roraewrites:

[ sasusaku month – day 2: something more ]

The second the buzzer went off, the gym was filled with thunderous screams and cheers. Thousands of smiles, thousands of cheers and thousands of students rushed the court and there stood Sasuke in the middle of it all. Naruto stood by his side, grinning ear to ear and chanting and screaming with them all.

“Konoha High! Reigning champs for six years straight!”

It was unbelievable that the team had won not only two years prior before they madethe varsity team, but all four years that they’d been playing basketball. Familiar face upon familiar face congratulated him and as he made his way towards the locker room, there was one face that he’d been itching to see – even from the very start of the game. 

They weren’t dating by any means, but they’d been best friends from the very start. Sakura Haruno had been to every single one of his games, whether they were at home or away, she always made time to come and cheer him on. Sasuke would never admit it, but it always eased his mind and soothed his nerves when he saw her familiar shade of pink hair sitting amongst the crowd with a smile plastered on her face. But tonight was different. 

Although the gym was humongous, he hadn’t spotted her once that night. His soot eyes scanned every single face in that gym more than once, and although that game was huge for him, he didn’t care; he needed her support more than ever that night. 

The locker room had already cleared once Sasuke made his way there. The lights were still on, and even the sweaty smell from his teammates still resided, but he didn’t mind. He ripped his jersey from his body and discarded it atop his bag, grabbed his towel and immediately plunged into the shower. 

Sasuke didn’t sing, or hum, ever. But during his shower that night, he began to hum and fill the lonely void in the locker room. Steam rose up from the scalding water, and once he finished scrubbing his scalp clean of all the sweat, and rinse his body of all the soap, he emerged from the shower.

The gym was now quiet, lights still on but most had been turned off. The adrenaline that pumped through his veins earlier had finally died down, but his thoughts of Sakura still remained.

“Whatcha humming?”

The girlish voice startled him. His hand immediately flew to the towel that hung around his waist and his eyes had grown wide. Standing at the door was Sakura, a simple smile painted on her pretty lips, with viridian eyes sparkling. “You did great tonight.” 

So she was there.

“What’re you doing in here?” Sasuke changed the subject almost immediately. He could feel the space between them close as Sakura stepped through the entryway and began to make her way towards him.

“You’ve been in here for about an hour now. I’m just checking on you. I do have a curfew,” she teased lightly before taking a seat on one of the benches. It amazed him to see how confident she was being, especially with him only standing mere feet away with only a towel to hide his body. 

“Well go wait outside, I’m almost done–” he could feel himself trail off as Sakura smiled brightly. Had his towel fallen, or was she looking at something else? Why was she smiling like that?

“I can close my eyes.” 

“Sakura,” he warned with a playful glare. Sakura only chuckled in response before raising her hands in front of her body and shaking her head.

“Fine, fine! I’ll be waiting,” she promised.

Sasuke felt himself begin to breathe again, not knowing that he had held his breath the second he saw her. He quickly dried himself off, glancing at the door every other second to make sure Sakura had kept to her word, and when he finally pulled on his sweats and fitted t-shirt, he grabbed his bag and exited the locker room, turning the lights off behind him. 

“You take longer than a girl,” Sakura teased once more before walking to him and wrapping her arms around him.

She smelled sweet like fruit, and the way her pink tresses fell forward as she leaned her head into his chest calmed his breathing instantly. The remaining lights in the gym finally dimmed and Sasuke stood with Sakura next to him in the dark.

“Spooky.”

Sasuke only smirked before throwing his arm around her shoulders and leading her out of the building. The cold air instantly bit into his skin as they walked outside, and the snow falling from the sky began to land all around them. It was a winter wonderland there, and the only remaining car in the parking lot was Sasuke’s.

“You take too long after your games. Luckily that was the last one,” she jabbed her finger into his ribs before walking in unison with him once more.

The sidewalks had been shoveled almost perfectly, and the parking lot plowed. Once they reached the car, he unlocked it and instantly opened Sakura’s door before she could reach the handle. When her green eyes narrowed at him, he shrugged before smirking once more and making his way to the driver’s seat. With his bag thrown in the back and Sakura buckled up, the engine came to life and hummed quietly.

His hand found the knob to crank the heater and next to him, Sakura’s shoulders bunched up as she shivered slightly.

“It’s god damn cold out!”

“That’s what typically happens when it’s winter.”

Sakura punched his arm gently before holding her hands in front of the fans. It was dark on the inside of his car, but Sasuke could still make out the green in her eyes as she still glared at him for being a smartass.

“No shit,” she commented before breathing slowly on her fingers. “Make your car heat up faster!” 

Sasuke rolled his eyes once, before reaching for her small hands and enclosing them in his own. The shock that crossed over her face amused him, but when he felt her skin began to cool his own, he frowned

“Wear gloves next time, your fingers are like icicles.”

“I was inside a very hot gym watching my best friend kick ass. But sure, I’ll remember to wear gloves at your next game. Oh, wait–”

Sasuke squeezed her hands in his own, gently, but Sakura’s grin widened as Sasuke’s smirk appeared once more. He hated knowing that his high school career for basketball had come to an end. Albeit on a good note, but it was all over. Like Sasuke, Sakura had grown quiet. 

“What?” He inquired. She was still looking at him, but her eyes didn’t hold the fire that they always held. They looked almost melancholy, desperate and reaching out for him.

“We’re graduating soon. Things won’t be the same, will they?”

He hadn’t thought about it like that. Whenever he thought about his future,  he pictured Sakura right next time with a large smile on her face. But now that Sakura mentioned it, that image began to fade. They were only friends after all, not set on a course to grow old with one another, have children, travel the world and sit on the front porch in a chair of their own. The idea seemed silly the more he thought about it, but then again, he began to feel sick to his stomach. 

“Of course not. We’ll be in a different city, in different homes, but we’ll still be close to each other.” The words didn’t come out right, but he hoped Sakura had caught onto what he actually meant. 

The car was warm now, but Sasuke didn’t release her hands. He continued to hold on to them while trying to uncover the mysterious expression on her face. When she nodded her head slightly, Sasuke felt the air in his lungs leave and he immediately felt another burst of adrenaline. The air became tense between them almost instantly and before Sakura could speak again, Sasuke had the floor. 

“It doesn’t have to change,” he muttered. His eyes eventually looked in the direction of where his headlights pointed. The snow was now coming down rather heavily, and when Sakura’s small grunt sounded, he refused to look back. “It can be the same as before. Nothing has to change, we can–” 

He began to struggle with his words and finding just the right thing to say. He didn’t want to give her the wrong impression, but he always wanted to make “it” official – whatever “it” was. 

Sasuke inhaled once more before trying to speak again. The snow fell freely from the sky on the outside, and like it, the words fell freely from his lips. In his seventeen years of life, this had to have been the most nerve-racking thing he’d ever done. 

“I like you, Sakura. More than a friend.I don’t want things to change…” he scratched the back of his head, something he’d picked up from Naruto recently and when he looked to Sakura, he could see tears streaming down her face. “What now? Are you alright?”

Her girlish laughter surprised him. She slid a hand from his grasp and wiped the tears away with ease and readjusted in her seat to the point that she was looking at him. “I’m fine. Just tired and school was hell this week and wow. So what you’re asking is…”

“You know what I’m asking,” he cut her off. He began to chew on his lip, the air becoming easier to breathe, yet his heart still thudded heavily against his ribcage.

“Oh, Sas. It’ll be different at first, but nothing we can’t handle. You know the answer is yes. It always would’ve been yes.”

And just like that, he felt nauseous and excited and light headed and like he could run a marathon all at once. Instead of giving her that cliche kiss you see most couples doing in chick flicks, Sasuke smiled slightly.

With her single hand still in his own, he raised her knuckles to his lips and met her skin accordingly. She tasted as sweet as she smelled, and when his eyes found hers, he smirked through his tender kiss.

Even though the heat was blaring and the music played silently in the background, Sasuke’s mind was on Sakura and her alone.