title: Born to Be Three
prompt: SASUSAKU MONTH 2015
rating: K-M

summary: o30: "We need to stick together," Sakura orders. "…You know, for survival purposes."

dedicated to: my baes on tumblr - i love you all!

NOTE THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE MONTH: I wanted to add Sarada in many of these prompts, because she's a part of this beautiful family too /sobs forever at my babies having babies/ but sometimes I either couldn't find a way to fit her in and, to be honest, I have little experience writing about her! Hopefully that will change

.o30.
Dystopia/Apocalypse

.

"We need to stick together," Sakura orders. "…You know, for survival purposes."

.

She loads the gun, ears perking at the familiar click. They—she, a foreign rebel named Sasuke, and his idiot friend Naruto who nearly gave their hiding spot away—huddle in a small tool shed with nothing but rotten wood to protect them from the infected undead.

"He hasn't come back in a while," Sakura mutters. She attempts to sneak a peek out an eyehole drilled into the wood, but Sasuke pulls her back. She topples on the floor, the butt of the gun jamming into her stomach.

"Hey!" she shouts. He shushes her angrily.

"Are you trying to get yourself noticed?" he whispers harshly. "Stay down."

Sakura growls. "Your stupid friend hasn't come back yet, and it's been an hour. So help me God if I'm worried for someone, alright?

"He'll be fine," Sasuke says. But his voice isn't so convincing. "He always is."

.

.

.

Naruto still doesn't come back the next day, and Sasuke begins to break down gradually at the prospect of losing his best friend. Sakura can't concentrate with Sasuke rubbing the bridge of his nose, or massaging his temples, muttering curses under his breath. She understands the frustration of his worry—after all, she had just lost Ino during the escape. They caught her by the hair and yanked her down, the weight of her equipment anchoring her to the ground. And there was nothing Sakura could do to help.

"I won't tell you not to worry, because obviously I understand the pain you're feeling," Sakura tells him. She places a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, giving him a small smile. Sakura reaches for her knapsack and takes out a granola bar, breaking it in half for the two to share.

"It's a little stale," she warns him. "But it'll do for now, until we can find real food."

Sasuke nods. He thanks her, and begins to gnaw at the rock-hard snack, pretending to enjoy every bite of it. Sakura tries not to laugh.

He finishes his half, waits for Sakura to complete hers, and then says, "My parents were taken by the zombies. They were one of the first to be infected."

"Oh no," Sakura breathes. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke."

He holds up his hand to interrupt her. "It's fine. Let me finish. They were in fact two of the main researchers for the virus, along with the rest of their team, Pluto 10. The rest you probably know. Something wasn't quarantined. One person got infected. It spread. Now we're here."

"They were part of that team?" Sakura gasps. "They must be some of the smartest people!"

"Have been," Sasuke corrects. "They're probably dead now."

"Sasuke, don't say that—"

"Don't try and convince me that they're not, Sakura." Sasuke sighs. "And don't tell me that Naruto's going to be okay, because in this world—this hell we're in now—nothing's okay."

Sakura scoots over and wraps her arm around Sasuke, burying her face into his shoulder. He doesn't budge, doesn't push her away. In fact, he allows her to embrace him and tries not to let the emotions soar up.

"I don't know how many of us are left," she murmurs. "But you and I need to stick together, for survival purposes.

Sasuke looks at her with a raised eyebrow, and begins to move away awkwardly.

"No, no—not that, I mean—" Sakura begins, waving her hands frantically. "I'm saying that if we separate we might get lost, and sticking together—"

"You're right," Sasuke agrees. "We don't know how many people are left. So, if the situation calls for it, being with each other for…survival purposes is a good plan." While he speaks, he eyes her thighs suspiciously with an emotion Sakura cannot comprehend.

"Um," she begins. "Glad to know we're on the same page."

"Yeah."

Just then, the door to the shed swung open. Sakura grabs her loaded gun, Sasuke his pistols. They aim at the intruder, ready to fire.

"Hey, hey, hey, whoa!" Naruto shouts. He drops the plastic bags he holds onto the floor. Fresh produce rolls out. "Don't point those things at me!"

"Fuck you," Sasuke shouts. "Where were you? We were—"

Naruto grins. "Worried?"

Sasuke says nothing, but Naruto draws him into a hug. "Aw, teme, thanks for caring whether or not I died! But don't worry, I'm safe. Yesterday I said that I had to piss, and I did, and the coast was clear so I thought I could walk around a little to see if there was anything to bring back for us. Turns out there's a supermarket filled with all this yummy stuff, and there were even some other people there too, so we sat around in a circle and shared stories. They even had hot water for me to cook some ramen. Yum." Naruto rubs his stomach happily. "Then I think I fell asleep and forgot to come back. But at least I brought you guys something!"

"We need to find the others," Sakura muffles through a bite full of the apple she picked up. She moans in delight. Sasuke pretends not to have heard, blushing madly at the eroticism of the whole thing.

"Okay, then," Naruto agrees. He packs up the food and makes sure everyone has their weapons secured. "After all, we've all gotta stay close to each other if we want to survive. You two, especially, since Sakura, you know how to put that gun to good use, and teme, if it comes down to it, you know how to jam that thing right up there."

Sakura nearly chokes.

updates come regularly on tumblr for each day. I'm lazy at uploading on ff, but rest assured everything will be up by the end of this month. XD