Their first kiss was on Homecoming night. The briefest touch, his lips to hers, before Sakura pulled away, blushing. Then again, a kiss not so fleeting, followed by one after another until the sun rose above them.
Notes: I’ve been in a mood for SS lately (blame @xxlovendreamsxx), and it seemed like the perfect time to write this little high school fic. @jjibbless sent me a request for “high school popular kid / nerd AU” awhile back, which ties into the Day 9 prompt pretty well in my opinion! Thank you jjibbless for the request and @sasusakumonths for hosting this awesome event.
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prelude
It isn’t that Sasuke Uchiha is a misfit, exactly. He’s too good-looking—and high schoolers are too shallow—for him to be an utter outcast. But he’s the kind of boy who spends more time alone than with their classmates, and if he has any friends besides Naruto, who’s friends with everyone, then he’s keeping them well hidden. Sasuke’s GPA is tied with Sakura’s for the highest in the Class of 2018, but she’s sure that if he’d socialize, people would stop dismissing him as a nerd. Instead, he blows off every dance, football game, and party he’s invited to.
Until homecoming. It’s the kind of warm October evening that you can only find in southern California, late enough in the year that autumn’s edge has calmed the weather from suffocating to balmy. Sakura is crowned homecoming queen, the San Junipero Sharks kick the Gardena Wolfhounds’ asses, and Sasuke Uchiha shows up to a school event. All in all, it’s a beautiful night.
watch the queen
Only a loser would lurk around the corner, pretending not to spy on a pretty girl, and Sasuke is not a loser. He isn’t lurking either. Just standing around, keeping himself busy with people-watching—well, person-watching.
Sakura is sitting with the other girls from the homecoming court, all of them trussed up in ridiculous fluffy gowns and torturous-looking shoes. Ino seems pissed that Sakura took the crown, but in that strangely fond way that characterizes their relationship. Maybe Sasuke is too distant from Sakura’s circle to understand how that odd friendship functions, but he thinks it might be every bit as confusing to witness up close.
Seven months. He has seven months until graduation. He needs to either ask Sakura out or get his head on straight and forget about her.
Moving on would be better. He heard that Sakura is applying to Ivy League schools all over the country, and God knows she’s accomplished enough to be accepted into most of them. Sasuke keeps pace with her academically, but foster kids don’t have the financial backing for Yale. He’s about to age out of the system, and it’s going to take all of his time and energy just to get by. Even if Sakura wants him back—and sometimes, when he catches her looking at him across the library, he thinks she might—Sasuke knows that it’s not enough. She’s beautiful, brilliant, privileged, and loved. Her future is too bright to risk dimming, and she deserves better than anything he could provide.
But then he thinks, What’s one date? It’s not like watching a movie together and grabbing dinner (maybe kissing on her doorstep, if he’s lucky) would turn into something committed. Sasuke can’t hope for any of that, much less more, so why not at least try?
Summary: The mattress under his body was comforting, but not as much as her warmth. And he needed it, just as much as she did.
A/N: So thanks to this review I received on ff.net, I decided to change a few things in this story and I added a few things too. I hope this edited version is better than the previous one.
Warmth Like Home
It was one of the dark and cold nights of winter that the silhouette of two human figures could be seen, walking on the road covered with snow, in a small village near the land of lightening. Chilled, light gusts of wind; blowing their hair, and the cloaks that covered their bodies. It was a quiet night may be because it was already past midnight and every living soul had already gotten into their comfy beds and slept, saving themselves from the immense cold. The voice produced by the friction between the ground and their feet being the only source of sound.
But the dark of the night and the freezing temperature didn’t bother them at all, for one of them was the last surviving Uchiha and the other one was the strongest kunoichi of Konoha. Their steps were steady, currently heading towards a place to spend the night in, perhaps a cabin or a small cottage out in the snowy plains.
They kept quiet, not uttering a single word, just enjoying the cold wind- well, one of them was. Haruno Sakura seemed to be fond of the contemporary atmosphere, a melodious sound being hummed by her, her steps like a 4 year old kid, small jumps and dancing patterns, her hands would occasionally sneak out of her pale-white cloak and touch the falling snow flakes, and the heat of her palms would melt them away.
He kept on watching the same scene repeat over and over again, his eyes firmly kept on the woman next to him, memorizing everything that occurred at that instance. Uchiha Sasuke was never a fan of cold, let alone snow fall. As a child, he would avoid going out during winter, hide under the warm blankets, in the hugs offered by his beloved brother or the warmth of his mother’s lap. He smiled at the memory, feeling the slightest of pain in his chest.
“Sasuke-kun?” Sakura’s voice made him break free from his thoughts as he saw her green jades looking into his dark pearls, “I can see some light over there.” she said and he followed her eyes to a place at some distance from their current location.
He should scoff at her attempts to appear intimidating. Such an attempt is foolish, how exactly is Sakura to assume that she would get the better of him when she is a foot shorter with pink hair. Sasuke smirks, “you’re not getting the last dumpling”.
Sakura blinks her eyes in a mockery of some sort of flirting technique that has never worked on him – never. “Sasuke-kun,” she begins, sweetly, “I’m your wife”.
Now, he scoffs, “I’m well aware”.
She continues to smile, “please can I have the last dumpling?”
He holds his glare, “no”. Sasuke raises his chopsticks, and hovers it over the prized dumpling.
Sakura frowns, all traces of her sweetness disappearing from her expression. She too raises her chopsticks to hover over the dumpling.
A few of the other patrons of the restaurant glance at the couple.
Sasuke’s left eye twitches – he’ll be able to grab the dumpling now if he goes for it, he is faster than her, surely. His resolve is made, the corner of his lip moves. But before Sasuke can even move his chopsticks forward, he feels a slow, yet gentle stroke against his inner thigh.
His eyes widen – Sakura.
His wife, as conniving as he should have expected her to be. She has removed her left shoe, and runs her silk covered foot along the inside of his leg.
The table cloth hides the action from the view of the other restaurant-goers. Sasuke narrows his gaze, then widens them once more as Sakura’s toes creep higher still. She brushes along an area, perhaps a little to sensitive to be touched in public. Sasuke’s chopsticks wobble in his grasp – Sakura takes this lapse in concentration to grab the last dumpling.
She plops it in her mouth, and smiles.
Sasuke grits his jaw, “foul-play”.
Sakura smirks, “says the loser”.
The other patrons continue to glance over towards the table in confusion.
She always knew it wouldn’t be easy, loving Sasuke Uchiha
never was. But Sakura hoped, foolishly hoped the universe would give them a well-deserved
break.
They’ve been through a lot, and for once in her life she
craved the uneventful life of civilians. A life without dangers, without world
shattering responsibilities, where their biggest problem would be Sasuke
forgetting items off the shopping list or Sakura leaving her medical books
scattered all over the house.
But, no. Soon after they’ve been deluded into thinking they’d
get some peace, that they would finally get to be like a normal couple the
ninja world tears them apart again.
I need you out there,
Sasuke. As Hokage I have to stay here, but you have to be my eyes out there.
She had wanted to go with him, they had just started their lives together. You can’t Sakura, we need you here in the
hospital, you’re our best medic. They argued, but Naruto wouldn’t relent
having finally learned to put the village first.
So they lived their lives in little moments away from the
world.
This time she met him in a small in on a silent village on
the outskirts of the Fire Country. She hid beneath a hood gave the clerk his
fake name and was given direction to his room. Two knocks and she was let
inside.
She shed her disguise slowly and turned to look at her
husband who sat in the corner of the bed observing her. There was a small smile
on his lips as he stood and took her into his arms his lips meeting hers in a
quick kiss.
“I’ve missed you.” He murmured his lips against her cheek
then. I’ve missed you too, so much.
But she was tired of saying it, tired of it being one of the few words said
between them before they were forced to part again.
This time she had other plans in mind, she had another
purpose. “I’m pregnant.” She blurted out and he paused his roaming hands and
leaned back to look at her. His eyes held both excitement and fear, he didn’t
have to say anything for her to understand.
She saw as a dozen possibilities flashed across his eyes; he
could leave everything, they could run, their child would not grow up without
its parents.
“I’m not going back.” She told him, she had already decided.
Naruto would have to drag her back, probably would.
Note: Takes place after Sakura hugs him to calm him from the curse mark taking over his mind. I’m focusing on what could have been going on through Sakura’s head. Sorry that I’m 2 days late…
“Stop it!” She desperately runs as fast as she can before the curse mark consumes him more.
“Don’t do it…please.” She wraps her arms from behind, automatically bringing him to a stop. He turns around, crimson meets tearful emeralds. It was like his own body was commanding him to stop from going any further. The black marks quickly fade away and the redness of the sharingan going back to onyx.
Once he fully connects with reality, he seizes his neck to stop the throbbing while Sakura gently grabs hold of him to place him down on the ground to sit.
After the Sound Ninja have left, Sakura sees Sasuke looking at both of his trembling hand and also sweating, “Just what am I?” He asks horrified to himself.
She wants to be there for him, crush for him aside, what Sasuke needs is a friend, and a friend she will be for him. As long he’s surrounded with happiness then maybe Sasuke can overpower his inner demons.
“Sasuke-kun.” She gently squeezes her hand on top of his to help him relax.
The hardest thing has been to accept that they would never
change, a relationship was between two people and she could never blame it all
on him. He would always leave and she would always wait, it was how the story
went.
And one day he would come back.
That day she had a shift in the hospital and her daughter was
on a mission with her team. Her pale rose hair was up in a ponytail with
strands of hair falling messily over her face, she had bags under her eyes and
was so tired she was counting down the minutes for her shift to end.
She was down in the lobby as she handed the receptionist
some documents when the doors to the hospital opened. As she turned around she
didn’t expect to come face to face with her husband. She was sure the surprise
was clear on her face, she wasn’t expecting him. “Sasuke, welcome home.” She
smiled and in return he nodded as a single syllable escaped his lips.
“Aa.”
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It’s not until they are in the confines of their home that
he took her into his arms and held her tightly, she returned the embrace and
they remained like that for a moment. Neither willing to break the magic of the
reunion.
But soon enough she was crying and he pulled away. His hand
cupped her face gently and her eyes turned to him, tears still streaming down
her cheeks. She could see the question in his eyes and the uncertainty.
“I’m just so happy you’re back.” She murmured with a sigh.
“But I know…I know you’ll leave
again…and it just takes from this moment.” She cried harder, she couldn’t help
it, and she wanted nothing more than to kick herself for doing this. For
ruining the moment. “How long?”
“Two months.” She knew the words left his lips almost
regretfully.
Sakura narrowed her eyes as she stepped away from him. She
wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Naruto needs…” He trailed off. “Naruto needs me out there,
he needs me to keep an eye for possible threats.”
“It’s always the same Sasuke, Naruto needs this and Naruto
needs that. We’ll guess what? We need you here too, I need you!” She was
yelling by then, her hands balled up into fists, and she was so angry she
wanted to punch a wall.
“Don’t do this Sakura, I’m doing this for our daughter so
she can have a father she feels proud of, for you so you can feel like you made
the right choice by tying your life to mine.” He reached out to her and she took
another step back.
“I don’t care about any of that, you know that… All I want
is to have you with me, but you’re never here and that makes me question if marrying you was the right decision.” The
moment the words were out of her lips she couldn’t take them back and she saw
how the words hit him, how they hurt because it was everything he feared,
losing her.
“Sakura…”
What would he choose between duty and her? He loves her, she
could see it in his eyes, but they both knew that with him duty always won over
the heart.
Prompt: Love You Goodbye Fandom: Naruto Pairing: SasuSaku Rating: T (Major Character Death) Summary: Sasuke has always known great loss. It is what has shaped and controlled his entire life. When another great loss touches Sasuke’s life, he struggles to cope without falling into darkness again.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of characters. I am making no profit off of this and am only writing it for my entertainment.
A/N: Unbeta-ed.
So I’ve been suffering through a horrible period of writer’s block these past few days, but I really wanted to get this out for you all. I’m playing with a slightly different format, so let me know what you think! I hope you all enjoy it.
It had been seven days since Sasuke’s world came crashing down around him. He couldn’t feel anything. He was numb. Maybe he was getting used to the universe shitting on him. Maybe all the bad karma he’d managed to store up had finally come for him. He wished only he could take it all back if it would mean saving her.
He stood with his back to Konoha. It was the very same hill he’d stood on to look over Naruto’s wedding, only this time, he couldn’t bare to look at the place that had been his home for such a short amount of time.
He’d been a fool.
It would never be his home again. No where could be now. All that was left was the mission.
His jaw set. His entire being strained to stop the prickling at his eyes. As much as he never wanted to see that place again—the place that only brought him pain—he knew he’d be back. Even if he was just passing through, eventually he’d be back. For now though, he had to say goodbye.
At the front door, near dawn, she embraced him. With that hug she gave him all that she could give.
“I’ll see you soon,” he told her.
She knew what he meant. She wouldn’t see him soon, but rather soon-enough, or when he was able to come home.
Sasuke opened the door, and before he could take the step to exit, a small hand found its way into his. He turned to see their little, rambunctious two year-old standing in between the two of them and in each of her tiny hands was one of theirs. She was looking at him.
“Walk?” she asked.
“Not today, Baby. It’s going to rain,” Sakura said, tenderly taking Sarada into her arms and picking her up to hold her. Mother and daughter looked at him, Sarada gripping the collar of her mother’s red dress.
Though Sasuke didn’t say it, he was thankful. Not holding her hand would make a little bit easier to leave.
“Love you,” Sakura said, as he turned toward the horizon again.
“Goidbye,” he said looking back at the two, a soft smile gracing his face. Sakura knew what reflected in that look… love. Love for each of them. After all, they were his family.
Sometimes, she gets jealous. But when he holds her close and murmurs her name, she realizes that it’s more than enough because Sasuke Uchiha doesn’t say he loves you, he shows you.
Notes: Today, they’re a bit long. First, I’d like to apologise for the delay, my modem stopped working early this morning and they couldn’t come to change it till a couple of hours ago.
Also, a word regarding Sakura. Though it must seem that she is a bit OOC in here (and maybe in the one before this), it is intentional. I wanted to make her like at the beginning of the manga, when Sakura is demure and charming in front of Sasuke to get his attention while her true feelings are voiced in her mind. Later on, as they get to know each other, you will see that she becomes more relaxed and open with her feelings when they’re together. Unfortunately, Sasuke will continue to use a more polite language and be reserved a bit longer, since he’s got no reason to be rude or angry with the world here ^^U
I’ve added a small glossary because this time I use a few Japanese words. Maybe you know them, so feel free to skip it 🙂
Words: 2834
Glossary:
omiai: traditional custom in which a woman and a man are introduced to each other to consider the possibility of marriage. There is a whole ritual behind it.
ryoukan: a type of traditional Japanese inn usually providing meals as part of the stay.
tokonoma: a built-in recessed space in a Japanese style reception room, in which items for artistic appreciation are displayed.
*The following three are part of swordmanship but different from each other:
kenjutsu: the specific aspect of partnered sword training
battoujutsu: the aspect focused upon the efficient draw of the sword, cutting down one’s enemy, and returning the sword to its scabbard.
iaijutsu: Also the Japanese art of drawing the sword. It tends to be technically more complex and focuses on perfecting form.
jujutsu: the art of using indirect force as opposed to direct force. The art’s aim is the ability to use an attacker’s force against him or her, and counter-attack where they are weakest or least defended.
tsuru: crane.
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OMIAI
The private room of the luxury ryoukan they had booked for the meeting was a Japanese style chamber exquisitely decorated with a low mahogany table, silk cushions and a beautiful scroll displaying a work of calligraphy on the tokonoma. The sunshine entered through the slightly opened sliding door at the back, which overlooked an elegant garden. The rhythmic sound of a bamboo fountain and the occasional murmur of the trees in the afternoon breeze gave the place a very relaxed atmosphere.
SasuSaku Month 