is the most awesome girl I've ever met! She's smart, and beautiful, and kind, and—Oh, crap." Naruto swallowed as she crossed the threshold of their entryway hall, gaze setting on her with mild agitation. "Um, hey, Sakura-chan!" he greeted. He let out a nervous laugh, and tried his best to muster up a friendly grin. "I'm sorry I'm late?"

Her hand propped itself firmly on her hip, green eyes fixing him with an all-too-unhappy stare. "Naruto," she growled. "You better have a good explanation for this, because I clearly remember telling you yesterday that if you were late again for this, I'd shove my hand up your—"

A second figure emerged from the doorway then, causing her to catch her words. Oh. She blushed, eyes widening as she took in the sight of him: dark hair and dark eyes, dressed in dark jeans and a form-fitting grey shirt that made his arms look so—

"Right," the man said, voice flat. He seemed unimpressed. "Kind."

Her mouth parted for a split moment at that. And then, the anger rolled in.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. That ass!

"And who the hell are you?" she bit out.

She thought she saw a glint of mirth taking place in his dark gaze, but before she could take it upon herself to find out, Naruto cut in, "Well, Sakura-chan, he's actually the reason I'm late! I know this is the kind of things roommates usually discuss and decide together, but this all just happened so suddenly yesterday, and—well…" Trailing out, he rubbed at the back of his neck with a grin. "Sakura-chan, meet Sasuke! He's gonna be our new roommate!"

At these words, thoughts blanked from her mind.

Then, eventually: "What! Naruto, are you out of your mind? You can't just show up late at your new house to tell your roommate who has been moving everything alone for four hours that she is going to have a new roommate to deal with—one who is an asshole!"

Naruto's hands shot up in defense. "He's not an asshole, I promise!" he replied, patting Sasuke's shoulder in a strange gesture that was meant to be reassuring to her. It wasn't. "You just surprised him, that's all!"

Sakura ran a hand over her face, groaning. "That is not the point, Naruto! The point is you can't just decide these things without talking to me about it!"

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan! I swear I would have talked to you about it, but it really did happen unexpectedly! Sasuke's family kicked him out yesterday, and he doesn't have anywhere else that he can—"

Her eyes widened slightly. Kicked him out? But why would he get—

Sasuke tsk-ed at that, interrupting her thoughts. "Oi, don't talk about my personal life like that, idiot," he snapped, shooting the blonde a hard stare.

Predictably, Naruto immediately went defensive. "Well I have to tell her something!" he argued, crossing his arms. He glared at him just as severely. "Sakura-chan can't understand why I'd do something like that otherwise!"

(it did explain things, she could admit.)

Sasuke scoffed in response. "You didn't need to be so specific about it."

"Why you little—"

"Alright, both of you, shut up!" Sakura finally declared, shutting her eyes as she felt a headache beginning to form. She rubbed at her temples firmly. "This bickering isn't getting us anywhere."

To her luck, the both of them complied, keeping their silence. She sighed heavily at that, eyes fluttering open once more. She met Sasuke's gaze.

"Sasuke, is that true?" she asked him, her voice calm—almost soft. Kind. "Did you really get kicked out?"

Slowly, almost hesitantly, the man nodded. Another long breath slipped at her from that.

"Okay," she said. "Okay, fine. You can stay. But only until you sort your problems out, alright? When you're back on your feet, I want you out of here. This place wasn't meant to provide for three people—and Naruto and I had our agreement long ago."

She was frowning by the time she was done talking, but Sasuke wasn't anymore. He looked tranquil now—relieved, even.

"Thank you," he said, then, bowing his head slightly.

Her eyes softened. "You're welcome," she said. "But try and act nice around me, alright? It'll be better for you if I can at least tolerate you while you're here."

Sasuke's lips quirked at that. It was unfair how handsome this man was, even when he was barely smiling, she thought to herself.

The sound of Naruto laughing drew her back. "I'm telling you, Sakura-chan, he's not that bad!" he said. "He can be a jerk sometimes, but most of the times he's not. The bastard is a good person, I swear."

"Somehow I find it hard to believe when your nickname for him is bastard…" Sakura found herself muttering.

She didn't expect Sasuke to smirk at that, sending her cheeks flushing furiously.

She would regret allowing him to stay, wouldn't she?