Chapter Text
It was a beautiful day, the sun shining down warmly and casting a glimmer across the glass high-rise buildings. Sasuke blinked, coming out of his daydreaming and focusing back in on the laptop screen in front of him. Even as rare as this beautiful day was, Sasuke was no slacker. He always studied on the weekends, and this was no different. The library was notably emptier, which didn’t bother him as he was of the opinion the quieter a workspace, the better.
He squinted at the small black text, chunked up in paragraphs on the screen. Remembering himself, he put his glasses back on, having removed them a short while ago to rub the crust from sleep out of his eyes. It was approaching midday, and Sasuke had been at the library since opening hours, a typical 9:30 on the weekends.
“What a surprise, look who I found. At the library, no less!”
Straightening upon hearing the familiar voice, Sasuke twisted in his chair just in time to receive a dull thump on the head. Scrunching his face up, he glared at the other who sat casually as ever on his study space, on his desk.
“How can you look at all those numbers and statistics all day and not get a headache?” Naruto asked, shaking his head as he looked down at the business textbook he had lying open on the desk.
“I listen to you all day, don’t I?” Sasuke retorted back easily, Naruto spluttering in disbelief.
“Please! Being in my presence is a privilege, not a punishment. I bet people would pay to hear me talk to them all day long.” Naruto preened, looking absolutely confident in this assumption.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, “I’m sure. If they wanted someone to voice for an alarm clock, you’d be first choice. It would be so annoying people would get up just to get away from it.”
Scoffing, Naruto pushed at Sasuke’s neat pile of notes lightly, “Bastard, at least I have some freaking intonation in my speech unlike someone.”
“What do you want, idiot?” Sasuke sighed, glaring sideways at the other whilst rearranging his pile.
Jumping to attention, Naruto sprung to his feet and tugged at the back of Sasuke’s chair, “I’m famished. Come and grab a bite with me.”
“I have to study.” Was Sasuke’s terse response, not even glancing at Naruto as he read through the next thick block of text.
Naruto snorted, cracking his neck side-to-side and causing Sasuke to wince, “Yeah, so do I. Then I realised, it’s Saturday and I don’t really give a fuck.”
“Some of us don’t stop working just because it’s the weekend.” He said, clicking down the page and making a note to himself to continually change where he sat at the library. It would throw Naruto off for a longer period of time, at least.
“I know that. Although some of us know when to stop and have a break before our head explodes. You, Sasuke, are not one of those people.” Naruto accused, pointing at Sasuke with one eyebrow raised. He looked utterly ridiculous, and Naruto had never been any good at acting serious.
Shaking his head unfazed, Sasuke turned back to face his screen, “I’m fine. Go and eat by yourself.”
His eyes narrowed furiously when he saw a tanned hand reach out and shut his laptop screen.
“Naruto,” He seethed, with the blonde in question leaning against his desk looking unimpressed.
Naruto rolled his eyes as if dealing with a petulant child, “Don’t you think I can tell when you haven’t eaten? You get all prissy and start with that holier-than-thou crap.”
“I’m not hungry.” Sasuke ground out through clenched teeth.
Blinking once, blue eyes widened and Naruto suddenly backed off, “Oh, well that’s too bad.”
He watched suspiciously as Naruto turned to leave, and at the last second the blonde swivelled around, swiped Sasuke’s laptop and ran like a madman towards the library exit.
“See how hungry you are now!” Naruto called over his shoulder and Sasuke was positively livid.
“Naruto! Get back here, moron!” Gathering his books and papers, he haphazardly shoved them in his bag – something Sasuke hated to do but this was no time to be particular.
Slinging his bag over his shoulder across his chest and giving the desk a quick once-over to ensure he didn’t forget anything, Sasuke took off after Naruto with an intent to tear the blonde apart. He caught sight of blonde hair disappearing at the end of the long hallway leading into the library and Sasuke followed. When he finally caught up with Naruto, they were in the on-campus café and the blonde was already standing in line, Sasuke’s laptop tucked under his arm innocently.
Just as Sasuke took a threatening step in his direction, Naruto turned his head and a mischievous smile took over his face.
“Ah, there you are. Finally decided to take a break, eh?” Smiling, he had Sasuke’s laptop tucked under his arm like it was some sort of melon fruit.
Seething, Sasuke stepped up to him, “Give me the laptop. Now.”
Naruto tapped his finger on his chin, seemingly considering Sasuke’s request, “Hm, I think I’ll hold onto it a little longer.”
“No. Now. Right now, and maybe I’ll consider not beating you half to death.” Sasuke warned, his anger spiking at Naruto’s obvious indifference to his threats.
Naruto shrugged, “Sorry, but no can do. Why don’t you take a look and see what to order while we wait?”
Composing himself with will power that had taken years to build, Sasuke breathed in and out. Temporarily suspending his anger, he settled for a silent coldness as he stood in line beside Naruto. His arms were crossed and his eyes pasted to the menu board in steady avoidance of the annoyance at his side. Resigned to his fate, he tossed over the idea of a chicken salad sandwich or a sweet chili chicken wrap for lunch. Admittedly, eating something would increase his brain power and help him to study more efficiently, though he refused to acknowledge this as Naruto’s idea in the first place.
“I hate you.” He declared, not wanting to see the victorious grin painted on Naruto’s face.
“Pfft, hate how much you love me, more like!” He laughed, loud and vibrant as always, and Sasuke felt his irritation subside.
*
After a satisfying lunch (Sasuke had made a good choice with the sandwich), Sasuke reclaimed his laptop and in return gave Naruto a solid punch to his chest. Despite coughing and rubbing at the area, the idiot had the audacity to grin at him triumphantly. They then parted ways, with Naruto having a meet up with Sakura next and Sasuke needing to resume his study session.
Sasuke honestly never thought of all career paths, Naruto would choose paramedics. It was a demanding course that required meticulous study and knowledge of the human body. Yet Naruto took to it like a duck to water. He was getting decent grades, enjoying the course and worked hard.
Whereas Sasuke was certain anyone could have guessed his career choice – business. Of course, as his father was a businessman and so too would Sasuke become a business man.
And of course, Sakura was studying to become a nurse. Her ultimate goal was to become a doctor, but she wasn’t in a rush to get there. Whilst Sakura was in her final year of study, Sasuke and Naruto still had another to go. Since their courses had similar and shared subjects in them, Naruto and Sakura studied together more often than not. Sakura liked having a person around to test herself on, and Naruto enjoyed the company more than anything else. The guy was hopeless when it came to studying by himself most of the time, Sasuke remembered back in high school all the late nights they had spent cramming for the next day’s exam.
Back in their second year of university, currently now at the start of their third, the trio had decided to move off-campus together. Sasuke had done the math (naturally), and it worked out cheaper for all three of them to live together in a small share house than each of them living on-campus.
Another detail which had come into that, was the fact that Naruto wanted to move in with his girlfriend. Naruto and Sakura were officially together. Finally, Sakura had accepted Naruto’s feelings as genuine and honest, and Naruto was still completely in love with her. She too, had confessed her love just last year, and the two of them were happier than any couple Sasuke knew. The look in Sakura’s eyes was different now when she saw Naruto, brighter and happier.
Even though Sasuke had said it was financially wise to move off-campus, he was hesitant at sharing a house with the couple. When he had expressed his doubts towards the living arrangements, the two of them had done everything to convince Sasuke otherwise. Settling himself into a study cubicle and unpacking his laptop and worksheets, Sasuke remembered back to when they were desperately trying to persuade him.
“It won’t be awkward at all!” Naruto stated flippantly, which had done little to sway Sasuke. The blonde was so thick-headed, he hardly ever registered an awkward situation even when he was a part of one.
“We won’t do anything to make you uncomfortable, Sasuke-kun. We promise.” Sakura said in earnest, smiling encouragingly at him.
His response was a raised brow, clearly letting her know that he highly doubted the probability of this being true. Remedying her approach, Sakura pressed her fingers to her lips, humming while her mind was running through what to say next. For his part, Naruto only made stupid begging faces at Sasuke, tugging at his arm and pinching his cheeks and just generally being Naruto. Just as Sasuke was about to lose his temper and throw Naruto on the ground, Sakura brightened and straightened her posture with purpose.
“I know! We can put together a list of rules for shared house living!” Sakura suggested chirpily, and Sasuke resisted pulling a face. Sakura and her goddamn lists.
“Right, right!” Naruto nodded, clearly approving of the idea.
“Yeah! Like, one of them would obviously be no sex while Sasuke-kun is in the house.”
“Yeah, of cour – wait, what?”
Naruto faltered, blinking uncertainly at her, “You’re joking right, Sakura-chan?”
Naturally, she slapped his arm soundly, “Idiot! Stop thinking with your dick for a second and think of Sasuke-kun!”
Bemoaning, Naruto fell back against the couch as if he lost all will to live, “He’s such a house rat, though. He’ll always be around!”
“Your intervention is really convincing me. Please, go on.” Sasuke drawled sarcastically.
“Another would be separate showers, and let’s not forget limited PDA in front of Sasuke-kun.” Sakura murmured thoughtfully, as if Naruto hadn’t interrupted at all.
“What the hell?!” Naruto cried out, like a wounded bear.
Sasuke interrupted the quarrelling couple, holding up his hand, “Look, I appreciate it. I just don’t think it will work out.”
“Shut up, Sasuke. Can’t you see all the sacrifices we’re willing to make for you? Show some gratitude, jerk.” Naruto dismissed him, like he hadn’t just whined that living with Sasuke would be the greatest inconvenience in his life to date.
“Why do you want me to live with you both anyway?” He questioned, genuinely curious of their answer.
Generally, couples moving in together liked to do so alone. Sasuke couldn’t figure out why either of them would want him intruding on their space. It wasn’t like he would be offended if they did, he was used to being alone. Sometimes, Sasuke preferred it and it felt like he was meant to be alone more than anything else.
“As if we’re gonna let you buy your own apartment and hole yourself up there like some pre-mature hermit.” Naruto immediately responded, waving his hand as if to wipe away the idea and Sasuke felt his eyebrow tick.
“What Naruto means is, you’re our friend Sasuke-kun. We started university together, and we should finish it together.” Sakura’s voice was warm and gentle, as she placed a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder and smiled at him.
“Exactly. We’ve been in this together for too long to part ways now. Sad to say it, teme, but you’re stuck with us.” Naruto sung, coming out of his hopeless slouching on the couch to give his smile to Sasuke. He swallowed, not sure what to do with all this affection being thrown his way.
“Plus, if we all live together then we get more free vouchers in our mail! They distribute those things per capita, I read it online.” Naruto persisted, his own personal touch of what he called ‘sweetening the deal’.
Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes, elbowing Naruto in his ribs but she was smiling. Rubbing at his chest, Naruto grinned and started laughing, and Sasuke couldn’t hide his smirk.
“Aha! The bastard smiled!" Naruto declared, pointing at Sasuke victoriously, "Well, smirked, but doesn’t matter – we’re in!” Naruto then threw an arm around Sasuke's shoulders and bringing him in for a half-hug.
“Moron, get off.” Sasuke grumbled, trying to pull away from the warm embrace but Naruto only held on tighter.
He heard Sakura’s giggle and then felt her hug his other arm and sighed.
Later when it had encroached on evening, Naruto caught him again. This time he was alone. Sakura was probably at her part-time job at the coffee shop, Red Bean. He’d have to go there again next week, since it had been a while since his last visit and whenever Sakura was on shift she gave him free coffee – sometimes a complimentary fruit-filled muffin on the side. More so for the coffee however, since Sasuke couldn’t function without it and they did really good coffees there.
“Hey, Sasuke,” Naruto greeted, voice breezy in the quiet of Sasuke’s room.
The latter looked up, waiting for Naruto to speak so he could get back to work. He was going through his lecture material for tomorrow, sitting at his desk in his room. Something made him stop, however, when he caught Naruto’s gaze as the other waltzed over to him. Perhaps it was how serious Naruto looked, or the way he was standing, shoulders hunched and hands in his pockets.
“Are you really going to live with us?”
A bit surprised at the question, Sasuke put his textbook down and faced Naruto properly. This is important to him, he realised. Naruto was funny about things like this. He would come off as being all about the fun and the games, but underneath he had his own reasons and meaning.
“I don’t really have much of a choice, do I? Even if I bought my own place, the two of you would be over enough it would practically be the same as living together. This is easier, and financially smarter.” Sasuke argued.
Naruto stared at him for a moment, before a grin melted across his face and he ruffled up Sasuke’s hair playfully.
“You’re damn right. Glad to see you’re finally wising up.” Sasuke grunted and pushed Naruto’s hands away and out of his hair. It was already prone to messiness without that idiot intervening.
Prancing over to Sasuke’s bed, Naruto flopped down and made himself right at home on the soft covers, “Because you know with us, you’ll never be alone. I won’t let you, even if you want to.”
Sasuke paused, the meaning of those words leaving him temporarily voiceless for a few seconds. Of course, he understood now. Why he hadn’t realised it sooner, Sasuke couldn’t guess. Perhaps because sometimes he forgot the past he and Naruto shared, what that meant and how much it still means to the both of them.
“I already know that. You can’t go a single day without pestering me.” He replied, pulling his book closer to him and trying to focus on the text and not the unsteady beat of his heart. He felt Naruto’s smile on his back, and allowed himself a small quirk of his lips as a peaceful silence bloomed in the room.
That had been a year ago, and the arrangement they had remained the same.
*
The annoying thing about being friends with a couple you had already been friends with, was the way they would constantly attempt to set Sasuke up with girls. As if they felt they had to compensate, since they were so happy being a couple so obviously Sasuke should feel that happiness too. Personally, he thought they felt guilty sometimes when they were doing ‘couple things’ and Sasuke was inadvertently left out. It really didn’t bother him, but it bothered them and when it came to those two, they could never sit still when something could be done.
Perhaps Sasuke might have welcomed the efforts on his behalf, if they had been setting him up with the right gender for a start. Although, really he could blame no one but himself for that. They didn't know about Sasuke’s preferences. Very few did. It was something he had struggled to accept for months himself, he couldn’t imagine how the two of them would feel. Especially Sakura, considering she had been in love with him ‘supposedly’ all those years ago.
Yet, Sasuke was filled with a twisted guilt every time it was inevitably brought up.
“Sasuke-kun, you really should start dating. I know it sounds weird coming from me, but I think it would be good for you.”
“Bastard, I get you a hot date and you blow her off because you had laundry? Are you sure you're not the idiot here?!”
Every time his answer was the same. Not interested, don’t have the time, relationships are more trouble than they’re worth. Usually the two of them wouldn’t nag him too much over it, but it still happened.
When it came from Naruto, it made Sasuke more uncomfortable than anything else.
Sasuke knew why. He had known since the end of last year, when he’d experienced the biggest realisation that it was almost painful in its revelation. Whenever people joked that Sasuke must be jealous that Sakura had chosen someone else, he would bite his tongue and smirk indulgently, letting them believe it.
Having had enough introspection in the early hours of the morning, Sasuke got out of bed and stretched his limbs. Tying a knot across his dark blue dressing gown, Sasuke stepped into his slippers and pushed open his door, starting to head downstairs for breakfast. He was halfway down the stairs when he heard the voices of Naruto and Sakura in the kitchen. Although he was a bit surprised they were both awake relatively early, Sasuke continued walking down the stairs. Once he reached the bottom, however, he stopped to a standstill.
Standing at an angle where he could see into the kitchen yet they could not see him, Sasuke stared. The two were standing at the stove, assumedly in the mood for a hot breakfast. That wasn’t what Sasuke was staring at though. Naruto had his arms wrapped around Sakura’s middle, as she stood in front of the frying pan flipping eggs. She giggled when Naruto turned his head, his nose brushing against her neck. Then he was kissing along her neck, his back muscles flexing as he bent over her. He was shirtless.
His mouth suddenly went dry, his eyes involuntarily lowering to the defined, tanned chest. For a moment too long, Sasuke was unable to remove his gaze, watching intently as the toned abs stretched and flexed whenever Naruto moved his body. Sakura was wearing one of his t-shirts, and didn’t appear to be wearing anything underneath.
The implications of that were too much, too early in the day. Sasuke's throat constricted, and his palms began to sweat. Turning on his heel, he ascended the stairs and when he reached his bedroom, he closed the door and kept his light off. Breakfast could wait a little longer.
*
“Damn, morning class is always such a shit,” Naruto groaned, sculling a glass of orange juice in one go and making Sasuke gag.
Naruto had a four-hour block of classes on Thursdays, with a nine am start. Most of Naruto’s classes started at either nine or eight in the morning, and soon he’d be on placement where he’d have overnight shifts that would surely be hell. It was moments like these that Sasuke praised himself for sticking to a relatively calm business degree.
“Don’t swear at the table, you Neanderthal,” Sakura chided, nibbling at the chocolate chip pancakes she had made for herself and Naruto this morning. Kindly, she prepared a couple of plain ones for Sasuke to eat, well aware of his distaste for sweet things.
“Are you kidding me? This guy has said at least three different naughty words so far this morning! Where’s his scolding?” Naruto grumbled, taking his plate and glass up to the sink and washing them up quickly.
“He was in pain, so it’s acceptable,” Sakura offered, earning a disbelieving gawk from Naruto.
“So what? Just because of a stubbed toe? He still said them!” Naruto complained, and Sakura shook her head at Sasuke as if to say ‘he’s hopeless’.
“It was painful enough that I couldn’t stop myself. You say vulgar things so needlessly,” Sasuke commented dryly, turning the page of the morning newspaper. Naruto rambled exasperatedly in the background to himself, of which Sasuke could make out, ‘human brains have no logic’, to which he decided to ignore him from then on.
“I’ll see you later, beautiful,” Naruto said, grabbing his backpack and slinging it on his back as he readied to leave.
“I can’t wait for that,” Sakura replied, smiling sweetly at him as she stood from the table and wrapped her thin arms around his shoulders.
“I was talking to Sasuke, y’know,” Naruto teased, causing the hairs on Sasuke’s arms to rise as he sipped at his tea.
“Oh, come on! Not again!” Sakura huffed, stamping her foot and playing along. Sasuke wondered how he hadn’t gotten cavities from living with them yet.
“Alright, alright. Sorry, you know you’re my number one.” Naruto cooed at her, regaining her favour and they kissed goodbye. Sasuke ate his pancakes, his gaze locked on the newspaper for some time.
“Adios, my favourite people!” Naruto called, to which Sasuke raised his hand in a silent wave without looking up and Sakura shooed him out the door.
As soon as Naruto had walked out, Sakura threw her back against the closed door and faced Sasuke with an expression not unlike one of a woman possessed. Sasuke covered his wince by straightening in his chair.
“Sasuke-kun, I need your help! I really messed up!” She pleaded, throwing her hands in front of her chest and pressing them together tightly.
After wondering what the hell was going on, Sasuke decided it was best to be direct.
“What?”
Whining in frustration, Sakura flew away from the door and trudged over to the him, plopping down in a chair. She looked so positively morose, that Sasuke put down his paper and gave her his undivided attention.
“I forgot today was our anniversary.” She admitted, in a small voice.
Sasuke was momentarily confused, then it all clicked together. Naruto had been telling him the other day about his big surprise for Sakura for their one-year anniversary, and today was the big day.
“You forgot?” Sasuke couldn’t keep himself from asking. If anything, Naruto was the one who was more likely to forget dates. But then, Sasuke supposed the idiot would never forget the day when Sakura finally said yes to him.
“Don’t look at me like that! I feel bad enough already,” Sakura truly did look miserable, and Sasuke let out a sigh of his own. Why did he always have to end up involved in situations like this?
Sakura mussed her hair messily, a quirk when she was stressed or anxious, “It’s just with all the placement I’ve been doing, being so busy and all, the days just run together and it completely slipped my mind.”
“I don’t have anything for him.” She looked ready to cry, her eyes filling with tears and Sasuke spoke up before the waterworks were upon him.
“Sakura,” Sasuke muttered exasperatedly, rubbing the bridge of his nose irritably, “Instead of complaining to me why don’t you do something about it?”
“But I don’t have any idea what he would want!” She wailed hopelessly, dropping her head in her arms and Sasuke barely restrained himself from getting up and leaving her to drown in her misery.
No, he was Sakura’s friend. He wouldn’t let her make a fool of herself like this. More importantly, Naruto was his friend too and he didn’t want to see the moron hurt on a day that obviously meant so much to him.
“And you assume I do?”
“You’re his best friend, Sasuke-kun. He tells you all the random stuff that I don’t want to hear. He must’ve said something! He’s always wanting something.”
She rolled her eyes at her boyfriend’s materialism, but to his credit most of the time Naruto didn’t actually get what he said he wanted. He would just pine about the loss of it for a few days and then get over it, moving onto the next thing.
“There’s a hoodie downtown he’s been obsessed with, he sent me a picture the other day,” Picking his phone up from the table, he flicked through his picture messages from Naruto until he came across what he was looking for.
He showed it to Sakura, whose eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning, “Oh, it’s kinda nice. I actually think it would look good on him,”
“He didn’t tell me which store it’s in, but since it’s a picture on their website it has the store’s name in the corner,” Sasuke pointed to the bottom right corner.
“Blue Bird,” Sakura read aloud, then grinned happily, “I know where that is! I can drop by there on my way to class later on!”
“Congratulations on your anniversary,” Sasuke inclined his head, and Sakura turned her dazzling smile towards him.
“Thank you so much! You’re literally the best, you know that?” She hugged his head to her chest like a kitten and giggled. He sighed, but was relieved everything worked out.
“Don’t mention it,” he mumbled, releasing him and taking his plate and empty mug up to be washed.
“You don’t have to do that, Sakura,” he protested, making to stand, but she hushed him and already had them in water before he could move.
“It’s the least I can do, really!” She smiled, and he stared at her for a short moment before letting her do as she wished.
Later on in the afternoon, after an intense but productive study session, Sasuke started packing his things for an overnight trip. Seeing as how it was their anniversary, Sasuke really didn’t think he could be a third-wheel tonight, and he didn’t want to. Sakura came in, having just returned from uni and shopping, with a bag from Blue Bird hanging from her hand.
“Oh, are you going somewhere?” She asked, walking over to where he was preparing his things to go.
“I’m going to stay with Karin tonight.” He said, throwing clothes into his overnight bag.
Tilting her head to the side confusedly, Sakura furrowed her delicate brows, “Why would you do that?”
Upon hearing the question, Sasuke deemed the only appropriate response as looking Sakura straight in the eyes and giving her a pointed look. Then, he raised his eyes just above her head to the doorway where her and Naruto’s rooms were.
Bright red bloomed across her cheeks, and Sasuke nodded once he was certain his message had been conveyed. Covering her mouth and coughing awkwardly, Sakura stuttered for a while before managing a small ‘Th-Thank you for being so considerate, Sasuke-kun’, and then she vanished from his doorway.
Once she was gone, Sasuke stopped his packing and glanced at the doorway. Get a grip, he told himself. It wasn’t like Sasuke didn’t know what would happen tonight, he wasn’t a fool. Despite his discomfort with it, he would not deprive the two of doing…what they would do.
Having finished packing fifteen minutes later, he took his stuff downstairs and readied it by the door. He sent Karin a text to let her know he was on his way, grabbing a quick drink of water for the ride over.
“Hey, Sasuke,” Naruto greeted as he suddenly waltzed through the door, and Sasuke wished he hadn’t drunk his water so quickly.
The smile on Naruto’s face was dazzling, and it seemed his entire being was lit up and glowing with happiness. Even if she was not in the room, his smile was for her. It always was.
“You left the expired milk in the fridge again.” It was Sasuke’s automatic response, and Naruto’s smile disappeared to be replaced with a panicked expression.
“Are you serious?! Damn, I thought for sure I had gotten rid of it this time.” He cursed, glaring at the fridge as if it was his enemy.
“Don’t worry, I’ll buy some more tomorrow.” Sasuke said, walking over to where his bag and laptop were situated, near the exit.
“Where’re you going?” Naruto questioned, lifting an eyebrow.
“Spending the night at Karin’s place. I know you two have plans.” Sasuke explained, for the second time that day.
Unexpectedly, Sasuke caught a hint of a blush on Naruto’s cheeks. Well, maybe the idiot had some modesty at all.
“Sasuke, this is why you’re my best friend,” Naruto professed, placing a solemn hand on Sasuke’s shoulder, “You get the little things that I don’t have to say, like how I’m going to be scoring all night long consecutively and I think that’s beautiful.”
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Nope, the idiot was still as shameless as ever.
Slapping him on the back good-naturedly, Naruto grinned cheekily, “Thanks, bastard. I owe you a free lunch, okay?”
“You mean free lunch as in anything under 500 yen, I assume?” Sasuke summarised, to which Naruto shot finger guns at him.
“’Course! I’m only a university student after all.” Naruto grinned at him brightly and Sasuke couldn’t find it in himself to fight back.
“Have a good night,” Sasuke said in parting, to which Naruto winked and then he was out the door.
*
Finding an easy park in front of Karin’s apartment block, Sasuke slung his laptop case over his shoulder and hefted his overnight bag out of the passenger seat, slamming the doors shut. The warmth of his car vanished to be replaced with the chilly night wind, and he made haste over to Karin’s single unit. Just as he raised his hand to knock, the door suddenly flung open and standing in it was the figure of a very happy Uzumaki Karin.
“Sasuke! It’s about time! What took you so long anyway?” Pouting, Karin didn’t wait for an answer as she pulled him in for a warm hug.
“Nice to see you too, Karin.” Sasuke sighed, not bothering to return the hug – it only encouraged Karin to hold onto him for longer.
“It’s been way too long since we hung out just the two of us! Come on, we have so much to do!” Sasuke opened his mouth to tell her not to make a fuss, but didn’t get the chance as he was hauled inside the apartment.
Karin was Naruto’s cousin that had relocated to Konoha two years ago, just as they started university. As soon as she laid eyes on Sasuke, she was completely smitten. She would chase him everywhere, follow him on campus and hang out with them under the pretence of spending time with her cousin who she loved dearly.
Naruto had laughed outright at that. His relationship with Karin, whilst it was a good one, was not one where she would deliberately hang out with him in any circumstance if she could avoid it.
“So, not that I’m not totally thrilled having you here, but you didn’t really say why you needed a place to crash tonight. Mind elaborating?” She said, placing a mug of green tea on the coffee table and sitting cross-legged on the floor across from him.
Sasuke stared at her, then stared down at his mug.
“It’s Naruto and Sakura’s anniversary today.”
Instantly, the easy going smile she had on her face vanished. Sighing, she rubbed at her temples and placed her own cup down on the coffee table with more force than necessary.
“That stupid jerk, always so inconsiderate.”
Karin was also the only person in existence that knew. It wasn’t that Sasuke had told her. No, if Sasuke had it his way then nobody would ever, ever know what he truly felt deep down. Unfortunately, Karin had figured it out all on her own, and no matter how Sasuke had consistently denied it over and over she didn’t believe him. Eventually, Sasuke gave in and told her, confirming what she thought all along.
Sasuke rolled his eyes at her over exaggeration, “It’s their anniversary, Karin. Besides, neither of them told me to leave. I decided myself.”
“Sasuke, how can you keep doing this? It’s killing you, I know it is.” She narrowed her eyes at him, somehow more penetrating through the lens of her glasses.
“You know, if you just told him–”
“No.”
She groaned, putting her own mug down a little too roughly, “Damn it, won’t you even let me finish?”
This was what Karin tried to do every time the issue of Naruto and Sakura came up. She would tell him to express his feelings, and Sasuke would politely tell her to mind her own damn business. Sasuke never wanted Naruto to know. His friendship with Sasuke was perfect, and the brunette was determined not to put that in jeopardy over anything. He wouldn’t be so selfish.
“I’ve already told you, I won’t do it.” He said petulantly, turning his head to the side as he drank his tea so he wouldn’t have to meet her scrutiny head on.
Karin sighed heavily, shaking her head, “I just don’t get what you’re so scared of–”
“I am not scared, Karin.” Sasuke shot back, his prickles coming out at the accusation.
She threw her arms up, at a loss, “Well, I don’t know what any other explanation could be.”
“It’s complicated.” Sasuke bit out, to which Karin scoffed.
“Look, he’s your best friend. Don’t you think he has a right to know? I mean, Naruto cares about you a lot–”
“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
“Ugh! You’re impossible, you know that?!” Karin yelled in frustration, pinning Sasuke with a glare.
Silence settled between the two.
When Sasuke finally broke it, his voice was calm, “He’s happy with Sakura.”
Karin’s eyes widened, and she leaned in a little closer.
“I don’t want to ruin his happiness anymore.”
Karin froze, then sighed softly, “Oh, Sasuke. You make him happy too.” She whispered, and Sasuke smirked. But he knew his eyes looked sad, and within their ebony depths she would see the words he couldn’t say.
Not the way she can.