WARNING(S): N/A

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SASUKE!

"Sooooo…" drawing out the syllable, she stuck a straw in her mouth and took a long, slow sip before setting her Shirley Temple on the table with an audible clunk and folding her hands together, tucking them underneath her chin. "... when were you gonna tell me?"

The teenager across from her was very pointedly avoiding her gaze, tapping his straw against the ice in his own glass. The soda in the glass sloshed up and down from the motion.

When he realized she was waiting for a reply, he murmured, "I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"Oh, yeah, no, of course it isn't." Waving off his words, she rolled her eyes and took another sip. This time she plucked the cherry from atop the ice and popped the fruit in her mouth, pulling the stem free. "I mean, it's not like we've been dating ever since middle school, or anything. That's completely inconsequential when you consider your parents literally just-"

"Are you upset?"

The softness in his voice caught her off-guard. Looking up at the boy before her, she was surprised to see a hint of disappointment in the downturn of his lips and the furrowing of his brows.

Her own lips parted in protest. "No! No, Sasuke, I could never be upset about this. I'm just- what's the right word here? Bewildered?"

"You're… bewildered," he deadpanned incredulously.

"Well, yeah. Didn't they already know we're together? I thought they knew we were together." Sakura shook her head. "Sasuke, did you not tell them? Shoot, was I supposed to tell them?"

She was surprised to see his shoulders shaking. As she was about to ask if he was alright, his bowed head raised and she could see that he was laughing.

Her eyes narrowed. "You're laughing," she accused flatly. "I'm having a crisis over your parents basically matchmaking us after three years of dating and you're laughing."

"I'm- I'm not laughing at you," he continued to chuckle, covering his face with one hand. "This situation is- it's so absurd."

"Absurd doesn't begin to cut it." She retorted, taking another sip. This one was almost completely grenadine - almost too sweet on her tongue. "Almost as absurd as you asking me out because I took you to the nurse for accidentally hitting you in the face with a dodgeball in seventh grade."

Sasuke shook his head, a very ungentlemanly snort escaping.

"I thought you were the serious one," she accused. "Who are you and where is my boyfriend? Are you cursed? Bewitched?"

"By you, probably."

There was a lengthy pause. Sasuke was still laughing under his breath.

Sakura shot him a disbelieving look. "That was so cheesy. Now I really am worried."

Reaching across the table, he extended his hand. After a moment of staring at it, she took it and relished in the warmth of his fingers curling around her own. Her cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment as she drank her Shirley Temple.

"So… did they seriously not know? Or is this their way of saying 'ha-ha you two, now we really want you to start getting serious about this'? I mean, I know your mom likes me, but-"

"If they do know, it wasn't me that told them," he interrupted, finally having shaken off the giggle fit. Still, his face was colored with amusement. "Naruto would've probably spilled the beans out of guilt for telling, and I don't know your friends well enough… so that leaves my brother."

"Ugh, Itachi…" Sakura whined. "Whyyyyy did he tell…"

"Probably because my father wanted to know." With a shrug, Sasuke finished off his cherry cola.

"He is so not getting a good seat at the banquet hall," she huffed. "Can we do that? Because it's gonna take a million boxes of wagashi for me to forgive him for this."

Sasuke chuckled again, squeezing her hand as she drank the last of her drink. "I'll let him know his days are numbered."

"Good," his girlfriend agreed sagely. "You do that. Your mother is my favorite now."

"My mother?" Oh, now there was a pout forming on his handsome face. Damn Uchihas and their amazing genetics. "She's your favorite?"

"Oh, c'mon, of course you're my favorite-favorite." With a teasing roll of her eyes, she cupped her other hand around his.

"I should hope so. I'm your boyfriend." He huffed, though there was no heat behind his tone and his coal eyes twinkled with mirth.

"Fiance now, I think." Sakura gave him a teasing grin. "Gee, Ino's gonna flip her lid when she finds out."

The smile faded from his face and the teenager groaned. "Speaking of… Naruto is never going to let me hear the end of this. Oh my gosh, we have to tell them."

"We have to," she agreed with a pinched face. "Well, it'll get easier once they know. Hopefully they can keep from telling the entire school about it."

Another groan from the Uchiha made her giggle. "Please don't say that. You might accidentally make it happen just by thinking of it."