Date: 9/23/13
Rating: K+
Genre: Angst, Drama
Prompt: Sasuke tries to get Sakura to stop calling him "Sasuke-kun"/ Sasuke tells Sakura to just call him by his first name, just "Sasuke".

She was going on about her latest shift at the hospital again.

Not that Sasuke ever minded. He knew it was important to her. He knew it was her passion; he could see it in her eyes—fire, one he'd see nowhere else except for on the battlefield. And though they both knew he was mostly only half-listening, her medical jargon beyond his knowledge and understanding, it was nice—because her voice, light and sweet, rid him of the quiet that had plagued him since he was a child.

But today was different; today Sasuke minded—though it had nothing to do with the hospital, nothing to do with her patients or her newest medical jutsu. No, it was his name—Sasuke-kun—the way it was placed on her lips—Sasuke-kun— the way it tugged the corner of his mouth downward whenever she uttered that last syllable—kun, kun, kun—a sour note within the symphony that was her voice.

And he couldn't take it anymore.

"Why do you still do that?" he finally asked, cutting her tale about her latest escapade at the hospital short, not that he knew what she was talking about anyway. Sasuke stopped listening long ago, -kun the only word that ever registered. Kun, kun, kun, kun, kun.

Sakura slowed her pace and looked at him. "Do what?"

"Call me 'Sasuke-kun.'"

She shrugged, the lift of her shoulders exaggerated as she looked at him playfully. "Why not?"

"Because we're not twelve anymore, Sakura," Sasuke said, harsher than he intended, immediately regretting his slip in composure as he watched her smile fade, watched the fire extinguish. He averted his gaze, unable to look at her, lowering his voice as he tried to explain himself. "It's been a year." He paused. "Even Naruto dropped the suffix."

"Oh."

Puffing air into her cheeks, Sakura turned her eyes toward the ground as she watched their footsteps move in sync. "Then, do you," she said carefully, "want me to stop?"

Sasuke didn't even hesitate. "Yes."

She looked up. "Okay, then. If that's what you want, I will," she said, her smile finding its way back to her face—relief to Sasuke's eyes. He always hated when she was upset, especially when he was the cause. "Well, this is my stop," Sakura continued, motioning towards her house with her thumb, "I'll see you later, um, Sasuke."

However, despite waving goodbye, she didn't leave, pursing her lips, her expression akin to one when tasting something new. She said his name again. "Sasuke." She tilted her head. "Sasuke." She shrugged, looking to him for approval. "How does that sound?"

But Sasuke didn't say a word, watching in silence as Sakura shrugged once more and entered her home, leaving him in the street and in utter confusion.

Because he didn't get it, didn't have the nerve to tell her.

It sounded wrong.