Date: 6/6/13
Rating: T
Genre: Cute, Romance
Prompt: Sakura's first birthday after the war
It was a stupid idea.
Sasuke was in front of her door, just about to knock, when he had this realization. He lowered his hand and exhaled. It was an incredibly stupid idea. But before he could turn around and walk back home, Naruto's voice—taunting, boasting—echoed in his mind.
You can't be serious, Sasuke.
His eyebrows furrowed, his fist tightening around the plastic bag he was holding. And before he could change his mind, Sasuke knocked on Sakura's door—impatiently and with purpose. He would show Naruto.
Why do you think we did this in the first place?
But there was no answer. He waited a few more minutes. Still nothing. Sasuke blinked, uncertain whether or not he should knock again. He checked the time; he hadn't even considered the possibility that she might not have been home. Groaning, Sasuke smacked his forehead, his efforts for naught. But, he told himself as he began to walk away, he tried. Besides, there was always tomorrow.
However, he didn't move more than five feet away from Sakura's apartment when he heard the door open. "Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said, peeking her head outside, surprised, "What are you doing here?"
Turning around, Sasuke cleared his throat in an attempt to sound casual. "May I come in?"
"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed, blushing, and opened the door wider. "Of course, Sasuke-kun! Come in!" Sasuke nodded and entered her apartment. But even though she held her cheery demeanor as she led him into the kitchen, Sakura didn't know what to make of his sudden appearance. This was a first. Sasuke had never visited her home before. "So what brings—"
"I'm here to apologize."
"For what, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked as she turned around, scrunching her nose, smiling. He sounded so formal.
"For forgetting your birthday."
Sakura squinted her eyes, recalling the surprise picnic they held for her that afternoon. "This isn't about what Naruto said, is it?" But Sasuke remained silent, only confirming her suspicions. Sakura huffed and shook her head. "I told you it wasn't a big deal," she said, taking a mental note to talk to Naruto later, "Don't listen to him. I honestly wasn't expecting—what's that?"
She finally noticed the bag in Sasuke's hand and pointed to it, but Sasuke simply lifted his arm and held it out for her to take, unable to look her in the eye. "It's for you," he said awkwardly as he heard Sakura look through its contents, "It's, uh, cake. The dobe forgot to get some this afternoon."
"Oh, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said softly, getting emotional, touched by gesture. She could feel the tears begin to well in her eyes. "Thank you. Thank you so much." She placed the cake on the kitchen table and faced Sasuke; she was beaming. "I'm going to try it right now!"
However, Sasuke stopped her. "No," he said, instructing Sakura to sit down, "Let me do it."
And as Sakura told Sasuke where she kept the plates and the utensils, she couldn't help but marvel at how much things had changed in such a short amount of time. Less than a year ago, Naruto and Sakura began their search for Sasuke. Less than a year ago, they all discovered the truth about the massacre. Less than a year ago, Sakura almost lost all hope on Sasuke. But she shook those memories away—because the war was over, because Sasuke returned, because Sasuke was here, with her.
The sound of plates settling against the tabletop grabbed Sakura's attention. But when she saw two plates—one obviously for her, the other for him—Sakura raised her brow. "But, Sasuke-kun," she said as she picked up a fork and watched him cut two slices of cake, "you don't like sweets."
"I know."
"You don't have to eat it."
"I know."
"So why—"
"Because it's your birthday. So stop asking questions and eat your cake," he snapped, immediately regretting his choice of words. Sasuke ran a hand through his hair and sighed, averting his gaze. "Sorry."
"No, it's okay," Sakura mumbled and gave him a small smile. However, before she could dig in, Sakura watched as Sasuke reluctantly picked up his fork and take a small bite of cake. He grimaced, chewing slowly, and swallowed. Sasuke didn't even seem to notice Sakura staring and continued to tackle the dessert. She smiled.
"Wait," she said, lowering Sasuke's arm before he could have his fifth bite. He raised his brow, mouth full of cake, but Sakura only smiled as she stood up and walked to the refrigerator. And after taking a short trip to the sink, Sakura came back to the table with a bowl of plum tomatoes. She scanned the bowl for the smallest one she could find. "I'm not really fond of tomatoes, but," Sakura said before biting into the fruit, her grimace mirroring Sasuke's, "it's only fair."