nothing on you
Callista Miralni
disclaimer: still, nothing.
dedicated to: roxanne, because you continuously give me a gift I can never find an equivalent to repay you with.
special thanks to: jasmine, bianca, abby, and winnie—the lovely mods of the sasusakufanfics tumblr.
and always: jayde, for continuing to put things in perspective.
.:interlude:.
.:these scars:.
When the laundry room door slammed shut and rattled the adjoining living room wall, Sasuke turned off the TV and escaped to his room.
First day of winter break and Itachi and his father start it off by yelling at each other. Amidst the thinly veiled threats and caustic retorts, his cell phone received a text from Karin. He tapped out a reply, sent a text to his mother, and left the house out his bedroom window. The snow made it more difficult than usual to close it, but after slipping a couple times, he managed to shut it completely.
Suigetsu lived the next street over and Mrs. Hozuki ushered him inside with an understanding smile. Smiling back, Sasuke apologized for invading their home once again.
"Don't be silly, Sasuke-kun," the woman said. "You're family. Zabuza-kun has some friends over as well."
Even though he smiled and said it would be good to see Zabuza again, that was the farthest thing from the truth. Suigetsu's half brother was around Itachi's age and creeped Sasuke out with his twisted, maniacal smirk.
"Yo," Suigetsu didn't even look up from his game. "That bad at home?"
Sasuke grimaced and took a seat on the bed. "You have no idea."
"Well, when Karin said we couldn't come over anymore, I knew it had to be bad."
"Enough about them," Sasuke changed the subject. "What did I miss?"
Sai regarded his mother with confusion, the melon popsicle still in his mouth.
"Sai-kun, you're drooling," Satsuki pointed out.
He pulled the dessert out of his mouth and slurped up the melting juice.
"That's disgusting," his sister said dryly.
He ignored her. "Repeat that again, Kaa-san."
Sakura rolled her eyes and continued cutting fabric on the table. Their mother smiled again.
"We're throwing a Christmas party!"
"You're overreacting," Ino dismissed. "A Christmas party is hardly the end of the world."
"It is when Naruto-moody-as-shit-Uzumaki is invited."
"You're one to talk."
"C'mon, Ino!"
"Love you, Saki!" her cousin sang over the phone. "Don't worry so much about it. Tennie and I will be driving up there with all our shit before the party. We'll endure the craziness known as the mini Yakuza with you."
"Ah shit!" Sakura slapped her forehead. "Neji will be there too!"
It was complicated between Neji and Tenten to say the least. The summer after Sakura turned 18, they briefly dated with plans to break up before Tenten returned to California.
Surprisingly, Neji was oddly resistant to their separation once the time came.
So they did a long distance thing for a couple months. But it was difficult, especially on Neji's part. After a particularly explosive fight, they were done.
At least, every one else thought they were.
Up until a few months ago, they had a weird friendship. It was as if they never broke up in the first place but as Tenten was quick to point out, Neji had no business in saying who she could and couldn't see. Unfortunately, sitting back was something Neji could not do—staying out of Tenten's love life was a Sisyphean task.
"Well, think about it this way," Ino said brightly. "If you happen to murder your brother for being an ass per usual, Tennie will take Neji out, and I'll beat Naruto within an inch of his life. Then, we can spend Christmas together in a jail cell."
"We'll spend the rest of our lives in a jail cell if we do any of that."
Sasuke read Sai's text inviting him to a Christmas party a couple times before asking his mom if he could get a ride from her. Excited by the invitation, Mikoto enthusiastically enlisted Itachi—who had a show starting at the same time—to drop him off at the Harunos' home.
"Haruno, huh?" Itachi smirked. "You're finally close to Sakura Haruno?"
Sasuke glared at him. "Her brother invited me."
Itachi made a strangled noise at the back of his throat that sounded like a laugh. "I thought you weren't gay. Well, I mean, it's okay with me if you are but if Tou-san finds out, he'll have a heart attack at the thought of two disgraceful sons. Listen, Sasuke, when I move out, you can live with me-"
"Itachi, I'm not gay!" Sasuke yelled. "Her brother is a good friend of mine. Get your head out of the gutter."
The car turned left into the upper class neighborhood. Itachi followed Sasuke's instructions and pulled up to a large brick house at the corner. The brothers' eyes widened in shock at the size.
"Your friends are pretty well off," Itachi mentioned, still in awe of the Haruno home.
"Tell me about it," Sasuke grumbled as he got out the car. "Come get me after your show—the party lasts until two."
Itachi nodded before driving away. Sasuke faced the house took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
Satsuki Haruno was not expecting the handsome young man on her doorstep, let alone the boy from the sushi restaurant named Sasuke. She disguised her shock with a beaming smile and ushered the man inside.
"Hello, dear! What's your name? I'm Mrs. Haruno, but you can call me Satsuki-baa-san; all the kids do. Did Sai or Sakura invite you?"
Taken aback by the greeting, Sasuke knew where Sai got his overfriendliness from. He introduced himself and mentioned that Sai invited him.
"We're so happy to have you over, Sasuke-san. Let me call Sai-kun for you."
Somewhere from upstairs, Sakura yelled that her brother left to pick up food from the caterer's. A glance at his cell phone made Sasuke frown—he was an entire hour early.
Damn you, Itachi!
Satsuki ushered him upstairs to where Sakura was, assuming that he knew both her children fairly well. He stood awkwardly in her bedroom doorway, watching the woman put away her belongings.
"Sorry about the mess," Sakura said as she stashed her jewelry back in a box. "I wasn't expecting anyone for another half hour."
"Yeah... sorry I'm early." The man scratched the back of his head. "My brother has to go somewhere at the same time and I didn't even look at the time."
"It's not a big deal," Sakura dismissed. "Naruto usually shows up half an hour early so I'm used it it. Come in and take a seat—it must be uncomfortable standing in the doorway."
Sasuke hesitated before stepping into her room. The walls were painted a light cream with ruby red accents. A twin bed with a solid ruby comforter and cream pillows was shoved into a corner. A bookcase stood next to the door. The closet doors were shut but the glass side panels revealed its contents between the hanging jewelry hooks and scribbled notes in dry erase marker.
"A lot of our stuff is at the apartment," she admitted. "Every thing in the house has been rearranged because family is in town."
"Am I intruding on family time?"
Sakura gave him a funny look. "If anything, they're intruding on friend time. Our family friends rotate having parties and we got Christmas this year. I'm actually surprised you agreed to come."
A sense of wariness filled him. "Why's that?"
"Three years ago, David came during Christmas and left wearing Sai's clothes because the guys decided it was funny to have a snowball fight with paintballs inside them. He hasn't come back during the holidays since."
Sasuke groaned. "Sai definitely didn't tell me that. Neither did David."
She giggled and sat on her bed, finally done cleaning her room. "They're not that bad. Most times, they're a lot of fun."
"Yeah? Why do you say that?"
The bitter smile was back. "Drama," she said. "When it comes to Asians, what else could it be? We're suckers for a good drama."
The doorbell rang and she stiffened. The medley of voices was unfamiliar to Sasuke but Sakura knew who arrived in an instant.
"Guests are here," she said in a strangled voice. "You should come down and meet them."
"You don't look particularly thrilled about that."
Sakura glanced at the photo hanging next to the door. "It's... complicated. C'mon, before I get cold feet and end up staying in here all night."
People started arriving at a regular pace. The downstairs foyer was filled with bodies all removing their shoes and shedding their winter coats. Sasuke never felt so out of place before.
The two barely made it out of Sakura's room before someone tackled the woman beside him in a crushing hug.
"Naruto!" Sakura laughed. "I can't breathe!"
Sasuke recognized him in an instant. He was the boy who sometimes visited the sushi shop with his parents and always remarked about the lack of ramen on the menu. He was the boy Sakura had a secret smile for and the one who told lewd jokes at the dinner table.
He was Sakura's Takeuchi Junko who never grew up.
The other man noticed Sasuke standing behind them and gave a small smile. Loosening his hold on the petite woman, he extended his hand. "Hey! I'm Naruto, a friend of the family. What's your name?"
Sasuke recognized the accusing look in Naruto's eyes. He smirked before shaking his hand. "Sasuke Uchiha. Nice to meet you."
Sakura stepped in between them. "Naruto, Sasuke is a close friend at school. Sai invited him tonight."
"I see. Hey, Saki, where is your brother anyways? Neji can't find the hard drive for the 360 in the basement."
She sighed. "It's in the backpack if it's not there on the console. Sai should be back by now since Kaa-san is calling us down for dinner."
Naruto perked up and hugged her again as thanks before running downstairs. Sasuke watched the melancholic look return to her eyes.
"Dinner?" He prompted.
"Yeah," she sighed. "I'm being such a terrible host. Let's get something to eat."
Sai arranged the pieces of mochi on the platter before setting it down on the island counter. The dark haired man trailing behind his sister made him grin.
"Sasuke! I'm glad you could make it! Sorry about sticking you with Sakura—she can be so absentminded."
"Sai!"
"Your sister's a good tour guide. She showed me the house and all your baby pictures on the wall." Sasuke came to her defense. "I have to say, Haruno, pink really is your color."
"Sakura!"
"You two really are twins," Sasuke remarked dryly. "You even yell each other's names the same way."
"SASUKE!"
Sasuke followed the twins through the buffet set up in the kitchen and dining room. People were sitting everywhere and the three ended up sitting in the formal dining room.
He was entertained throughout dinner with their stories of Christmas parties past. A part of Sasuke wished he had been able to grow up with them, to share these tales of lighthearted celebration. But, he wouldn't dream of trading Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo. They may have not had elaborate parties like the Harunos did, but they shared every bit of their childhood together from the moment the Uchihas moved to Canton.
Getting up to refill his empty cup, Sasuke was once again approached by Mrs. Haruno.
"Did you get enough to eat, Sasuke-san?"
"More than enough," he answered honestly. "The food was delicious."
He was struck by the similarities between her and her daughter, especially when she gave him a pleased smile.
"I'm glad you liked it dear. I was afraid, with Sakura baking the chicken, that she would add some odd Mediterranean ingredient to the dish. Usually, I just use a teriyaki glaze but she added something else... People have been asking me for the recipe all night and I have no idea what to tell them!"
Thinking about it, Sasuke realized why the chicken tasted familiar. They used a similar recipe at the sushi house.
"I think she added grated ginger to the stuffing," he offered. "At least, that what it tastes like to me."
Mr. Haruno walked by them with a plate of chicken in hand. Satsuki-baa-san stopped her husband and took a bite from his plate.
"You know, Sasuke-san, I think you're right. How did you know?"
The young man sweatdropped.
"Lucky guess?"
He entered the room at the same time Naruto did from the other side.
"Hey Saki!" Naruto called before he sat down in Sasuke's empty chair.
The other man raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as he pulled out the chair from Sai's other side.
"What, Naruto?" She asked with a touch of exasperation.
"Can you babysit Konohamaru for me?"
Sakura blanched at the thought of spending an afternoon with Naruto's thirteen-year-old cousin. Konohamaru Sarutobi should have been able to stay at home by himself, but after six visits from the fire department, Kaori-baa-san deemed her only child in need of constant supervision until he outgrew his experimental phase.
"Why can't you do it?"
Naruto had the grace to look guilty. "I have a date."
If he hadn't been watching her, Sasuke would have missed the anger and hurt in her eyes before a pleased facade took over.
"Sure. Just let me know when."
Naruto promised to make it up to her, either by taking her out or funding her next cosplay project. Sakura looked uncomfortable with the promises and brushed them off with a repeated, "This is what friends do. You're my best friend, after all."
He thanked her profusely, gave her a strangling hug, and ran off. Sakura stared at her plate, lost in thought before standing up to get a drink, agitated.
Sai slowly swallowed his food, having kept silent during the entire exchange. "Will you check on her?" He asked Sasuke.
He made a face. "Why me?"
"She's got this thing where any time someone close asks her if she's alright, she'll immediately lie and say she's fine. Maybe you can catch her off-guard."
Laughing, Sasuke shook his head. "Catch your sister off-guard? I doubt it."
Sasuke found her standing over a bowl of punch. Her cup was still empty and the ladle sat right above the surface of the juice.
"Hey," he tugged her hands away from the ladle. "Let's get out of here."
Her eyes, despite the faux green, were glassy with memory. "Where would we go?" She breathed, slowly coming out of her daze.
Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw Sai step in front of his mother, blocking her view of the pair. The snow falling outside distracted his attention from the matter at hand.
"Out."
Judging by the way Sai was tiptoeing through the party, they weren't supposed to leave.
"The Z is parked on the street." Sai told him in a low voice, pressing the keys into his hand. "You have until midnight."
"Isn't that a little Cinderella of you?"
"Shut up." Sai grinned. "We open presents at midnight. The gift exchange starts at eleven thirty but it's easy to dismiss your absence then."
Sakura emerged from the mudroom, dressed to travel. She held Sasuke's coat in her hands. Taking it from her, the dark haired man tried to ignore how intimate the setting was. He focused his attention on the resigned look in Sakura's eyes.
"Don't forget a scarf," he murmured at the sight of her bare neck over the collar of the black peacoat.
Obediently, she went back into the mudroom to fetch a scarf. Sasuke pointedly ignored the shit-eating grin stretched across Sai's face.
They left through the garage. "Take care of my baby!" Sai called from the doorway.
He laughed off the dirty looks they shot him.
Sasuke counted his blessings that Itachi drove a stick shift otherwise he would have to suck up his pride and ask Sakura to drive.
Marveling at how quickly the coupe heated up, Sasuke shifted into drive. It wasn't until they were on the main street did Sakura turn to him and ask where they were going.
"You'll see." Sasuke answered cryptically as he turned left.
The car turned onto Michigan Avenue and finally, Sakura realized where they were headed.
"Ice skating?"
Shifting the car into park, Sasuke gave her an amused smirk.
"Why not?"
Sakura gingerly stepped onto the ice, clutching the raised edge of the rink wall to keep balanced. Behind her, Sasuke smoothly skated on the ice.
After nearly slipping, Sakura felt steady enough to let go of the wall. Taking a few slow steps forward, she eased herself into the familiar rhythm of skating. She glared at Sasuke leisurely skating backwards in front of her.
"What?"
"I hate you," she said without any real malice.
He pulled her hands from her sides. "Relax," he said as he dragged her forward. "I won't let you fall."
She scoffed and rolled her eyes but allowed Sasuke to drag her along. The rink was decorated for the holidays, Christmas lights strung across the dark ceiling, imitating the stars.
"Why did you bring me here?"
Sasuke stopped. An angry couple swerved around them, yelling at the pair to get out of the way. They ignored the two, silently assessing the other's true intentions.
"I mean, it's not like we're close. You're more of my brother's friend anyways. I feel bad for making you miss the party."
Sasuke could hear all the things Sakura didn't say but wanted to.
"I'm not going to pretend like I know you," Sasuke began. "I don't know your problems and I'm not going to ask. What I do know is that you need someone right now and I'm willing to be that friend if you'll let me."
Stunned, Sakura took a step back. For a moment, Sasuke thought she was going to leave but the woman stood there thinking.
"Thank you."
She took his offered hand and let him pull her forward, matching his steps with unconscious ease.
At eight o'clock, they exhausted the ice rink and headed back to Sakura's car.
"Are we going back now?"
Sasuke spared her a glance before looking at the clock. Intuitively feeling her reluctance to return to her home, Sasuke shook his head and made a U-turn on Michigan Avenue.
There were a number of places on Canton Center Road Sakura thought Sasuke would take her, but the little shop tucked in the corner shopping district was the last place she dreamed of. Holly's Nails was also decorated for the holiday season, the neon open sign blinking in the night. The man parked her car in front of the shop and opened the door for her.
Sakura was no stranger to the establishment, having accompanied her mother here on many occasions, but she rarely had her nails done. Sasuke didn't look as out of place as Sai did whenever her brother tagged along on those girlish outings and greeted the lady at the counter with a familiar smile.
"Chào," he said with a slight bow.
Sakura could hardly keep up with the fluid exchange of words. The lady kept glancing at her, exclaiming a number of things. She didn't know whether to feel insulted or disturbed by the stares she was receiving from the rest of the staff.
"Come back here with me." The lady finally addressed her.
Uncertain of what exactly was going on, Sakura looked at Sasuke. He gave her an encouraging smile before taking a seat in the waiting area and pulling out his cell phone.
The manicurist sat her down in one of the massage chairs, told her to take off her shoes and socks and roll up her leggings. The foot bath filled up with warm water and the lady added in a number of salts and liquids to the water before handing her the remote to turn on the massage chair and sliding her feet in the water.
This was the closest to bliss Sakura had come to during the stressful holiday season. There were so many things to do in the Haruno home during this time: clean the house, prepare for family to stay, prepare for guests, cook food, buy presents, wrap presents, decorate for the season... the list went on and on. In the salon, there was only Sakura and her thoughts.
"What color do you want?"
The woman opened her eyes in surprise. "Um... do you have OPI's Kyoto Pearl?"
The lady was taken aback by the specific shade her customer requested, but she stood up and went through the racks, returning with the bottle. Inwardly, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Ino loved that particular color on her for some reason and it was the first nail polish Sakura could think of at the moment.
The next hour passed in a quiet daze. The manicurist chatted with her co-workers, occasionally yelling queries towards Sasuke. He responded in his tacit fashion before going back to his cell phone. After they were done with her pedicure, Sakura was sent back to wash her hands before beginning her manicure.
Halfway through one hand, Sasuke sat down in the empty chair on her left.
"I didn't know you spoke Vietnamese," Sakura commented in Japanese.
The man shrugged. "You pick up things," he replied in the same language. "Karin's mom dated a Vietnamese guy for the longest time when we were kids and we learned it from him."
"Who's we?"
"Me, Suigetsu, Juugo, and Karin. I think it's what inspired her to get a job here."
"Karin works here? Really? What does she look like?"
The manicurist barked something to Sasuke and judging by the tone of his reply, Sakura guessed it was pretty funny.
"What did she say?"
Sasuke grinned. "She told us to stop talking shit about her in Japanese."
"But we're not talking shit about her at all."
"She doesn't know that."
Sakura looked prettiest when she dolled herself up.
At least, that's what Sasuke decided upon seeing her post-spa treatment.
The woman was already wearing a light coat of make-up, evening out her skin tone and highlighting her green eyes with a brush of black mascara. The coat of almost translucent pearl on her nails should not have brought out her delicate features but somehow, it did.
Maybe it wasn't her nails. Maybe it was the delight shining through the carefully crafted mask of perfection and invincibility that made Sakura Haruno beautiful.
He paid for the spa treatment—all $34 of it despite Sakura's protests—and offered her his arm. She laughed before tucking her hand in the crook of his arm.
"Where to now?"
A facebook status flashed through his mind.
It was good thing Suigetsu's holiday celebration only went as far as the Christmas Day feast his mother prepared and the gift exchange between his family and friends, otherwise he wouldn't be basking in the holiday bonuses that came with working the Christmas Eve shift at Daydream Cafe.
His friends, like they did every year together unless one of them was working, played games on the couches by the door.
"Man, I can't believe Sasuke ditched us this year," Karin complained as she slapped a pair of twos on the coffee table.
Juugo reached for a card in her hand. "Put in perspective, Kairn," he advised. "We should be happy he's being social."
"But we haven't seen him in months!"
A set of headlights—the bright xenon kind installed in pricey cars—lit up the back wall of the cafe. Karin squinted through the window to see who the customers were and dropped her cards in surprise.
"Karin, I can see everything."
"Sasuke's here..."
At the counter, Suigetsu yelled in triumph. "The bastard came through after all!"
"... with a girl." Karin finished weakly. "He's here with Sakura Haruno."
She had never seen Juugo turn around so fast.
Sakura didn't know what to expect when Sasuke pulled into the Target parking lot. He parked in front of one of the retail shops lining the main street and she hurried to open her door before Sasuke could be a knight in shining armor again.
Honestly, she's had enough of playing the damsel in distress for one day.
"I've never been here before."
Sasuke opened the door for her and asked, "Really? I thought you would have been everywhere by now."
"I haven't been to a lot of places actually," she admitted. "I've never been to the Joe Luis Arena."
The man shrugged. "Neither have I."
"Sasuke!" Someone from behind the counter called. "What are you doing here, man? I thought you were supposed to be at some college friend's house."
"Suigetsu." Sasuke greeted. "I was there but shit happened and now I'm here."
Suigetsu eyed her with a bit of incredulity before pasting what Ino would have called a "salesman" smile on his face. "Try our Slow Poke! It's really good frozen but it's just as good hot!"
A light set of footsteps from behind her almost scared Sakura. "How are you in retail, Sui? That was the worst sales pitch I've ever heard."
"Shut up, Karin. No one asked for your opinion."
The redhead—Karin—rolled her eyes before turning to Sakura. "Hi! I'm Karin and I unfortunately know these socially inept morons. That's Suigetsu behind the counter and Juugo's on the couch.""
Sakura liked her immediately. "I'm Sakura. I go to school with Sasuke. He's told me so much about you guys."
"Yeah, he's told us about-"
A crash interrupted Suigetsu's remark and he squawked, "The candy display! Oh shit!"
Karin sighed again. "Sui—stop being an idiot. Juugo, don't be a wallflower and come over here."
She didn't see the tall man until his shadow loomed over her. Reigning in her impulse to scream, Sakura glanced upward and came face to face with the calmest human being she'd ever met. Shaking his hand, Sakura gave him an easy smile, introducing herself again with just her name.
At the counter, Sasuke helped Suigetsu stack the last few candy bars on the shelf before placing an order for two Slow Pokes without whipped cream.
"Sometimes, I forget you're lactose intolerant, man." Suigetsu started up the coffee machine.
"Lactose sensitive, you mean. I handle cheese and ice cream just fine."
Karin and Juugo led Sakura to the couch and started up another card game, most likely Koi-Koi since Juugo put the poker deck away and dealt out the hanafuda cards.
"Sasuke," Suigetsu began in a low voice. "Why did you bring her here? Is there something going on between you two?"
The sound of the coffee machine made it difficult for even Sasuke to hear him.
"There's nothing," he said. "She needed an escape and I gave her one."
Frowning, Suigetsu laced the cups with caramel sauce before pouring the mocha in.
"I don't know her story and I don't know what's going on between you two," he started. "But I don't want to see you getting hurt. You're not foolish like Karin and you're not flighty like me. You're always the one gluing us back together every time we fall."
"Your point?"
Suigetsu set down the coffee pot. "She's good for you," he answered simply. " Maybe you should give it a shot."
The sounds of victory coming from the corner reached their ears and the two glanced over to see Sakura hi-fiving Karin for playing a high-point hand.
"You don't even know her." Sasuke scowled.
His best friend drizzled more caramel on top before placing the lids on and sliding them towards Sasuke.
"I don't need to. You brought her here—to us."
Suigetsu started closing up, walking to the front and turning off the open sign. Taking a seat next to Sasuke on the bar stools, he faced him.
"You've known her for almost four years." Suigetsu reasoned. "Four years of watching you daydream about an impossible girl."
"I have not been daydreaming," Sasuke snapped. "She was just-"
"Just what, Sasuke? If you haven't been daydreaming about her, then what were you doing? Itachi-nii told us about what happened last Spring Break—about how you kept her phone number, how you ran into her at Olive Garden, and how you've secretly been keeping a list about her the last few years."
"Itachi is an asshole who should have been a fiction writer."
Sliding off the stool, Suigetsu moved to wash all the dishes and clean up behind the counter. "Don't be so defensive, man. I'm just telling you what I've been told and what I've seen. All I'm saying is maybe that impossible girl is possibly yours after all."
Another round of laughter erupted from the couches.
"Don't take her for granted. Things aren't like they were before; she isn't some familiar face who gives you good tips anymore."
Sasuke shook his head and got up to take the woman in discussion her drink. "Sakura was never that in the first place," he said quietly. "She's always been something more."
Sakura savored the sweet coffee. It was the perfect temperature—hot enough to warm up her frozen fingers but cool enough to not burn her throat. Karin and Juugo waved good bye to them from the curb just as Suigetsu locked the door.
"They're nice people." She smiled. "You have good friends."
He snorted. "If you say so."
The clock read 10:30 pm.
"Turn right here." Sakura pointed to the street before her turn off.
"Don't you live on the other side of the street?"
She avoided looking at him. "We have an hour and a half. Might as well make use of it."
Sai gulped as Tenten cornered him in Sakura's room. The lock clicked ominiously behind Ino.
Maybe he could escape through the bathroom...
"Where is she?"
He averted his gaze from Tenten's accusing eyes.
"Who?"
"Sakura. Sa. Ku. Ra. Your twin sister. Our cousin. Sakura Five-Catholic-Middle-Names Haruno. Where is she?"
"She's here. Duh. Where else would she be?"
Sai shrank into the corner as their gazes turned wicked.
Bundled up against the winter chill, Sasuke and Sakura parked her car at the clubhouse and started walking.
"We're so backwards."
He looked at her in surprise.
"Backwards?"
"Think about it," Sakura said. "Tonight, we've professed to trust and rely on each other to be a pillar of support but I don't even know your favorite color."
"It's blue."
He easily dodged the punch to his arm. "I thought you wanted to know."
"I was trying to make a point."
Carrying a tray filled with glasses of eggnog, Tenten rounded the corner and nearly collided into someone else.
A set of heavy hands steadied her, his touch lingering a few seconds longer than necessary before Hyuuga Neji thought it prudent to remove his hands before Tenten lunged for a knife and removed them for him.
"Merry Christmas, Tenten."
She stiffened. "Eggnog, Neji?"
Sometimes, she hated her lips for moving when all she wanted to do was keep silent.
"Then what? You want to play Twenty Questions?" Sasuke mocked her.
"We're not in high school, stupid."
"You're the one who wanted to talk, Sakura. So talk. Or is your mouth incapable of running per usual because you're in my presence?"
"..."
The snowball collided with his head and water dripped down the side of his face by his ear and yet, Sasuke couldn't find it in himself to care.
"I liked you better when you didn't speak," Sakura huffed.
Ino wasn't stupid.
The tension in Naruto's shoulders was so obvious, it was frustrating. After all, what right did he have to concern himself with Sakura's affairs?
Not that anybody knew where she went. The Haruno house was big enough to hide in but Ino grew up playing hide and seek in her cousins' home during the breaks. She knew every nook and cranny better than the insufferable Naruto Uzumaki and could say with reasonable confidence that Sakura was not in the house.
Naruto cussed again as Neji blew up his tank in Black Ops. "What the hell, man?" He shouted.
Neji met his furious gaze coolly. "What did you expect, dumbass? We're on opposite teams."
Scowling, Ino turned her attention back to Hinata. Everyone knew Naruto was acting up because Sakura wasn't around to tell him to shut his trap. If her cousin didn't reappear soon, Ino would be arrested for homicide.
Judging by the look on Tenten's face, both cousins would be in jail that night.
Gathering up snow in his hand, Sasuke molded it into a ball and tossed it at Sakura. She shrieked and dove for cover behind a small pine tree. The snowball hit the tree with an 'oomph,' sending the snow on its branches to the ground and on Sakura.
"Truce, truce!" She laughed. "I'm not dressed to play in the snow!"
"Don't start things you're unwilling to finish," Sasuke said as he brushed the snow off her hair.
"Who, me?" Sakura said cattily. "I never do that. I always finish what I start and I always come out on top."
"Is that a challenge?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Are you challenging me to a snowball fight?"
"Well, what else could I be saying?"
He scooped up another handful of snow. "Are you sure you want to know why I was Plymouth High's ace forward?"
SPLAT!
Sakura clutched her arms around her middle as she helplessly giggled. "So much for a star soccer player!" She taunted. "Don't forget I grew up playing soccer in the streets with Sai!"
Launching the snowball in his hand, Sasuke threw another one soon after as he advanced towards her. Caught up in dodging the continuous stream of snowballs, Sakura didn't realize how close Sasuke was until he grabbed her around the middle and tackled her to the ground, twisting his body around so that he landed in the snow instead.
They stared at each other, almost nose to nose. Internally, Sasuke berated himself for putting them into this situation. This is what he gets for being nice and taking Sakura's lack of appropriate winter play clothing into consideration. Had it been Karin, he would have thrown her to the ground without hesitation.
He opened his mouth to say something but the Korean pop song blaring from her coat pocket muted his thoughts. Was it already that time?
Sakura blinked in surprise before getting off Sasuke. Offering a hand to pull him from the ground, she said nothing about the intimate moment they shared a few seconds before.
"Come here," Sakura finally said, cracking a smile. "You have snow all over you."
Sai would never know how she did it, but at 11:45 as their mother anxiously called for Sakura to take family pictures, she appeared at the top of the staircase, DSLR in hand, without betraying any sign of her absence for the majority of the night.
"Hey," Sai hissed to her as she set up the tripod. "Where's Sasuke?"
She shrugged, lining her eye with the viewfinder. "Your room, I think."
They cycled through the families in the usual order: first both Hyuuga families followed by the Uzumakis, both sets of Sarutobis, the Inuzukas, and Sakura's absent best friend's, Shizune Senju, parents. Sakura asked for her cousins' before handing off her camera to Hinata and posing for a photo with her parents and brother.
"College kids picture!" Naruto yelled, grabbing Hinata by the arm and pulling her flush against him.
Her father gently pushed Sakura towards the group, taking her camera from her hand. She slipped in at the edge, comfortably squashed in between Ino and Tenten.
"Where have you been all night?" Tenten hissed at her so no one would overhear. "Ino and I have been looking for you all over."
Sakura continued to smile. "I'll tell you later," she whispered back.
Finally, the clock struck midnight. Sakura gathered the gift bags and boxes her twin collected for her at the bottom of the staircase before skipping up to her room with Tenten, Hinata, and Ino at her heels.
The door to Sai's room opened and Sai stepped out with Sasuke. Behind her, the other girls gasped in surprise.
"I left it downstairs," Sai told him, sidestepping his twin. "It'll be faster if you just come with me 'cause the box is pretty big."
Once Ino collected herself, she shoved everyone into Sakura's room.
"The Anime Paper Boy is here in your house!"
Sasuke eyed the large box Sai handed to him warily.
"What's this?"
The Haruno rolled his eyes. "A gift, stupid. What else?"
Immediately, Sasuke felt guilty. Sai got him a gift? If only he knew beforehand, Sasuke would have brought something for him too.
"Thank you," he said, projecting as much sincerity as he could into his voice before setting the box on the table and peeling away the wrapping paper. Lifting the lid, Sasuke was surprised to find a new pair of cleats and two folded t-shirts inside.
"In the spring, we play intramural matches as a team representing AASA," Sai explained. "I figured you need a t-shirt if you're going to play with us."
Sasuke held up the navy blue shirt and took a cursory look at it. The front was rather plain, with a pocket-sized AASA logo silkscreened in a maize gold color. The back had the number 07 and 'UCHIHA' silkscreened in the same color.
"This is way too much," Sasuke said, setting the shirt down. "You honestly didn't have to buy me new cleats, for starters."
Sai grinned and slung and arm around him. "Honestly, AASA paid for the shirts. Sakura and I split the cost of the cleats so they're technically from her too."
At the mention of the elder Haruno twin, Sasuke looked away. Sai's obnoxiously persistent smile slipped.
"Sasuke, did something happen between you two?"
The Uchiha looked up. "What makes you think something did?" He replied cooly.
Tenten was firm believer in the fact that nothing good happens after two am.
The "college kids" sat around in the basement, TV and Xbox off, nursing steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Every eye was trained on the three sitting on the couch—their two hosts and the mysterious pretty boy sandwiched in between them.
"So..." Kiba Inzukua ventured to start the conversation. "What is your relationship with our dear Saki-chan?"
The twins nearly spit out their drinks and Sasuke cleared his throat. If it weren't for the subtle glare Naruto sent across her aimed at Sasuke Uchiha, Tenten would have laughed.
"We're friends." Sasuke quietly clarified.
"But you're THE Anime Paper Boy. How can you just be friends?"
"Kiba," Sakura said through gritted teeth. "If you are as much as a whore as you claim you are, I will gladly take away your one source of pleasure."
Kiba winked at Ino, who gave him an evil stare. "Fucking your beautiful cousin?"
She gave him a saccharine smile. "Your dick, imbecile. I'd like to see you get off without it."
"You know, Saki-chan, you are related to Ino Yamanaka. Maybe you can dress up for me like that sexy Pikachu girl and we can-"
"Kiba Inuzuka," Tenten cut him off before Sai reached across the ottoman to strangle his childhood friend. "Shut the hell up."
She glanced at the clock. 2:15 AM.
Obviously, nothing good happens after two am.
Naruto Uzumaki was pissed.
He tried not show it. Really. Naruto did every thing over the top.
Always did.
That's where Sakura came in when they were growing up. She was like the OFF switch to his hyperactivity. Sakura kept him on track, bandaged up his wounds, and soothed his broken pride.
And then, they went to high school. He met a girl, one his parents didn't approve of. She was spontaneous, beautiful, and funny as hell.
Carolina Raskovich was also mixed up with the wrong crowds.
She did drugs and had an endless supply of cash at any given time. She hung around the back alleyways of downtown Detroit and often spread her legs wide open for anyone willing to party hard with her.
Every wise person at Bishop's knew that to entangle yourself in Carolina's world meant social suicide.
People would watch you closely for any sign of self-destruction. They could not trust your words, could not determine if behind the coating of honey, there was a slow-acting poison.
People could not trust you.
When he was paired with her for a project, Naruto honestly thought he could make her better. And for a little while, he did. She smoked less, drank less, partied less. She focused more on her studies and quit tearing down people just because she could.
He dated her because he pitied her.
Fours years later, they were over but his childhood friends could not fully trust themselves to him. That year he spent with Carolina, he also spent pushing them away.
You changed, Hinata once told him with tears running down her cheeks. And it's not a good kind of change either, Naruto. You used to be my hero.
Sakura used to tell him and Sai that all the time—that they were her heros. Now, watching her curl up on the couch next to a complete stranger, it seemed like she found a new hero in the man giving her understanding smiles every time she looked at him.
Naruto couldn't be happier when the generic Nokia ringtone shattered his angry thoughts. The twins—his closest friends since they were in diapers—got up and escorted Sasuke Uchiha upstairs.
Good riddance.
"Thank you for inviting me." Sasuke paused at the door. "It has been a memorable night."
Sai laughed. "Are you so nervous that you're slipping into keigo? It was a pleasure having you over. Give us a call if you ever want to hang out over break."
Sasuke nodded, awkwardly bumping fists with Sai. He turned to Sakura, unsure of what to say to her.
Earlier, when they snuck into the house, they agreed not to mention their whereabouts for the better part of the night to anybody. Sasuke spent the last two and a half hours taking social cues from her, admiring her ability to play it cool despite her cousins' relentless questioning.
She stepped forward and wrapped him in a tight hug.
"Thank you," she murmured in his ear, "for every thing."
Sasuke returned the embrace. "You are..." He started to say.
He could feel her head against his shoulder, tilting in curiosity. Suddenly, he couldn't find the words to express what he'd been meaning to tell her this entire evening.
"What?"
He took a step back, his earlier conversation with Suigetsu at the forefront of his mind.
Sakura was never just another customer in the first place. She's always been something more.
"... incredible."
Author's Note:
Merry Christmas to my dear readers!
I'm not quite sure how I feel about this ending, but I've been saving that line from the summary for a moment like this, soo... go with it?
Thank you all for the wonderful year. I'm so grateful for all your support—for recommending this fic to your friends and readers, for continuing to stay with me as I struggle to write and maintain a semblance of a life.
bubble tea and nothing on you were both featured and favorably reviewed at the sasusakufanfics tumblr sometime last year but I didn't discover the feature until this spring. ERMAHGAD. That has never happened to me before!
Which brings me to this: if you love this story, share it! If you think it's amazing, review it! Writers depend on readers more than you think. Help them out by giving constructive criticism and/or praise and by recommending their work to anyone in search of something to read.
I'm going to get off this soap box and go study for the GRE now...
Ja ne!
Callista Miralni