Crossroads
Callista Miralni
disclaimer: Hmm... plot mine. Everything else, not so much. You can find all the fun things I used as a reference to build this story on pinterest: /callistamiralni/crossroads/
"Quit sulking. You look stupid."
Sakura was about to lunge forward, tackle him to the ground, and strangle him for his thoughtless comment but Sasuke dangled an apple in front of her face.
"... what's the apple for?"
He sighed and dropped it into her hand before pulling another one from his bag. Taking a bite, he chewed quietly for a moment before walking away, still eating the apple in his hand.
"Where are you going?"
At first, Sakura thought he wasn't going to answer.
"They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. I'm testing if it actually works."
She almost chased after him, tackled him to the ground, and strangled him for his thoughtless comment.
"UCHIHA SASUKE-KUN!"
The wind carried the rare sound of his soft laughter to her ears and she sank back down on the bench.
In his own roundabout way, he told her he was confident she would become a doctor. Sakura slid the apple into her bag and hoisted it over her shoulder, determined to live up to Sasuke's expectations for her.
"You're the idiot Sasuke-kun. You can't get rid of me by eating apples every day."
Her smile dimmed. Why did the thought of leaving Sasuke behind hurt? Nothing in this world lasts forever—even the few friends she made in college were not meant to stay in her life.
"You are so annoying. Now what are you sulking about?"
She blinked. Sasuke had an expectant look on his face, as if he were about to ask why she was wasting his time by standing in one place when he clearly meant for her to follow after him earlier. Why did he come back for her?
"Nothing," Sakura lied, linking her arm through his. "Let's go to the library together!"
"Hey, what's your name?"
Coolly, Sakura lifted her chin. "Haruno."
The man laughed and the stench of Jaeger filled her nose. "Don't be stingy. What's your first name?"
Irritated, Sakura slid off the bar stool and walked away. He reached through the crowd and grasped her wrist, pulling her towards him.
"Let me go!"
"Not until you give me your name."
"Oi."
She had never been so relieved to see Sasuke in her life.
"You should let her go," he said softly. "You'll regret it if you don't."
"Stay out of this. This is between me and my girl so fuck off."
"Your girl?" Sasuke gave him a condescending smirk. "You're a horrible boyfriend for not even knowing your girlfriend's name. Learn to tell better lies."
The man roared and swung his fist. Sasuke ducked and grabbed Sakura by the hand, effortlessly dragging her out of the crowd. Kiba caught the incoming punch and kneed the offender in the chest, sparking a bar fight.
"Should we stop them?" Sakura worried on her lip.
He squeezed her hand tighter before turning around and saying something to the bartender. Sakura couldn't hear over the shouts and yells ten feet away from her.
"Let's go."
"I know you're quiet, but this is ridiculous, Sakura-chan."
Her head snapped up. "Sorry Ino-chan," she replied with a touch of guilt. "There's a lot going on at home."
Ino plopped down next her on her bed. "I'll say. Three galas in one summer? What was Misa-nee thinking?"
"It's not her fault," Sakura defended her sister. "It's mostly because of-"
She shut her mouth, horrified.
"Because of?" Ino prompted her.
"Chichiue," Sakura fumbled for words. "He's got a lot of big plans for the hospital."
Her best friend seemed satisfied with the explanation.
-sasuke-
Sakura handed him an ice pack wrapped in a hand towel. Applying it to his face, Sasuke winced again as the ice came in contact with his heated skin.
"Let me see." Sakura's fingers were gentle as she studied the swollen skin. He took this opportunity to watch her closely.
He always thought Sakura was pretty in an understated sort of way. She wasn't noticeable like Misaki, who turned heads everywhere she went, and she wasn't the typical kind of girl found on the magazine covers like Ino. No matter how gorgeous she looked in evening wear, Sasuke preferred her in casual clothes with her hair tied up, ready to plunge her hands into a rat's still-warm body to perform a dissection.
"You'll bruise for sure," she announced. "Keep ice on it to lessen the swelling. It might not discolor too badly if you do."
"Is that your final prognosis, Haruno-sensei?" He couldn't help but tease her.
She scowled and grumbled less-than-complimentary names for him under her breath but Sasuke knew better than to take her seriously. He knew she appreciated his confidence in her ability to make it through medical school and become a successful physician.
"Keep ice on it and let Naruto-kun cool off," she said before retreating to the living room to talk to Ino.
He lazily saluted her with his free hand.
-naruto-
He felt like an ass and he knew his behavior in the last thirty minutes said as much. Naruto closed his eyes and tried to sort through his thoughts.
He should have trusted his intuition. All the signs were there—why couldn't he just listen for once? Sasuke's description of the woman he bought that ring for pointed only to Sakura. They had been spending a lot of time together this summer.
Didn't Sakura say something about an arranged marriage? Naruto felt a little better knowing Sasuke didn't betray him voluntarily, but there were still so many questions. How long have they been engaged? Is this a recent development or was he right in accusing Sakura of stringing him along for the last two years?
Guilt set in. Sasuke was a lot of things—self-assured, painfully honest, and spoiled—but he was also loyal to a fault. When Naruto drunkenly confided his romantic interest in Sakura eight months ago, Sasuke had been surprised but encouraged him to tell Sakura the truth. If they were engaged then, Sasuke wouldn't have said something like that.
He probably would have shot his dreams down then by confessing their relationship.
The night wind picked up and dirt settled into the microscopic abrasions on his knuckles. Naruto rubbed his hand but the pain would not leave. Heading upstairs to the kitchen for ice meant facing the others and apologizing for his behavior.
Pain flared again in his knuckles. With a sigh, Naruto slid the the door open and locked it behind him.
-ino-
Sitting on the sofa with her knees drawn up to her chest, Ino finally asked the question weighing on her thoughts.
"How long have you guys been engaged?"
Beside her, Sakura wrapped herself in a duvet. "Since graduation. When Chichiue took us out to lunch at Main Street, it was to tell us about the engagement. Everyone agreed not to speak of it until the formal announcement during the summer."
"I can only imagine what your reaction was."
"I almost walked out," Sakura confessed. "Sasuke-kun handled it so well but I was about ready to start scream obscenities at my parents. They never did this to Misaki-nee or Takashi-nii, and I still can't understand why they're doing this to me."
Ino shook her head. "Think about it," she advised. "You and Sasuke-kun have known each other for four years. He's the only boy either of us talk about on a regular basis. You guys have a lot in common and your parents think you'd be a good match. Maybe they were trying to help you?"
Even to her, it sounded far-fetched.
"I love Sasuke-kun, but not the way a woman should love her fiancé." Sakura's voice cracked. "I love that he makes me laugh when I'm having a bad day; I love the encouragement he gives me and how he constantly motivates me to reach for something better. Sasuke-kun is everything a girl wants—he's considerate, protective, loyal... I'm stupid for thinking I can find someone better than him because I know there will never be anyone who could compare."
Sakura looked so miserable, it was hard to be angry with her for keeping an important secret.
"I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't," the other woman choked out. "There were so many times I almost let it slip out but one look at Sasuke-kun reminded me why I had to keep my mouth shut. My parents don't really do anything to warrant being published in the tabloids but Uchiha Fugaku-san's a famous movie director and everyone's waiting for Sasuke-kun to screw up." Tears fell down her face. "I'm not ready to get married, Ino-chan!"
Ino rubbed her back, soothing her distraught best friend as she cried into her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Sasuke standing by the window with the pack of ice pressed to his cheek. She didn't even hear or see him come in.
"And you?" She directed her line of questions to him. "How are you handling this?"
Sasuke checked his swelling face in the window reflection before setting the ice pack down on the coffee table and taking a seat next to Sakura. "What can I do?" For once, he sounded frustrated. "I don't want to get married now either but I'll tell you the same thing I told Sakura when we found out we were engaged: out of all the eligible women my parents could have picked, I'm glad they chose her."
Sakura's tears subsided and Ino rested her head on top of hers. "What a mess," she murmured. "We've been shot at, flown across the ocean fleeing for our lives, you two are engaged, and it turns out all of Naruto's propositions and love declarations were serious. I should have walked away from you after you spilled coffee down my shirt freshman year."
Sasuke's soft chuckle made her grin as well.
"Can I see it?"
"What? The ring? You'll have to ask Sakura."
Withdrawing her hand from under the covers, Sakura held up her hand for Ino. The woman gasped when she saw the engagement ring. It was a beautiful setting in white gold, with flowers bordering the brilliant, round-cut white sapphire and a wave of tiny diamonds framing the jewel. It was perfect for Sakura and she couldn't believe Sasuke had such good taste.
"I didn't pick it out," Sasuke admitted. "The saleswoman asked me describe who I was buying it for and she handed me this. I didn't even look at the price because I knew Sakura would love it."
"I don't even want to know," Sakura answered blandly before a yawn escaped her mouth. "It's one of his works, isn't it?"
Sasuke tugged her off the couch. "Bedtime for you." He ushered her to Kazuto's room. "I can handle you tired, I can handle you upset, but I can't handle you tired and upset. You too, Ino."
She protested to being sent to bed like a child but a yawn interrupted her tirade. "Fine," she conceded. "Wake us up if something happens."
-sasuke-
"I know you've been standing there listening."
Naruto emerged from the darkened stairwell. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Sasuke snorted, settling back into the couch with a cup of coffee. "Quite frankly, with Sakura crying her eyes out and Ino scrutinizing everything, I didn't want to deal with your misplaced anger on top of it."
The other man sat on the other end of the sofa, grabbing the half-melted bag of ice and placing it on the hand he used to punch Sasuke.
"I'm sorry," Naruto said quietly. "I wasn't thinking."
"Clearly," Sasuke retorted. "I've got a nice bruise to prove it."
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Naruto squirming. He was playing with his fingers, like he always did when trying to find the words to get him out of sticky situations.
"I suppose I should say congratulations on your engagement," Naruto finally offered. "Though, I'm not even sure if that's the right thing to say."
"You know I wouldn't date her behind your back," Sasuke insisted. "You're my best friend. Even if I did like her, I still wouldn't ask her out."
Heartfelt talks were not his strong suit yet Sasuke found himself having these conversations frequently as of late.
"I know." Naruto relaxed into the sofa.
They sat in silence.
"For what it's worth, I think you guys would be good together."
Surprised, Sasuke set down his coffee. For Naruto to say that, it was a close to a blessing he would ever get.
Naruto didn't always like Sakura. At first, her quick and intelligent comebacks were hard to understand and harder to stomach once he understood their meaning. Her obvious disinterest in him as a person was rude, even by Sasuke's low standards.
It would take another year before Sasuke understood why Sakura regarded Naruto with disinterest from the moment they were introduced. She saw through his bullshit, removed the hype he tended to elevate himself with, and deemed him a hopeless case of egotism and narcissism from the moment he opened his mouth.
They say first impressions should never be trusted but Sakura was always right.
Eventually, Naruto mellowed out. He quit trying to impress people with exaggerations. Many chalked it up to Sasuke's influence on his life; after all, Sasuke loved adventure and often brought Naruto with him. Why tell a lie when he actually had the experience?
Sometime during his junior year, Naruto fell in love.
Sasuke knew even before Naruto's drunken confession. The closer he and Sakura were to graduating, the tighter Naruto clung to them. All he talked about was working with Sasuke and marrying Sakura—the only ways Naruto thought would keep their lives intertwined. It was ironic, Sasuke thought. The more Naruto clung to them, the more they wanted to push him away.
Once, Sasuke asked Sakura why she never gave Naruto a chance.
"If I did," she answered with a bitter smile. "He would take all of me without a second thought. Naruto-kun's too selfish."
"I thought girls liked guys who were devoted."
"He's not devoted!" Sakura snapped. "He suffocates me. Even as friends, he's overbearing and constantly scrutinizing every aspect of my life. I just want to breathe!"
That was almost six months ago.
"Thanks, man," Sasuke finally replied. "That means a lot."
An hour later, Sakura's cell phone rang.
"Kankuro," Sasuke answered the FaceTime call.
Sakura's cousin wore a grim expression. "The ANBU figured out what they're after," he reported. "It's a stone. Apparently, someone at the party is in possession of it."
"There's five hundred people in that room and almost all of them are wearing jewelry," Sasuke protested. "How can they expect Temari to go through every single piece?"
"I don't know," Kankuro answered. "She hasn't checked in."
A commotion behind Kankuro drew their attention. An ANBU agent handed him a sheet and took off. Kankuro frowned at the piece of paper. "Well that's helpful," he snapped. "Apparently it's in a ring but every single guest is wearing one."
"Do you have a picture?"
Kankuro held up the paper. "It's a shitty sketch but it looks like a woman's ring to me."
Sasuke and Naruto scrutinized the screen. "Hey Sasuke, doesn't that look like the ring you bought your mom?"
"No way," was his immediate reply. "My mom's ring had a square cut jewel on—oh shit."
"You know where it is?" Kankuro demanded.
Sasuke raked his hand through his hair. "Yeah. You're not going to like the answer."