Sakura wasn't called into the courtroom for six weeks, and they received limited information about how the case was developing. Whether it was Tsunade or Cobra trying to keep the case under the radar, they were doing an impressive job. Sakura was given the time of her testimony the night before.
For her appearance on the stand, Sakura wore a button-down shirt, blazer, and black pants. "In another life I had a nine to five job in a cubicle," she said, grinning at the mirror in their bathroom. She was trying not to let nerves get the better of her, but the prospect of going into the courtroom had kept her up for hours last night.
"Are you sure you want to come in?" she asked Sasuke as they waited at a traffic light near the courthouse.
He raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me there?"
"I mean, yeah, but it might be uncomfortable. Some things with Orochimaru...Yeah."
"I can handle it," Sasuke said.
They parked around the side of the building and went inside quickly to avoid any commotion on the steps outside the door. There hadn't been much press about the case yet, but Sakura assumed it would explode once people got wind of who was involved.
That was knowing your fame—being able to confidently predict that your involvement in something would make it blow up on the news. A year ago, Sakura would've been reluctant to claim that was true. Now she had no trouble accepting it.
"This isn't going to be that pleasant," Sakura said while they were waiting for Tsunade inside. "I'll be fine if you'd rather wait outside." She was worried that he might try to throttle Orochimaru when they dredged up the details.
"I won't knock over any chairs," Sasuke muttered.
Sakura smiled. "I like the thought."
She reminded herself that Sasuke was sitting at the back of the room as she walked up the aisle to take the witness stand an hour later. She knew she would have to see Orochimaru again in the courtroom, and tried not to look at his face as she waited for the first question. His pale eyes were on her, unconcerned. Sakura thought about his attempt to sabotage Sasuke, and a fresh wave of anger ran through her. His lips curled upward at her, a smile on the edge of politeness. Why had it taken so long to realize how much he resembled a snake? She would stay calm and collected. Anything to wipe the smirk off his face.
Sakura tried to answer the questions the prosecutor asked her as best she could, trying to ignore Orochimaru's gaze. She knew he would lose, he probably knew he would lose—after all, he was intelligent, if not kind—but his face never betrayed any emotion as she stood on the witness stand. Sakura talked about the way he would assess her body, the pressure to lose weight, his comments about what she was doing wrong, his control over her music and anything she did. Prompted about her relationship, Sakura brought up the conversation about the fake engagement. She hadn't even told Sasuke about that. Sasuke had been joking about knocking chairs over, but she didn't find his face to see how close he was doing just that. Sakura had known that would be particularly infuriating for him, and his anger was sure to set off her own. They dismissed her soon after that, and Sakura felt a rush of relief upon leaving the courthouse. At least this part was over.
Sasuke mulled over everything on the drive back.
"What's up?" Sakura asked him, breaking the thick silence of the car.
"You didn't tell me about any of it." His voice was flat.
"What do you mean?"
"All the shit he put you through. You didn't tell me until the very end. I was already kicking myself that I didn't notice. Had no idea about the specifics until just now."
"For most of that time I thought it was all normal," Sakura said. "And no offense, but I didn't want to complain. You were skeptical enough of me, those first few months. I felt weird talking about it."
"Fucking hate myself for that."
"You were just being you. We got past that."
Sasuke gripped the steering wheel too hard. "What if you'd never told me?"
"Well, that didn't happen, did it? Why are we debating this?" She sounded irritated.
"'Cause I feel so stupid."
"You being insecure makes me self-conscious," Sakura said. "I know how you feel about me. You don't have to prove yourself, Sasuke. I won't say I know you better than anyone, but I know you pretty damn well. If you keep up this down-on-yourself attitude, I'm going to get really sick of giving you pep talks."
"Seriously?" He was irritated now, too. Maybe because she saw through him so easily.
Sakura ran a hand through her hair. "That's all I have to say. I just had to relive some shitty stuff in detail, and I really just want to get home and go write."
"Sorry," he muttered.
"You don't have anything to be sorry for!" Sakura groaned. "Look, pull over here. I'm going to walk to the studio, it's only two blocks from here."
"I can drive you."
"No, it's fine."
"Just let me drive you, Sakura," he said, irritated.
"No, I want to walk. Pull over, Sasuke, I'm serious." Her voice was steely. "I just—need some space."
"Sakura..."
"Pull over!"
Too stunned to do anything else, Sasuke stopped the car and let her out on an empty street. He drove the rest of the way home steadily not trying to think about what had just happened.
Sasuke picked up his guitar once he was back in the apartment and tried to write the second verse to a new song the band was working on, but nothing was coming to him. He told himself what had happened wasn't a big deal. Sakura had had a rough morning. Her mood wasn't always great. That was life. But it had surprised him all the same. And she had hit the nail on the head in terms of his feelings. It was like she'd overheard his thoughts a few weeks ago.
Three hours after he'd come back to the apartment, the door opened and Sakura appeared, guitar over her shoulder. He'd stood up abruptly as soon as the door opened, not sure if he wanted to say something angry or apologetic.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," she said, meeting his eyes immediately. "I shouldn't have done that, as soon as I got out of the car I regretted it. But I also just had to be on my own."
"I know. I get it," Sasuke said.
"Yeah?"
He shrugged. "You don't have to take care of me the way you think you do."
Her lips quirked. "Yes, I do. This is a mutually beneficial relationship."
"Sorry if I set you off in the car. Feel like I'm in this mess of doubt or something." Sakura stared at him for a second, looking almost amused. "What," Sasuke said, frowning.
"If you'd told me a year ago that you were capable of saying incredibly sensitive things out loud, I would've laughed. Like, I know you've always had it inside, but...You never exactly talk about your emotions."
Sasuke rolled his eyes and Sakura laughed. "Okay, I'll stop. But you'd better not doubt my feelings. I fell in love with the person you were last fall, so there's no way I'll fall out of love with the person you are now." She paused. "Wow, I'd put that in a song if it was less of a tongue twister."
"Tch."
"Also, since that's settled, I have a business question. Do you have a tux for the ball? I was told to ask, because you have a lot of style people at your command for fittings."
Sasuke did in fact have a tux for the ball. It was black, not flashy or particularly interesting, but recently tailored. After the fitting, he didn't glance at it until the afternoon of the ball, when a flurry of people arrived in the apartment, primarily to focus on Sakura. He was exiled from the bedroom for Sakura's team to spread out, and instead killed time in the living room with a warning not to wrinkle his dress pants.
She wore a strapless, dark red gown that fit her like a glove and brushed the floor. Her hair was pinned up, with curling strands framing her face.
She turned to him with wide eyes. "Oh God..."
"What?"
"I'm just, I don't know. Really nervous for this. They expect a lot."
"Sakura. Just be yourself," Sasuke said. He wanted to roll his eyes. "Come on."
"I just feel like I'm not worthy," she said quietly.
"Jesus. This thing is for you. That's why all of those people are there." Sasuke was exasperated.
She bit her lip and then rolled her eyes. "I know, I'm being really stupid. Ugh. I'm just not an evening gown sort of person. I don't do well at these things, and I don't want it to be a total disaster—"
"Stop." Sasuke cut her off. "It's not going to be a disaster, you make everyone like you. It's ridiculous."
Sakura raised her eyebrows. "That's definitely not true."
"Tch." Sasuke just shook his head. He didn't think she'd ever realize it, not really. "Well, if I got through it, you will. And I'll be there the whole time. So stop being annoying about it."
Sakura slapped his arm and rolled her eyes. "You're so obnoxious."
Sasuke smirked.
Sakura glanced at herself in the mirror and then took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's go."
The two of them followed the valet to the limo.
Cameras flashed like crazy as they climbed the steps up to the hotel doors. Light flooded out from inside. Sakura posed for about a second to make the paparazzi happy, and then took Sasuke's hand firmly and led them inside.
The entrance hall of the hotel was extremely fancy, glittering with chandeliers, and the two of them glanced at each other. Sasuke felt completely out of place, even in a suit, and it looked like Sakura felt the same. After years, some things didn't change.
If his sixteen-year-old self, playing in crappy dive bars for ten bucks a night and practicing in Naruto's foul-smelling basement, had seen him now, Sasuke knew he would've sneered. He'd always held rich people, and places like this, in contempt. It was ironic considering how much money he had now, but still. This would never be his scene.
Then again, his sixteen-year-old self would have scoffed at the fact that he was dating someone like Sakura: pink hair, fangirls at every turn, always giving someone a smile.
A girl he'd be irrevocably in love with.
"Wow." Sakura said, looking around. She looked at him. "Was this where yours was?"
"Different hotel." Sasuke said. "No crazy chandeliers."
"Yeah." Sakura grinned. "Those are actually pretty garish, to be honest."
Sasuke smirked.
There were people milling about, and several photographers behind a red rope, but a sign pointed guests into a large ballroom. Sakura led the way, and Sasuke walked a step behind her. It was her show, and he didn't want to tower over her as he had in other situations.
They were seated at a table at the front of the room with important people that Sasuke didn't know—executives from the Music Hall of Fame, senior officials from the organization's charity partners, random VIPs, and even a couple of kids. Sakura started schmoozing comfortably as soon as people descended on her. Before the dinner, music, and whatever else was planned, she would make a speech before being presented with the award. Two years ago, Sasuke had had his bandmates do the talking.
"Hi."
Sasuke jumped at the voice, which came from at least a foot below him. He looked down to see one of the kids from their table, a boy who looked to be around eleven. He stared up at Sasuke, frowning slightly. "Hi," Sasuke said, raising his eyebrows.
"I just wanted to say that you're cool. You choose similar chords a lot in your songs, though."
"You think?" Sasuke asked, his lips twitching.
"Yeah. In Uncommon Ground. The beginning of the album, mostly. It's subtle but I'm pretty sure I'm right."
Here he was, getting schooled by a kid half his size. "Hn. You're right. Wasn't ideal, but it worked with the songs on the whole."
The kid nodded solemnly. "I'm not saying they're bad. Just that you maybe could've been more original."
"You think you could do better?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.
The kid shrugged. "Maybe." He held out his hand. "It's good to meet you."
Sasuke shook his hand, bemused. "What's your name?"
"Konohamaru." He smiled finally. "I won my school's contest, that's why I'm here. The kids from three schools who did the best projects got to come to represent Young Arts. I wrote a song."
"Congratulations. I want to hear it."
"Really?" His eyes widened. "My friends said you wouldn't talk to me, because you're too cool."
"Tch. When someone insults my music and says they can do better, I want to hear their stuff."
Konohamaru grinned. "Could you come to my school and do a concert, and then I can show it to you?"
"Clever."
"I figured I'd ask." He bounced up and down on the balls of feet. It reminded Sasuke of Naruto. "My friends are gonna think I was crazy when I tell them about this."
"They're probably right."
"Sasuke Uchiha!" An executive from the Music Hall of Fame had come up on his other side and clapped him on the back. "I see you're meeting our youngest guests. It's great to see you again."
"You, too. How are you?" Sasuke had no idea who he was.
"Just excellent. And what's your name, young man?"
"Konohamaru."
"We're delighted to have you here tonight. I think—" He paused, because the lights had dimmed. "Oh, the ceremony is starting. We'd better take our seats!"
People were taking the stage, including Sakura. She glanced back to meet Sasuke's eyes. He thought the encouragement to her that he'd been planning to say before they'd been swept away to their respective conversations.
Someone ushered Konohamaru to his seat at the far end of the table, and Sasuke sat down to watch Sakura take the stage.
The chairwoman of the Music Hall of Fame stepped up to the microphone first and gave a preliminary speech. Then people from the organization the ball was benefitting: a charity for arts programs in schools, and a music college in Konoha. "Before we present the award, I'd like to invite Sakura to come forward and say a few words."
Sakura smiled at everyone in the room. "Thank you so much. This is an honor. I've looked up to the Music Hall of Fame since I started playing music myself. Standing here right now is surreal. I could go on about how much of a dream this is, and how rewarding, but I really want to talk about the work of the two organizations that are being recognized. I grew up in Konoha, and I'm assuming that's what inspired the selection of these two organizations to be supported by tonight's ball. It means a lot to see the Konoha College of Music being celebrated and helped tonight. I know I left town before being old enough to take advantage of it myself, but I see the work it does and how much it matters through friends from home. Supporting music programs past elementary school is so, so important. Especially ones with full scholarships. The arts are so often inaccessible for people because of financial reasons, and it shouldn't be that way." There was loud applause. "I'm going to be honest, here. Young Arts saved me as a kid, because my parents didn't have the money for a piano or lessons. But with them, I could have a lesson every two weeks, and access to a piano at school. I'm well aware that my success story is an anomaly, but music keeps me going regardless of how publicly successful I am. And it's like that for people everywhere, with music or art or dance. The work that Young Arts does is irreplaceable.
"I want encourage everyone to look up their local branch and help out in whatever way they can. It doesn't have to be a monetary donation. Everyone in this room has some connection with music, and I know Young Arts always needs teachers, equipment, even flyers to publicize their events. There are a thousand ways to give back. So I'd like to emphasize that, in addition to expressing my gratitude for this honor. Even a year ago, this all was a pipe dream. I always plan to stay humble, but I also plan to be aware of my success and influence, and use that for good."
She got a standing ovation, unsurprisingly. The chairwoman of the Music Hall of Fame handed Sakura a carved glass award and shook her hand, and then leaned in to hug her.
"Dance with me?" Sakura asked Sasuke. They were still sitting at the table, but a live band had started playing. It was the first thing she'd said to him since before her speech. An endless stream of people had been coming up to congratulate her and have a conversation.
"Hn." Sasuke didn't say no outright, so of course Sakura took that as encouragement. She pulled him over to the dance floor, where the jazz singer Fuku Chikara was singing a slow jazz ballad.
He didn't feel particularly self-conscious, but maybe that was because his bandmates and a thousand screaming people weren't in the room with them. "Good speech earlier."
"Thanks. I'm going to be an ambassador for Young Arts. I don't know why I didn't think about reaching out to them before now. It was probably Orochimaru telling me I should wait on any nonprofit partnerships." She rolled her eyes. "He really is a cartoon villain kind of guy."
"Not for much longer, hopefully," Sasuke muttered. The court case was going in their favor, but there was no way to tell with these things.
"Yeah," Sakura said, shaking her head. She glanced around and then moved in closer to him. There were no photographers permitted after the speeches, making the event strangely relaxing. It was a relief to know that only the people in this room could see you. "Do you still have to leave first thing in the morning?"
"Aa," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. The band was playing in Suna to promote an upcoming collaboration with the Sand Siblings. They would be gone for three weeks to record the material. As the day drew closer, it seemed more and more like an unnecessary amount of time. "I was thinking I could come back on the weekends."
"No," Sakura said firmly. "I'll be fine."
"I know," Sasuke said, frowning. "It's not just about you."
"No, you should stay. It'll be more productive that way. Just be back before New Years Eve."
"Tch. If it takes us that long, the whole project will be shit," Sasuke said.
"I'm glad you're optimistic," Sakura said, grinning.
"I try," Sasuke said, smirking. A piece of hair had fallen loose from her updo, and Sasuke tucked it behind her ear.
A/N: I started writing this when I was 16 or 17 and back then 21 seemed old...Needless to say that's changed.
It's been a hectic few months and I have about 95% less time to write than I did this summer. Not that I was being very productive then, anyway. Happy holidays and maybe this story will be finished soon.