Title: to be near you
Summary: He never thought he'd be lucky enough to actually meet his celebrity role model.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Prompt: celebrity/fan au
Rating: K
A/N: Not a big fan of the AU in general so I had to find a way to get me a little more invested. I was able. LOL.

His devotion to her work is a silent thing, really. He's never bought tickets to her concerts, or purchased any of her albums on itunes; never even told anyone of his interest in her music, or much less that she has become somewhat of his muse. And yet, still, Sasuke keeps track of her every content with near religious loyalty, storing every picture of her performances, events and tour dates away on an inconspicuous folder on his laptop, her stack of albums neatly tucked away in his nightstand alongside his vintage walkman cd-player.

But if he is honest with himself, Sasuke prefers it that way, anyway. Sakura Haruno is, after all, not the type of artist most would think him to be into; generally (stupidly, he corrects), he tends to be associated with the louder, grungier bands—those of which coincidentally (not) always seem to comprise an abundance of headbanging.

(it is almost comical considering his aspirations consist of nothing but to become an acoustic musician just like her.)

She is his inspiration, his absolute greatest influential figure, a paragon of true kindness and passion—and on the nights he works on his own pieces, he can never help himself from wishing he may one day meet her; from hoping he might someday bask in her bright, warm presence.

(a funny thought to have, he realizes later, because really, what did he know about the famous twenty year old? maybe she isn't even like that. maybe it's all just an act.

but sasuke never accepts this.)

"Woah! Awesome! Sasuke-teme, isn't that Sakura Haruno? The one whose songs have just been selling completely off the charts this past year? Damn, she's a knockout! Never knew Konoha Cafe had enough money to get her to perform here."

But the idiot's words barely register to him; instead, Sasuke can only ask himself, What is she doing here? Isn't she supposed to be taking some time off due to a family emergency? That's what she'd said five weeks ago. And how long has she been in Konoha?

A hard nudge reels him back from his thoughts, and when he looks at the man in front of him, Sasuke finds him grinning. That makes him scowl.

"What?"

"What what?"

"What the hell are you smiling about?"

"Oh, nothing. Absolutely nothing."

But the grin remains, and Sasuke's eyes narrow.

"I wasn't staring at her if that's what you think," he says, because the last thing he wants is for Naruto to badger him for crushing on a girl.

(which he is not. admiration and high regard are far different from a petty crush, he thinks.)

His best friend casually waves him away at that. "Right, of course not," he replies, reaching for his drink. "You were probably just staring at that guitar of hers, right? Gauging the quality and whatever."

"Exactly," Sasuke says, feeling some relief for an easy out.

But he soon finds out what a terrible mistake he's made as Naruto snorts a laugh. "Ha! Got you, bastard! She hasn't even taken it out of her case yet!"

A deep, red flush taking over his face, Sasuke finds himself instinctively kicking his best friend's shins. And when Naruto laughs again, he thinks to himself that this will only end up being a very, very long night.

.

.

He manages to escape to the balcony after the concert is over, much to his relief. Ever since his apparent discovery a few hours past, Naruto had been relentless with his questions and teasing remarks about his alleged celebrity crush. It had only gotten worse as the pretty little musician finalized her performance, with the former pushing him to stand up and urge her for a picture and an autograph; nudging his shoulder relentlessly as he teased and joked about the need to make a declaration of love to this famous musician. Flustered, and more than a little annoyed, Sasuke had sought an out from the mess of it all.

(but, he thinks, the most disappointing part of it all is that he would have likely gone to congratulate her, had it not been for naruto's exasperating remarks. he likes to believe he would have, anyway.)

But the world must have taken pity on him, as it turns out, because the next thing he knows, Sakura Haruno is walking through the sliding doors with her guitar case in hand, pretty green eyes slightly wide but cheeks flushed with obvious delight.

(possibly from being overwhelmed by her fans, he muses distractedly.)

There is a moment of evident surprise as she notices him there. "Oh! I'm sorry," she says, "I had no idea anyone else was out here."

But for the second time that night, Sasuke hardly hears the words spoken to him. He is frozen, his barely-smoked cigarette sitting at his mouth, dark eyes wide and disbelieving. He is, quite simply said, stunned.

It's only when she begins to look slightly thrown off that he seems to snap out of his daze.

"It's… fine," he manages to say, inwardly cursing himself for the awkwardness of his tone. Any more of that would probably make her feel uncomfortable.

"Thanks," she says, and beams politely at him. His heart all but skips a beat.

Silently, he turns back to the railing and watches from the corner of his eye as she makes her way to a place a few spaces beside him, keeping a respectful (and safe) distance. He takes an almost too-eager puff and shakily exhales from his nose, stealing glances at the woman he still can't believe is really standing beside him.

She startles him once again as she eventually breaks the silence. "Smoking is bad for you, you know," she remarks, sounding quite chipper and sweet, like a friend offering thoughtful advice. "Especially for your voice—you're a musician, right?"

Dumbly, he nods. How did she know that?

"Thought so." She smiles again, in that way that makes his heart flutter and his chest warm. He can only hope he's not blushing. "I've got those same callouses."

Ah, of course, he thinks, and nearly smiles.

But then, she says, "Plus, they give terrible breath… and no one likes to kiss a smoker."

She winks, here, and Sasuke knows then that he is definitely blushing.

(Is she flirting? She couldn't possibly, he fleetingly thinks to himself. Why would she flirt with a nobody like him?)

"It's… a bad habit."

Sakura hums, and leans her arms against the railing. "Peer pressure?"

The memory of a haunting phone call flutters through his mind. Swallowing, Sasuke takes his cigarette out of his mouth and exhales another puff, eyes closing as he rubs the bridge of his nose in an obvious attempt to force the memory away. "Stress," he eventually replies, quieter. "When my parents died, it was either that or alcohol." He shrugs. "Smoking seemed like the better choice."

Sakura's mouth parts at this. "I'm so sorry… I shouldn't have asked."

He simply shrugs again, and takes another drag. "You couldn't have known."

A silence takes place between them.

"You know… it's nice to kind of just spend time with a stranger who doesn't try to make it a big deal that they're in my presence," she says after a while, lovely green eyes staring up at the sky. Then, she turns to him, and smiles kindly. "I know that you know who I am."

He swallows again, but nods to this, because there's no use in trying to pretend otherwise. And when she smiles wider, he finds himself swept off with a pounding heart, stomach flipping pleasantly; his mind suddenly struck with the epiphany that he hasn't been wrong at all in his presumption to what she was like.

She's even more amazing.

(this complete wonderment, he supposes later, is likely what had brought him to splutter without much grace:)

"I watch you."

The mood shifts instinctively: warmth and tranquility quickly giving way to crisp unease—and it isn't long until she looks downright frightened of him.

Sasuke panics, and nearly chokes on the smoke he accidentally inhales.

"Um—"

"I meant—your performances," he rushes to explain, face flushing entirely once more. "I've watched them on YouTube a few times and—you're really good. You—you really know how to work your crowd." Gods, he sounds like a mess, he thinks. He reaches to rub his free hand at the back of his burning neck, trying to regain some composure. "And you… you love what you do."

Much to his luck, Sasuke's nervous outburst does more than calm her own anxieties—Sakura seems charmed.

"You're serious about this aren't you?" she asked him after a long moment, eyes crinkling softly. "About becoming a musician. This is really what you want to do with your life."

The surprise must be evident on his features then, because she gives the softest little laugh and says, "I can hear it in the way you talk about it. Performing. I use to talk like that, too—still do, really."

It feels surreal, in the moment, to have such a talented artist relate to him. The thought makes him speechless.

Sakura snaps him out of his muted trance by asking, "How old are you, stranger?"

It takes Sasuke a few blinks to reply. "Eighteen," he says. He pauses. "And my name is Sasuke," he decides to add, because he's not sure he really likes her calling him stranger.

She smiles beautifully at this, eyes crinkling. "Eighteen, huh? Same age I was when I started out. Now, Sasuke-kun…" The suffix makes his heart skip a beat, sends his neck warming again—but the sensations only worsen when Sakura reaches for her guitar case and pulls out her undoubtedly expensive 1936 Martin D-45, extending it to him. "Play me something?"

He wonders if there are any songs he could play Sakura that wouldn't immediately have her recognize they were about her.

.

.

.

(by the end, her cheeks are flushed, pretty green eyes wide—and that smile, oh, it makes him feel so shy, so flustered. he can't help but to look away, to run his hand through his hair restlessly. he itches for a cigarette to calm his nerves.

"wow. you really are quite something, aren't you?" she says.

there is a promise behind her words that makes his heart pound.)

Hope you enjoyed!

DeepPoeticGirl