Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
AN: Hi! So got bored. Had an idea come to me. Hope you find it at least half as fun to read as it was to write! Enjoy!
He glided the white towel over the already glistening dark granite countertop in uniform circular motions. It reflected the light of the row of five overhand chrome pendant light fixtures. The five round chrome barstools with red cushions directly in front of him were empty, allowing him a full view of the occupied booth closest to the front door.
The scene in front of him continued to unfold. He watched as the teen girl with straight brown hair cut so short it barely grazed her jaw, regarded a woman in said occupied booth. The brunette had her hands shoved firmly in her white apron pockets. He knew her well enough to know that she did that to keep her hands from wringing together. The hands in the apron trick did nothing to settle the teen's restless leg that was moving up and down as she stood. She took a couple of hesitant steps towards the woman. The woman paid her no mind and continued to devour with vigor. She let out a loud sound of satisfaction as she finished the rest of the burger in her hands.
"Um," Rin began after she tucked her hair behind her ears.
A pair of emerald orbs looked up from the carnage that was her plate and the countertop to give the girl her undivided attention. Rin clamped her mouth closed when the woman propped an elbow on the counter and held up two fingers.
"Can I get two more burgers, please? Extra pickles, hold the onion." The woman looked around the table. "Oh and another strawberry shake." She added before she stuffed a fry that was generously slathered with ketchup into her mouth.
Rin gulped. She looked over at the counter for the umpteenth time. 'Help,' her brown orbs screamed at him.
Minato let out a small sigh. He nodded his head subtly. Rin looked back at the woman who was completely oblivious to the exchange.
"Of course," Rin hurried away from the front of the restaurant, retreating back a safe enough distance.
"Some fries too!" The woman said loudly, projecting her voice over the empty diner floor. She held up the empty red plastic basket. The red and white checkered liner was damp with the excess grease and leftover ketchup. There was a singular fry in her other hand.
The blond watched silently as the woman looked down at the front of her dress. She frowned at the presence of a dollop of thick, red, velvety sauce on the expanse of stark white. She pressed her last fry to the end of the ketchup - right in the center of her chest - and swiped it upwards. She put it in her mouth.
He had seen enough. He pushed open the double door that was behind him and to his right. The sound of her sucking on a straw to get the last remnants of her shake resounded in his ears. He felt the heat of the grill and the fryer instantly as the doors slowly came to a state of rest behind him. Familiar aromas filled his nose, it grounded him. His cobalt eyes locked with those of his waitress Rin.
"Go home, Rin." He said in a voice that was equal parts reassuring and firm.
The girl nodded her head mutely. He watched as she pulled her white apron off of her head. She hung it on the hook on the wall with mechanical movements. Her lack of argument said it all, the teen girl was shaken at what she had just witnessed. His eyes landed on the clock. It was late and the sun had long settled for the night.
"Do you have a ride?" He asked her.
"Obito is picking me up," Rin slipped into her blue oversized jacket. She ran her fingers through her hair. "He's bringing his car this time and not his bike, so you don't have to worry." She added as she remembered the look of concern and disapproval on his face the last time her boyfriend had picked her up after a late shift ended.
"Good," Minato spared her a small smile before he turned his attention to his cook. "You should go home too, Choza."
The man with long brown hair contained in a black hairnet turned around and frowned at the blond.
"What about the rapidly developing situation?" Choza asked gruffly, pointing to the door that Minato had just entered.
"I'll take care of it," Minato assured the man. He looked at the clock again. "No reason for the two of you to still be here over an hour after closing."
Choza set down his spatula. He studied Minato closely with crossed arms. His dark eyes narrowed and his forehead folded into thin lines. He watched the blond wash his hands, with silent judgment.
"I'll be fine," Minato smiled easily. He finished tying his green apron around his front. "It'll be good for me. I can't afford to get rusty now, can I?"
Choza scoffed. He and Rin exchanged a look. "I'll wait with Rin outside." He said, relenting.
"Thank you," Minato's eyes reflected genuine gratitude that his head cook did not challenge him on the matter. "Get home safe. Good night."
"Good night, Mr. Namikaze." Rin waved at him as she slipped through the back door. A cold burst of air filled the room.
"Take care of yourself, Minato." Choza eyed him up and down once before he too slipped through the door, following after the teen, hair net and all. The metal door closed with a loud thud.
The reality of his situation settled on him. He took a deep breath. He took a couple of steps towards the black picture frame mounted on the wall. He read the wall of text. He had it practically memorized at this point. He allowed himself a couple of moments to gather his thoughts and his focus.
Minato turned his attention to the grill. He added salt and pepper to the patties and laid them seasoned side down on the nearly smoking blacktop. The meat sizzled and a column of steam rose towards his face quickly and aggressively. He moved through the industrial-grade kitchen with ease. He lowered the metal basket containing cut potatoes into the hot oil. He watched the bubbles surround the shoestring-cut fries. He buttered the burger buns before he added them to the flattop to cook alongside the patties. He eyed the clock ticking the seconds away as he waited for the food to cook.
He found her staring out the window with her chin in the palm of her hand. A silver bracelet caught the soft light from the fixture above her head and shone in his eye. Her dress barely fit in the booth. The tulle was puffed around her like a massive cloud. It nearly completely obscured the shiny red polyester upholstery of the back wall and seat. She smiled at him as he lowered the plate with the two burgers in front of her. A red basket filled to the brim with fries was next to be placed on the table. A small white plate just containing round slices of pickles was the last of the items presented to her.
"Thank you," she beamed. "It looks so good!" She grabbed one of the burger tops and lifted it. She added three more slices of pickles from the plate to what was already a generous serving. She lowered the buttery brioche lid back onto the mountain of pickles. She picked it up carefully before she took a big bite. She wiped the ketchup and mayonnaise that clung to her chin with the side of her hand.
"Wow!" She exclaimed. "This," she pointed to the burger in her hand, "is the best burger I've ever had." A glob of red and white dripped down to the plate in front of her just as the last word came out of her mouth.
"I'll give the cook your compliments." He said with a soft smile.
"Please do, they are in the right line of work." She looked at the plate with admiration. She took another hefty bite. "What happened to Rin?" She asked him with her mouth partially full.
He leaned his hip against the side of the booth, directly across from her. "She went home." He supplied. "Her shift officially ended an hour and a half ago."
Her pink brows knitted together. She looked around the floor. For perhaps the first time she noticed that she was the only patron in the diner. A sheepish look crossed her face.
"I'm so sorry." She apologized with the burger still in her hands. "I didn't realize." Her emerald eyes were wide as saucers.
"It's alright," he smiled kindly at her.
"I can," she covered her mouth as a small burp escaped her mouth. Her cheeks turned pink. "Sorry," she apologized again in embarrassment. "I can take this to go," she gestured to the food on the table. "God, I'm so sorry. You probably will be here all night cleaning the kitchen!" Guilt dripped off of each word. "I can help!" She said in a panic. "I'll do the dishes. Degrease the fryer. That's a thing right?"
"It's fine," he held up his hand to quiet her building protests. "It would be a liability to have you degreasing anything or back there at all, really." He chuckled at the look on her face. Like she was caught between being offended or relieved. "Please take your time," he said with sincerity. "I don't mind."
She bit her bottom lip. "You really don't have anything better to do on a Saturday night than watch a woman in a wedding dress eat her weight in burgers?" She asked him suspiciously.
"Not at all," his lips pulled into a grin. The light of the full moon shone through the window that was covered in letters denoting the name of the diner: Naruto's Diner.
"You're not the least bit curious?" She raised a brow as she asked the pointed question.
"Not really my business." He looked to his left. "Give me a second?" He turned back to ask her as the thought fully formed in his mind.
"Sure," she said with a shrug. She bit into her burger. She was so engrossed in it that she completely forgot that her requested shake was nowhere to be found. She watched him disappear behind the double doors again only to reemerge moments later with a clear glass hanging upside down between his fingers and a bottle of wine in his other hand.
"On the house," he said as he lowered both to the table.
The woman with pink hair, clad in a white strapless wedding dress with a giant red stain on the front, looked between the glass and the bottle.
"I'm not an alcoholic," she raised her eyes to him. "I don't drink alone." There was a hard glean to her eye, she looked at him expectantly. "I may be a mess but I'm not that pitiful."
It felt like time had stopped as he stared into her eyes, not sure what to do. Her emerald irises contained a depth of emotion that all but promised to pull him down under until he was gasping for air, on the brink of losing complete and utter control. He was very much out of his depths. When he finally did work up the courage to speak, the words surprised even him.
"I'll be right back." And true to his word he was back even quicker than before. He stood there with another glass in his hand. He gazed upon her asking a silent question of his own.
She smiled softly and gestured to the seat across from her. He nodded his head once, decisively. Minato moved into the seat. With steady hands, he set down the glass and uncorked the wine. He poured her glass first before filling his. He slid hers across the table towards her.
"Cheers," she said dryly, holding up her glass with a perfectly French-tipped manicured hand. Her third finger on her left hand was missing a certain piece of hardware. Even in the low light, he could see the tan line of the band that was once there.
"Cheers," he clicked his glass with hers before bringing it to his lips. The dark red liquid went down smoothly. The smell tickled his nose.
"Hm," she hummed appreciatively as her pink lashes fluttered open. "I didn't know a diner had wine," she said as she lowered her glass back down.
"I save it for special occasions," Minato answered without missing a beat.
"What's so special about this occasion?" She tilted her head to the side. Some strands of hair escaped her once meticulously done updo.
"Big decisions?" He said humorlessly.
The woman scoffed. "Something like that." She shoved some fries into her mouth in a gesture that screamed melancholy. "I hope you don't mind, I haven't had a decent meal in six months, all so I could fit into this dress." She washed it down with another sip of wine. She pressed three fries into the pile of ketchup before bringing them to her mouth. "Do you want some?" She offered.
"No thank you," he shook his head. "Please don't let me keep you from enjoying your meal. At least I hope you are."
"I am," she nodded emphatically. She sighed dreamily. "You have the best burgers. They are my comfort food. It was torture not being able to have one while being debriefed for the wedding."
"That explains why I haven't seen you around in a while. I was starting to wonder if you moved." Minato admitted for the first time out loud the thoughts that had plagued his mind for the past half of the year. He expertly avoided asking for clarification for her interesting word choice regarding the wedding planning, her wedding planning.
She scoffed. "As if I'd ever move out of driving distance of this place." She shoved more fries into her mouth. "I was fantasizing about when I could eat here again. Like counting the days down on my calendar. I can show you my phone if you don't believe me." She pointed to the purple phone that was face down on the table.
Minato chuckled. "I believe you." He studied her.
"Can you believe that he hated eating here?" She asked him with haughty indignation. "I can't believe I almost married him." She muttered darkly under her breath. She tore into the burger with gusto. "Crazy." She said in a huff.
Minato kept the amusement he felt off his face. He found her offense on his behalf to be quite adorable. But something told him to keep that to himself. It was his sense of self-preservation.
"If I had any say, I would have had you cater. There would have been other things too but it would have been nice to have something warm, comforting, and familiar at the wedding. Something that felt like home." She mused out loud, catching him off guard. Thankfully she did not take his silence as a deterrent. She kept pressing on.
"This place got me through med school and my residency," there were hints of nostalgia in her voice. She looked around the dimly lit diner. Her eyes fixated on the black and white checkered floor.
"I had just started out then," he matched her tone. "I wasn't sure this place would make it back then." It was not until his second year of owning the diner that it felt like the ground would not be pulled out from under him without notice. It may not look like much but it was his life's work. It was his dream. He poured his blood, sweat, tears, and soul into the establishment. To him it was everything.
She grinned with her whole face. "I knew you would," she said with conviction that was infectious. He found it nearly impossible not to smile along with her. "You had and have the best burgers at the best price and with the best service. I will fight anyone who says otherwise."
His eyes widened slightly at the familiar phrasing of her statement.
"You left my first review online," there was wonder mixed with traces of disbelief on his face.
"I did!" Her face lit up at him making the connection.
"It was like three pages long," he said with a chuckle. "I read every word. I appreciated every word. I printed it out and framed it, it's in the kitchen." Gratitude and honesty were laced into every word he put forth into the air.
"I got carried away for sure." Her face was flushed. It was a shade darker than her hair now. His cobalt eyes followed as her hand moved to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I can't believe you framed the review." She chuckled nervously. He found it to be very endearing.
He rubbed his chin. "At the time it gave me the reassurance and confidence that things would be alright. Today, it reminds me of how this all started. It helps keep me accountable."
"You've come a long way," she looked at him over her burger. "Your family must be so proud."
Minato's smile dimmed slightly. "They are." He cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry," Sakura put down the food that was in her hands. "Did I say something wrong?" She asked, denoting his shift in mood.
Minato shook his head. He swallowed but the words still were adamant to get out, to leave his mouth. It did not happen often. His previous answer was more than adequate. He knew. He used it with almost everyone.
"My parents died when I was nine." He registered the horrified look on her face. It melted away into sympathy. "It was a car accident. They were hit head-on on the freeway by a wrong-way driver. They both died on impact."
"I…I'm so sorry." She covered her mouth with her hands.
"It's okay," he smiled reassuringly at her. "It was a long time ago." He sighed deeply. "I actually used the money from their life insurance to open up this place. I just wanted to create a warm and inviting place, someplace that felt like home." His cobalt eyes were focused on the soft expression of her face. "Hearing you say that just made me think of them I guess."
He looked down at his hand. He was surprised to find her small hand over his much larger one. She squeezed his fingers. He found the gesture to be nice even if the physical contact was unexpected.
"Thank you for telling me. You did a great job. You accomplished what you set out to do." She offered him a small smile. What it lacked in size it made up for in both warmth and sureness. She played with a pearl earring.
"My Godfather and his wife raised me," Minato explained, anticipating the question that had to be burning in her mind.
"I'm really glad you haven't changed this place all that much. Especially the menu." She said timidly as if to gauge just the vibe after her verbal blunder.
"Why fix something that's not broken?" He asked rhetorically. There was no malice or ill intention in his stance.
"Hm," she let out a noncommittal sound as she fixed her gaze on her plate. Her expression sombered. "Some days your burgers were all I had to get me through the day. It helped with homesickness." Her lips were pulled into a sad expression.
"You're not from around here?" He asked her gently as if to not startle her.
"No," she shook her head. She bit into her burger with a thoughtful look on her face. "I came here for med school at Konoha University. Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of learning under the great Tsunade Senju." She smiled as she brought the wineglass to her deep red lip. Her lipstick left an imprint on the glass.
"She is amazing. Konoha is lucky to have her." Minato rubbed the back of his neck, the action masked the slight surprise of a mention of a name he was not expecting - a connection that he was not expecting.
"She is. I was so nervous when I first met her," the pink-haired woman recalled. "You know what they say about meeting your heroes right? Well, she was everything I imagined and so much more." Her eyes were bright. They held their own against any star in the night sky.
"The day she agreed to be my mentor was the happiest of my life. Pretty nerdy right?" She asked with a chuckle.
"We all have our things," he said kindly, smiling at her warmly.
The woman picked up a pickle from the plate. She started to munch on it.
"I wanted to be just like her," she said glumly after some moments of silence.
"What's stopping you?" He asked the question that she was working towards.
"Internal Medicine isn't as prestigious as surgery." She said in a cold, detached voice. There was something else in there that he could not quite place. The change to her posture was drastic. She was slumped over with her head bowed. Her eyes were glossed over.
Minato leaned back into the booth. The top of it landed right at his shoulders. He regarded her silently. She was too in her head to notice his staring. He lifted his glass to his mouth, he set it down on the table louder than necessary. The sound seemed to break her out of her entanglement of thoughts.
The woman grabbed a handful of napkins only to crumple them up. "You must think I'm crazy."
"No," Minato kept his tone and expression neutral. "I don't know you well enough to determine that."
The woman sighed. "Well if I were in your place and a runaway bride showed up in my restaurant, I would one hundred percent think that she was crazy. No doubt in my mind. No questions asked." She giggled. "I ran away from my own wedding. How crazy is that?" Her face was full of mirth.
"It sounds like a lot," his fingers rested on the base of the glass.
"It was. It is," she nodded absentmindedly. "I was walking down the aisle," she rubbed the back of her neck. Her voice was distant like she was reliving the scene, playing it out in the moment all over again. "Holding onto my dad's arm. Clutching it for dear life really, that should have been a clue. My gut was screaming at me. Every little thing was running through my mind. Like my whole relationship. Every single decision I made that led me to that moment. It was crazy," she paused only to take a long swing from her wine glass - nearly draining it all in one go. She caught some dribble before it dripped down her chin and onto her neck. She licked her finger.
It was distracting, to say the least. He picked up the bottle and filled her glass for her again before doing the same for himself, just to give his brain something other than her to focus on. She did not register the action. She was too busy turning a french fry into a paste with her teeth.
"It was at that moment, in this dress - a dress that I didn't even get to pick out - surrounded by all my family, friends, and colleagues that I had an epiphany." She said in a voice layered with marvel. "I realized that maybe I could force myself to fit into a dress. Maybe I could force myself to fit into his family. Maybe I could even force myself to fit into his life. But did I want to?" She looked at him with a gaze that could look into the depths of his soul. "I never even asked myself if I wanted to."
He raised his glass to take a small sip. His head was starting to spin.
"He is such an asshole sometimes." She said with such seriousness that he dared not visibly react much less agree. He recalled seeing her with a dark-haired, dark-eyed man a handful of times over the years. Now he knew why it was only a handful of times with the two of them together. The raven-haired man with pale skin did not care for his burgers. Maybe that was not all that he did not care for. Minato recalled having the full weight of the man's frigid gaze on his person too many times for it to be a coincidence.
"He is so cold." He found himself quietly agreeing with her assessment. They did not quite fit together in his mind. She was like the sun and the man was the total opposite. But Minato fully acknowledged that he was not the most impartial of judges.
"And I don't get why. He has everything. His mother is lovely. The kindest woman you'll ever meet. I love her more than my mom, hand to God." She held up her right hand to punctuate her point. "And his brother? So kind. So thoughtful. Such an amazing person."
She leaned back into the booth. She dabbed a fry into the ketchup. A reflective look dominated her features.
"I was never good enough for his father. I knew that. I didn't come from a wealthy or connected family. I was raised by working-class parents. I am working class. I didn't know what spoon to use in the beginning or what fork in the fancy restaurants they took me to where one meal cost as much as my whole entire wardrobe, including my shoes. I didn't fit into their world. The signs were all there in the beginning." The fry broke into two. "I was just too blinded by love to notice."
She took another sip of wine. Her cheeks were as pink as her hair. "I love him. I am in love with him. But that's not enough, you know?" She looked into his eyes. Her ire grew along with her pace. The words were coming out faster than her breath.
"Love is not enough to build a life with someone. Not once did he ever stick up for me. Not when his dad tore into my background or my parents. He never built me up." She swiped at her eyes. "I can count on one hand," she looked at her hand as she started her statement, "the number of times he's thanked me. Like ever." She made a sour face like she smelled something rotting.
"He never apologized. Not once. It was always me who had to compromise or grovel or beg for forgiveness. And contrary to what he might believe and what the world might believe, he is not perfect." She scoffed bitterly. "Far from." She paused. "He never said sorry. How hard is it to say sorry?"
Minato swallowed the lump in his throat. The fries and burgers - one full and the other a fourth - had gone cold. He felt his stomach clench at the brokenness of her expression. He looked into his wine glass to avoid having to look at her as she tried so desperately not to cry.
"He was such an asshole to me." She sniffled. "And I let him be one. And I don't even know why."
"It's because you love him," Minato said in a level voice.
"Yeah." She chuckled wryly. "Thank you," she mumbled as she took the napkin he offered to dab her eyes. Black tears streamed down her cheeks. Her mascara left traces of its presence. She blew her nose and cleared her throat. "I love him." She bit her lip as her thoughts consumed her. "I love him even though he has never told me the same. Not even one time. Not even accidentally. Not even when he didn't mean it." She regarded her hands closely. "I don't even know if he loves me. Not really, anyway."
Minato looked away from her face, suddenly feeling very much out of place. His ears picked up on her taking a deep breath. She was not done.
"I let him get away with bloody murder because I found - find - him attractive. Right in the beginning. I messed up badly. I put him up on a pedestal. Because he was better looking than me, richer than me, more worldly than I am, from a more successful family. I let him treat me like how I felt, like a second-class citizen." Her tone was colored with anger, with a tinge of resentment.
"Do you want to know what the most messed up part was?" She asked him rhetorically, pulling his attention and eyes back to her.
"What?" He said to let her know he was there and still listening. She looked like she was looking past him.
"When he saw me walk down the aisle, he smirked." She caught the last of her tears with the side of her hand. "The bastard smirked. Not smiled, but smirked. He looked so smug. So smug that after years of molding, and ordering me around, he finally turned me into something he could present with pride. So smug that he had a made-up little pink-haired surgeon that was worthy of being on his arm - the pink is natural by the way in case you were curious." He was. She swallowed thickly. She closed her eyes and squeezed them tightly.
"I'm sorry," he said in a gentle voice, completely at a loss for what to say. "Is that why you picked surgery over internal medicine?"
She nodded her head absent-mindedly.
"Being a surgeon was the only way his father would ever approve of the relationship even if it was begrudgingly. It was the only way to raise my value." She sighed. "He never outright pressured me into pursuing it. But…" her voice trailed off.
"It was heavily implied." Minato completed the thought for her.
"Yeah. Either go become a surgeon or lose him forever," she pressed her fingers to her temple. She moved them in slow, circular motions.
"Eight years," she looked at him. "I sank eight years into that relationship. Four years of pinning after him and begging him to give me a chance. Four of us actually being together. And in less than eight seconds it all came apart. It's funny, isn't it?" She laughed.
"There's no saving it?" He asked with a voice even he himself did not quite recognize.
"No," she answered flatly without hesitation. "I humiliated him. I humiliated his family in front of all their connections. It's broken beyond repair. Even if I wanted to fix it."
Silence blanketed them. It threatened to smother him until he was completely unconscious. She lowered her mostly empty glass to the table with a click. She drummed her fingers on the metal surface of the table.
"Being with him just made sense at the time. He is handsome. He is tall. He is well-spoken when he wants to be. He has manners. He is well-connected. He is intelligent. He is confident. He is competent. He is calm. He is rich. He is powerful. He is charismatic. He is for the most part rational. He is everything a woman could want." She rattled off the list without a smidge of warmth or familiarity. He continued to listen patiently, without interruption.
"He is so out of my league. Everyone kept telling me how lucky I was he even knew I existed, that he actually acknowledged me. Forget about him agreeing to marry me." She sighed deeply. "Everyone kept telling me how unbelievably lucky I was to be The future Mrs. Sasuke Uchiha." She took a swing of her wine. "My best friend," she made a face, "told me that she would kill to be in my situation."
Minato whistled. "You jilted an Uchiha." He had his suspicion. The way the man had dressed screamed money. He never dressed flashy or loudly like new money did but rather classy and timeless. His clothes said as much. His attitude and way of going through the world said the rest. The most prominent was Fugaku. He had two sons. She must be referring to the younger, he was the only one still unmarried of the two. Minato's face pulled into a grimace. She had guts. He had to give her that. He did not know many who would have done what she did. It was brave but also entirely foolish.
She nodded. She covered her face with her hands. "I did," she groaned. "Did I make a horrible, no-good, can't come back from, terrible mistake?" She peeked through her fingers at him.
Minato considered the question. The Uchihas were real estate developers. They owned half the buildings in Konoha. They had large plots of land to develop that went back generations. They were old money. As old as money got in Konoha anyway. She had just made a very powerful enemy today by leaving her ex-fiance at the altar. Fugaku Uchiha was not a forgiving man. Quite the opposite.
"Only you can answer that," Minato said diplomatically. The woman groaned again loudly. She lowered her face to the table. He felt so bad for her.
"I just blew up my life, God," she said with ample forlornness. "Just yesterday I had everything. I was a surgeon at thirty-one. I was working in the best hospital in the country. I was engaged to one of the most eligible bachelors, if not the most eligible bachelor. I had my life figured out yesterday. Everything made sense yesterday." She lamented.
"Everything I worked for might just be for nothing. I might just have kissed my chances of ever working in Konoha goodbye." She mumbled into her arms. "And his mom - God, Mikoto - she probably hates me. She'll never want to see me again."
Minato did not point out that she seemed more devastated at that loss than the loss of the man she had been actively with for the past four years. He thought better of it.
An uneasy silence settled over them. Minato watched as she polished off the remaining fourth of her burger. She chewed much more slowly now. She did not eat like someone was about to take all the food off her plate before she could even touch it. She was staring blankly at her plate.
"Are you alright?" He asked her gently. "Is there someone that I can call?"
"No," she shook her head. Everyone she ever knew had witnessed her run away like a coward. They saw her prove her would-be father-in-law right. She was not worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with his youngest son. She felt guilty for leaving her parents there to bear the brunt of Fugaku's wrath. She had humiliated herself and her family, along with the Uchihas. They did not deserve it.
"How am I going to show my face to anyone?" She said with frustration. At least she had two weeks off from work. She was supposed to be on her honeymoon. Maybe she did not have to worry about facing her coworkers. She might be out of a job just as soon as she turns her phone back on. She had dared not to look Fugaku in the face. But she would bet all her savings that if looks could kill, she would have died long before she drove over to the diner in Ino's car.
He leaned back into the seat. He raked a hand through his blond locks. "Is there anything I can do?"
"This," she looked at him earnestly. "It's helping, thank you." She held up her burger in a toast gesture. "I can't remember the last time someone just listened, you know?" She smiled lopsidedly. "Without judgment." She added as she wrinkled her nose.
"You don't think I'm judging you right now?" He asked with a raised blond brow and a slight frown. He did not remember being so transparent, so easy to read. By a virtual stranger at that.
The woman shook her head. "No. I know you're not." She moved a pickle in a circular motion in the air in almost a bored manner. "You're not like that. It's not in your nature to be judgmental of people's choices. You're too empathetic for that."
"Am I?" He was unable to completely keep the surprise out of his voice.
"You are," she said with a definitive nod of her head. "You wouldn't be sitting here listening to me go on and on about my poor decision-making if you weren't." She sighed. "You asked me if I'm okay. I can't remember the last time someone did that either and genuinely cared about what the actual answer was." She looked over at her phone before turning to look at her food.
Minato watched as she finished the last burger. It was impressive, to say the least, how someone so small had managed to do so much damage. She played with a fry in the basket. There was something unreadable in her eyes when she looked at him. It compelled something inside of him.
"You're selling yourself way too short." He said with a firmness that surprised both of them. He did not think. He just kept moving his lips and his voice did the rest. "You are kind. You always pay in cash because you don't want me to lose any money to the credit card companies. You tip generously every time. You always clean up after yourself, leaving the table in a better state than you found it. And that means something. I am very picky when it comes to cleaning."
"I -" her protests were silenced by the look on his face. The words died in her throat.
"You'll be alright," he said in a voice filled with conviction. "Things will work out."
"What?" She asked him in a state of complete and utter disbelief.
"You're resilient. You're smart. You're resourceful. You're driven. You made it this far," he reminded her. "You got into the best medical school in the country without money and without connections. You got the Tsunade Senju to agree to be your mentor. You're only the second apprentice she's ever accepted. I know it may seem like the world is caving around you but you'll be fine. You made a decision and while I can't say if it was the right or wrong one for you, from where I'm sitting, you'll be okay."
The woman looked at him with wide eyes and a slack jaw. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times as she gaped at him much like a fish out of water.
"The people that truly care about you will still be in your life. They will make it happen. You did not lose anything today. You can only lose what is yours. They - the Uchiha's - weren't yours. You weren't theirs. You'll take all the time you need. You'll pick yourself up, dust yourself off and you'll be okay."
"I -" she clamped her mouth shut, completely at a loss for words for the second time. The warmth in his eyes and the calm he projected completely caused the intrusive thoughts to clear from her mind. She took in his face, she basked in his soothing presence. She leaned in without even realizing it.
"I know you'll be okay. Just like you knew that this place would be okay. Before even I did." He hammered in the final nail to the coffin of self-doubt, sealing it shut completely. His heart pulsed in his chest as a slow smile blossomed on her face. Warmth filled him.
"Thank you," she pressed her hand flat against her heart. "I needed that."
He smiled in response. "If I may," he looked at her.
"Sakura," she said after clearing her throat.
"Minato," he pointed to himself unnecessarily, just to give his hand something to do other than run through his sunny blond locks.
Sakura's pink eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I thought your name was Naruto," she said with a frown. "I assumed your name was Naruto. This whole time." Her tone was slightly accusatory.
"Why?" He tilted his head to the side.
Sakura looked to her left, she pointed to the backward block letters glued to the other side of the window. Understanding filled him.
"Oh that," Minato rubbed the back of his head, suddenly feeling very stupid that he did not come to that conclusion himself. "Naruto is a character from a book my Godfather wrote."
"The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi?" Sakura asked him with surprise dominating her features.
"You've read it?" He asked her, completely flabbergasted.
"You know the author Jiraiya?!" She responded to his question with an excited one of her own.
"I don't believe this is happening right now. Less than a hundred copies of his first book were printed." He searched her face as if he was seeing her for the first time.
"I love that book! It was my favorite book as a child, even now. I have it in my work bag. I read a couple of pages after a hard case or day. It always makes me feel so much better." She babbled. Sakura leaned forward in her enthusiasm, completely forgetting any remnants of manners and dignity she had left, admittedly there was not much.
"It's my all-time favorite." Minato shook his head. "Wow." The grin he wore on his face was nothing short of completely and utterly genuine. He was in awe.
"I've been dying to get my book signed by him!" She exclaimed. "I don't want to meet him," she held up her hand. Her face turned beet red. "I'm not a fan of any of his other works! Just the first." She stammered out quickly.
Minato found himself laughing which only added to her embarrassment. Sakura looked at his shaking shoulders and complete lack of guard. She had never seen him so free before. She brought her hand to her mouth. She let out a giggle. She was joining in on the hysterics before she even knew it. She clenched her stomach. It hurt from laughing so hard.
"Sorry," she mumbled as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"You apologize too much," his lips moved from a smile to a frown quickly.
"Sor-", she bit her tongue. "Old habit," she mumbled. Sakura looked at the sign, buying herself some time. "So you named your restaurant after your favorite character." Her voice had an earthy tone to it.
"Are you gearing up to make fun of me?" He teased, hiding the displeasure he felt at her admission about her tendency to overuse the word 'sorry' and its ramifications.
"Not at all. I think it's really sweet." She looked at him. Realization hit her. "So you know Dr. Senju too!" She covered her mouth. "I can't believe she didn't tell me." She grumbled.
"I do," he said with a smile. She was married to his Godfather after all. "Tell you what exactly?" He raised a brow.
"Nothing," she said quickly. He did not miss the way her face darkened. He decided to let it go for now. He blinked in surprise as she held out her hand.
"It's nice to officially meet you, Minato." Her smile could only be described as dazzling.
He slowly reached for her hand. Her handshake was firm and warm.
"It's nice to officially meet you too, Sakura." He did not have to think about the smile that stretched across his lips, it was automatic. It was nice to give a name to the face. Her name suited her remarkably well.
"Such a small world," she shook her head in disbelief. "You know my mentor. You were raised by my mentor, the person I admire the most. Crazy." Her flushed cheeks added to the sense of awe that lined her voice. "Wow."
"Yeah, what are the odds?" He asked rhetorically. "Tsunade always encouraged me to chase my dream even when it seemed impossible or scary. She was my biggest supporter. She always told me to just try and to worry about the rest later. One step. One step is all it takes." His cobalt eyes were hardened with determination. "The first step is the hardest."
"That sounds like her," Sakura mused. Her emerald eyes moved slowly around in a circle as if they too were following the thoughts floating in her head.
"Maybe you can take some time, take this time, to figure out what you want. Figure out your next first step." He suggested, spinning everything in a positive light. Now that they started talking - beyond exchanging polite pleasantries like all their limited verbal interactions before - it seemed wrong to stop. It seemed cruel, almost.
Sakura wrapped her arms around herself. "I had the biggest crush on you," she looked at the empty plates in front of her.
Minato bit the inside of his cheek to keep from gapping just as she had been just minutes prior. The very sudden admission left him startled and dazed.
"Eight and a half years ago, when you just started out - sure, I was homesick but the burgers weren't the only thing that brought me comfort." She looked around the diner. "This environment, this atmosphere, this energy, you, did that. I felt safe here. Safe enough to study here at night. I knew no one would bother me. No one would approach me. I could open up a textbook, tuck away into a booth, and just get lost learning while I ate." She rubbed the back of her neck.
"I didn't have any friends when I first got here," the pain of the memories colored her tone. "It was so lonely. I didn't really fit in with the other students. We came from different worlds. This diner made me less lonely. I never felt out of place here. It felt like home almost. That's why I preferred to study here over studying on campus. It was just serendipity that you kept such late hours. I knew you were watching from the door every night while I walked to my car. You've had my back since the beginning." She chuckled at the dumbfounded look on his face. "I already humiliated myself completely and utterly today so what's a little more, right?"
"You never said anything," he said in a dazed voice, unable to keep up with all her words and the twists and turns they forced his stomach into.
"How could I?" She asked him without bitterness. "By the time I figured out my feelings it was too late. You were with the redhead already. You looked so happy." She ran her hand along the edge of her table. "And I met Sasuke by accident when I entered the wrong classroom at university shortly after the two of you got together."
She sighed deeply. "I know I made him seem like the worst person to walk this earth." She looked at him. "I was just venting. It was not all bad. It was not all negative. It was not all heartbreak. We had our good moments too. We had our beautiful moments too. He is not without positive traits and attributes."
"Of course," Minato nodded his head encouragingly. "Just like any relationship. There's good with the bad and bad with the good."
"Yeah," she nodded her head distractedly. "Being with him filled some of the loneliness. I gained friends through him. I gained the confidence to pursue things that I might not have if it had not been for him. He taught me so much. He opened up a whole new world for me. I wasn't alone anymore. And neither were you." She explained in a tone heavy with distance. She might as well have been an ocean away from him.
"The timing never lined up," he shared his realization out loud.
"What happened with the redhead?" Her dark green eyes implored him.
"Kushina," he said her name out loud for the first time in years. It felt foreign on his tongue. "It didn't work out between us. We had different priorities at the time." He admitted openly. He stared at the empty wine bottle.
"Too bad. I liked Kushina," Sakura said with a sigh.
"Me too," his eyes met hers. "But it's for the best."
"Was it all in my head?" She looked at him with earnest features.
He cleared his throat. The air suddenly felt very heavy. All those stolen glances. Those extra fries. Keeping her booth reserved for her, without her ever noticing. His interest in her was not as one-sided as he had initially thought.
"No." He could not bring himself to lie to her. He had been interested. But like she said, close to six months after her arrival he was with someone else because he had no idea Sakura liked him that way too. His relationship with Kushina had lasted close to five years. It ended abruptly and painfully. They had simply drifted apart. But like he had said, it was for the best. She had moved on from what he heard from their many mutual friends. She had two young kids. She was happy. And he was happy for her.
Sakura smiled sadly at the haunted look on his face. He was plagued by memories of his own. Probably deeply buried ones that she had dragged up to the surface with her words. She felt guilt continue to eat away at her, anew.
"I invested thirteen years into being a doctor and the last five into being a surgeon. I can't just walk away from it." Sakura's eyes held regret. "I gave too much to walk away from this path."
Minato raked a hand through his hair. "You walked away from him." He held her gaze, unwaveringly. "And that was eight years."
Sakura stared at him in stunned silence. They both knew that the Uchihas were big backers of Konoha Med, they even had a wing dedicated to them. And Fugaku was petty enough to ask for her removal.
"I can make it on my own," she looked at him with fierce determination.
"I know," his smile was filled with encouragement.
"I'm going to be a doctor, not a surgeon." She said with growing conviction. "I'm going to do what I want. I'm going to work with families and children. I'm going to be proactive and prevent problems rather than waiting for something to be broken before I address it. I'm going to have my own practice."
"You're going to have your own practice." He repeated into the now still air.
She giggled with a giddiness that threatened to make him airborne. They both laughed together. She felt so light. The diner seemed a lot smaller than it actually was. She smiled with contentment at him. He could see a fire in her eyes again. Her spirit was renewed. She looked closer to the spunky medical student he remembered than the muted resident from not too long ago.
"What were you saying earlier?" She cocked her head to the side, suddenly remembering what led to this path of conversation. "Before you asked for my name, you were going to say something?"
He closed his eyes and thought back. It took a couple of moments for it to come back to him.
"Sakura," his expression softened. "I was going to suggest that you should call your family and let them know you're okay, I'm sure they are worried."
Sakura's face fell. She rubbed the back of her neck as she looked at her turned-over phone with an expression of dread.
"You're right," she said with trepidation. He could see the hesitation on every square inch of her person. She was not ready to face reality just yet.
Minato sighed. His eyes darted to the counter. "I have ice cream," he began. His stomach turned when a slow smile broke across her face. She was beautiful even in devastation.
"Strawberry please," her eyes sparkled. "Do you have whipped cream?"
"Of course," he grinned. "What do you take me for? An amateur?"
She giggled. It was a very, very pleasant sound. "My apologies. I now realize I am dealing with a professional." She rested her chin on the back of her hand. "Let me guess, you'll be right back?" She asked him with mirth in her eyes and in a very tongue-in-cheek manner.
"Don't run off anywhere," he joked. He rose to his feet.
She shot him a glare. "Too soon!" She said in feigned indignation. She pointed a fry at him. "But I'll let it go since you're putting up with me and you gave me wine."
"It's my pleasure," he assured her. He left her in the booth only to come back with a bowl with three scoops of strawberry ice cream buried under six inches of whipped cream. She had just turned her phone over by the time he slid back into the booth. He had seen the glow of the backlight on her face.
Her whole face lit up with a light that was entirely of her own. She clapped her hands together in glee. "You are my kind of man!" She gushed.
Minato ignored the flipping her stomach did at the words that left her lips. He set the bowl down in front of her. He handed her a spoon. Her fingers brushed his as she took it. He watched as her eyes went from the frozen dessert to his face.
"Where's yours?" She asked him almost shyly. Her face was pink again.
"Where's my what?" He asked with a raised brow.
"Your spoon?" She said in a slightly shaky voice.
"I didn't bring one," he said with a frown.
"Oh," she twirled the metal spoon in her hands. "That's okay." Her face darkened. "We can share." She ducked her head down.
"I don't understand." Minato's frown deepened.
He watched as the woman sighed. "We can share." She said firmly, holding his gaze.
Understanding hit him like a ton of bricks. "I'm not looking for anything right now." He admitted almost in a stunned manner. Rather, it was more accurate to say that maybe his days of looking for anything were over. But he would never admit that to himself, much less her. At least not right now.
He watched as a soft smile spread across her face. "Neither am I," she assured him. She gestured to the stained dress. "Believe me, I am nowhere in the right headspace for that. And you deserve someone who is whole." She regarded him with pursed lips, he could almost see her thoughts racing across her eyes. "That being said, do you see any reason why we can't share this bowl of ice cream as friends before it melts?"
Minato searched his brain trying to think of a coherent reason why not. The truth was he could think of a hundred but he could not bring himself to voice a single one.
"No," he said finally.
"That settles it then," the woman grabbed a spoonful of whipped cream and ice cream and brought it to her mouth. She closed her eyes. "Mmm, so good." She said in a small voice. She turned the spoon and held the handle towards him.
Minato grabbed it with a steady hand. His fingers touched hers. A jolt raced through him. He scooped up a spoonful and brought it to his lips. He opened his mouth. The ice cream and whipped cream melted into his mouth almost instantly. He did not miss the way her eyes never left his face all the while. He held out the spoon. She took it slowly from him, her fingers lingering around his.
"So," she said in a low, drawn-out voice. "Aside from me and this, what was your day like?"
"Aside from you and this," he held her gaze. "My day was nothing out of the ordinary."
Her lips stretched slowly into a smile. She licked the corner of her mouth to get some whipped cream that had wound up there somehow.
"I would love to hear about ordinary right about now." She leaned her face against her curled fist. His face was at the center of her attention. It captivated her.
Minato smiled. He threw his apprehensions out the window. He began to tell her about his perfectly ordinary day, up until the moment it was anything but. He completely forgot to look at the clock that read it was well past midnight.
He found her sitting on the red upholstered booth, closest to the door. The long train of simple, timeless white dress made of silk pooled around her bare feet. Her strappy sandals were lying on the ground next to her. Her feet refused to be contained any longer after a long night of dancing. The white delicate jasmine flowers that were twisted into her long pink hair were starting to wither and lose their pungent aroma.
Her head was propped against her hand. Her jade eyes focused on the parking lot. She was playing with a simple silver band on the third finger of her left hand, it joined the silver bracelet on that side of her body. Her pink hair was in waves down her back. It, like the rest of her, was captivating. He watched as she pulled the black jacket closer to her body. A small smile tugged at his lips when he realized she lowered her head so she could inhale the scent - his scent. The pink snapdragon was still attached to the lapel of his jacket. It was the same shade as her hair.
She was beautiful. She was three levels above beautiful. She was all he saw. Every time he blinked, he was teleported back to the warmly lit venue filled to the brim with flowers and joy. He saw her twirling and spinning. His ears rang with her laughter. His arms could feel her frame against him. Every single time he blinked those were the pictures in the eye of his mind. But even that was not enough.
His fingers curled around the bowl containing a mountain of whipped cream that blanketed three scoops of strawberry ice cream. He crossed over the remaining distance of space between them with even strides, not wanting to be away from her for a second longer than absolutely necessary.
Sakura looked at the wine glasses at the table. The half-eaten burger in front of her beckoned to be finished. She grabbed it with meticulously manicured nails. They were painted in a soft sage hue, one that complimented her eyes and hair perfectly. She slowly took a bite. She closed her eyes as the savory, meaty morsel melted in her mouth.
Her eyes darted to the man who had just lowered himself across from her. The jade orbs first landed on the rolled-up sleeves of his white dress shirt, which rested at the crook of his elbows. Her eyes migrated to the undone silky black bowtie around his neck, next. Two buttons of his collared shirt were undone, teasing her - giving her a small glimpse of what was wrapped by the white fabric. She bit her lip as her eyes slowly moved upward still. They came to a stop when they locked with a pair of smoldering cobalt eyes that made it damn near impossible to draw a full breath.
Her heart skipped a beat when his hand came out to touch her soft pink-tinted lips. She watched wordlessly, and breathlessly as the thumbpad that had made contact with the corner of her lip was licked clean. Her own hand migrated to the spot. Her fingers touched the burning skin he had ignited.
"You had a little something there," he said with a smile that was not quite teasing but it drove her crazy all the same.
The entirety of her face was now heated as a result of the way he was looking at her. She turned her head to the left to look back out the window. She drank in the full moon. Hoping that it would lend her some of it cool. She was being burned alive from the inside.
"Sakura," he said her name throatily. "What are you thinking about?"
She managed to somehow resist the urge to shiver. Her own name sounded so unique and different when it came out of his mouth. They way he said it made her knees go weak. She bit the inside of her cheek the instant she felt his hand take hers in his. She slowly returned her gaze to the table before ultimately to his. He could make nearly her whole body respond with just one utterance. She was completely powerless against his touches.
"I'm thinking about the absurdity of it all," she admitted with a small sigh.
"Absurdity?" His blond brow moved towards his hairline.
"The absurdity of meeting my husband on my wedding day." She tilted her head to the side, her jade eyes sparkled with something heavy and unreadable.
"Would-be wedding day." Minato corrected her gently after a short chuckle.
"Minor details," she said breathlessly. The way the moonlight glistened off her skin made her beauty look eternal. It made his heartbeat quicken in his chest. She ran her finger along the well-worn spine of a book, his eyes followed her movements.
"You brought that with you?" He asked with a laugh.
Sakura shot him a playful glare. "It was my something old," she said defensively. Her expression softened as she looked at her signed copy - made possible due to Minato of course - of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi.
"Were you nervous?" He asked her gently, without judgment.
"A little," she admitted in a distracted manner. "The last time I wore a white dress it wasn't quite a happy memory. At least not in the beginning."
"Hm," he studied her body language; it was relaxed. "Second time's the charm?"
"Definitely," she smiled with teeth. "Everything was lovely. Well, mostly everything." She narrowed her eyes.
"It was." He agreed easily. Everything was downright magical. Even the maid of honor's speech, which started off with a joke about how the bride actually made it all the way down the aisle this time, did not damper the evening. He was proud of Sakura for smiling through her very real, seething anger. It was the one thing she had asked Ino not to bring up, which of course all but carved it into stone that the platinum blonde would. Sakura had shown great restraint, he was pleasantly surprised that he did not have to hold her back from ripping Ino apart right then and there.
He squeezed her hand. "Are you alright?" Concern bled into his voice despite his intentions.
She smiled softly. Her eyes were full of tenderness. "I'm great," she grinned. "Tired but great. I had an amazing time."
"So did I." He nodded his head. It had been a long day. This was the first real meal they had had since morning.
"It was so much better than my first wedding," she joked airily.
"Glad to hear it," he grinned at her. The expression softened the longer he looked at her. "You look so beautiful." Words did not do her justice.
She blushed. The added color only increased her mesmerizing allure. "Thank you." He felt her eyes take him in, appreciatively. "You look so handsome. It was hard to keep my hands off of you." She admitted, her blush darkened tenfold. God, she was going to go to hell if there was such a thing. Just for the thoughts she had alone when she laid her eyes on him for the first time in his tux. He rendered her nothing more than a pile of hormonal goop. It was very, very, very alarming and problematic.
Minato chuckled throatily. It was as if he was right there in her head, seeing her thoughts just as she was for the first time. Her breath hitched.
"What's stopping you?" He asked in a husky whisper.
Sakura coughed to avoid falling for the very blatant trap. "Wine," she tilted her head to the side. "What's the special occasion?" She looked at him from underneath her long, pink, curled lashes. Her heart quickened its pace at the smile on his face.
"Our two-year anniversary of the day of our first real conversation," he answered thoughtfully. "Oh, and our wedding." He added as an afterthought.
"Right that," she lowered her gaze as she was convinced she would spontaneously combust if she looked at him a second longer. She bit her lip to keep her smile from growing larger. She looked at the mountain of whipped cream in a bowl. She reached for the spoon.
"Aside from me and this," she brought the spoon to her mouth. She turned it so that the ice cream would land on her tongue first. She slowly pulled the spoon through her parted lips. "What was your day like, husband?" She held out the spoon for him to take.
Minato grinned and his hand enveloped hers. He leaned forward while pulling her closer to him. He pressed his lips against hers, getting both a taste of her and sharing the strawberry ice cream. He would answer her question in due time. Right now the moment called for kissing his new bride. And he would be damned if he let the moment pass him by.
"I love you," he pressed his forehead against hers the instant their lips parted. She could feel the heat of his breath on her face. Her pink lipstick was smudged slightly.
Sakura blinked slowly. Her insides shook. "I love you too," she tucked her bottom lip under her teeth in a desperate attempt to keep her smile from stretching across her face. It was futile. "I love you so much, Minato." She said in a whisper. She looked down at the table, unable to look him in the eye. The intensity of the gaze was too much when coupled with the wine, the dehydration, and the whirlwind of what today was.
"I love you with everything I have, Sakura." He tucked her hair behind her ear all without breaking contact from her forehead.
She closed her eyes. She was convinced of it now. Her heart was going to explode out of her chest cavity. She swallowed audibly right before his lips claimed hers once again. Everything other than him melted away. His kindness. His heart. His shrewdness. His empathy. His brain. His emotional intelligence. His warmth. His consistency. She had someone she could rely on for the first time as much as she could rely on herself. Maybe even slightly more so. It was nice. Really, really nice.
The whipped cream turned into white foam on the surface of the thick soupy, pink sludge that was once ice cream. Mr. and Dr. Namikaze did not notice in the slightest as they continued to ensure they made the most of the moment that was in front of them. They would not let bad timing be a factor in their relationship this time. After all, both of them were nothing if not stubborn when they set their mind to something.
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