#// i have ic stuff to work on already but let me hand u my naruto ocs ...

[rewrittn]

what if you liked this post for a starter from one of my naruto ocs. Specify or get random. lengths will vary.

[siuilaruinofthegale]

ello my most sirius friendo (your ask reminded me why i liked the post, which was to be a reminder to send u an ask LMAO)

🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

🏅 What is something you recently felt proud of in regard to your writing (finished a fic, actually planned for once, etc).

🧠 What’s an idea you have that you can’t quite call a WIP yet?

💭 What is a headcanon you have about your own work?

(if you're here from the K/S tag the K/S is at the end of the ask)

- 🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

SNICKIE you're doing this on purpose. I'm running out of WIPs you haven't seen lmao

“HEY! ALL YOU GUYS! WE’RE GONNA ALL BE NINJA, BUT I’M GONNA BE THE BEST NINJA EVER, AN’ I’M GONNA BE HOKAGE! BELIEVE IT!” He cringes into his seat, peering over at the boy. He’s standing in front of all the other kids, hands on his hips. Iruka hadn’t thought a small child could be so loud… which is saying something.

And then Sasuke, little and pointy and dark-haired, shoves his way to the front. “You can’t be the best ninja ever!” he half-shouts back, crossing his arms and frowning. “’tachi-nii is the best ninja ever!”

Naruto blinks, like he hadn’t considered this idea of someone else already being ‘the best’. Then his face sets a little harder. “Then I’m gonna kick his butt once I’m out the ‘cademy, an’ he won’t be the best any more!” he exclaims.

“‘tachi-nii’s busy doin’ important stuff!” Sasuke says with a stomp. “He’s not gonna fight you, he’s a real ninja doin’ real ninja stuff! What’re you even gonna do as Hokage?”

Naruto almost swells up, this time with pride instead of anger. “I’m gonna keep everyone’s precious people safe, no matter what, ‘cause everyone’s precious to someone!”

[this is a snippet from melodies, wherein two (2) babbies meet]

- 🏅 What is something you recently felt proud of in regard to your writing (finished a fic, actually planned for once, etc).

This isn't a bad question, per se, but I may not be the best person to ask this of xD Most of the time these days, unless I'm writing something incredibly new (i.e. smut or a new fandom), I'm automatically proud of what I've written. Perhaps I'm growing arrogant in my old age, but I fancy myself fairly decent at this writing stuff, and as such I'm known to bang out a few lines and grin wickedly, no matter how simple the lines are.

If pressed, though, I would say I'm proud of how many people I've made cry. That sounds quite cruel apropos nothing, but... a lot of the comments on red strings and lilac skies are about how the end made them cry, and not just because of the sad bits, but because of the happy bits. One person said I made them cry because I wrote an autistic character with love, that I gave them hope for their son's future because of it, and that's... that comment honestly floored me. It took me days to recover.

And -- here I may verge on arrogance again instead of mere pride, but seeing people react so strongly to a single character, to certain scenes and sentences and concepts, makes me eager to be a published author. One of my end goals for my writing has always been "to help people", and I've always said that if I manage to help only one person, it would be worth it. If something that started out as smut and saltiness about tropes can do so much for people, how much more will my books be able to help them?

p.s. in retrospect I'm really proud I finished rs&ls too, I'm bad about not finishing. endings..... the devil.

- 🧠 What’s an idea you have that you can’t quite call a WIP yet?

Ah... I don't know if I have anything like that. I have a bad habit of either scribbling out a note and forgetting it entirely, or stewing over something until I sit down and write 90k words of smutty nonsense about it. (literally how rs&ls got started, I kid you not)

Perhaps the closest thing wouldn't be quite a Work-In-Progress, but... a Was-In-Progress? The first thing I ever finished was the first b book in a 'epic' fantasy series about two women who become friends when they're captured by slavers, and then later escape, and Things Happen. It wasn't good. I feel bad for the people I asked to read it. The plot rambled SO BADLY. There was no plot. IT SUFFERED. After letting it sit for a year, I realized how bad it was, and how weird it would be to start the series at that point. So I basically threw a dart at a board and picked a new point in the larger plot to start at.

I got... I don't know, 170k words in before I realized I was rambling again, and lost, because I didn't know how to get where I was going. So I set the series aside to finish it later and started on WTI. It's intended to truly be an epic fantasy, the sort that sits on the shelf beside Lord of The Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire and deserves its place there, but I didn't have the skill to write it then. I'm not sure I do now, however much I've improved.

Because I am a benevolent answer monster, I'll give you a series synopsis, though.

Manaia was a peaceful woman once. That was before the slavers took her, before her beloved moon goddess bought her, before she fled the temple-palace hand-in-hand with one of the heretical fish-women of the islands... before she found her entire village burnt to the ground and her husband's bones in a shallow grave.

There is no peace for her now. She burns, day and night, nothing left of the woman she once was. Manaia will have justice, and then she intends to have vengeance. She intends to scour every slaver from existence... but Areya, her companion who worships a strange god, constantly holds her back.

Manaia might succeed... but will she be ready for the truth behind the slavers she hates so much?

- 💭 What is a headcanon you have about your own work?

uhhhHHH

tbh I forgot everything I've ever written when I read this question

OH

for melodies: Kakashi walks better in heels than Sakura does. Not that Sakura does it badly, he's just very good at it. It goes hand-in-hand with him being a very good drag queen. Nobody ever asks Sakura to be the one in a dress if Kakashi's there.

for red strings and lilac skies: you've heard this one, Snickie, but it's still an amusement. It didn't fit for me to put it into the last chapter of rs&ls, but...

the Naruto world is early 90s-ish in technology. That means that when Sakura and Kakashi are raising their children, Pokemon and NinjaBoys come out. The twins love it, and then they take to calling Shikamaru "Uncle Shikachu".

He hates it.

[thefangirlslair]

Free At Last (A Sasusaku One-Shot Fanfiction) x Purple Love VI

Note: Okay, okay. I know it’s been a while. I’ve been busy not being completely mental because of some stuff, and then this corona virus comes up and just messes up with my head furthermore. Ugh! Well, I hope you’re all safe and doing well. And of course, enjoy Sakura Day! It is our queen’s birthday, and I know i’ll never forgive myself if i don’t participate on her special day. So i hope you appreciate this one because i took a break from angst and tried a light and fluffy one. I am sO NERVOUS OMG thanks so much to everyone who keeps on reading these fics i have. Thank u thank u!!!

PS. This is also up on my ffnet! Let me know your thoughts! Again, Happy Birthday Uchiha Sakura!!!!!!!!!! MY QUEEN I LOB U

-

Excerpt:  This might be her second birthday since he knew her, first as her boyfriend, but he feels like he’s known her for a long time. He wants to be there on her birthday every year, forever, as long as she’ll have him.

--

SasuSaku Pairing (2,578 words)

A Poor Attempt at Writing Fics

Sasusaku Edition XXV

Free At Last

Not even grainy resolutions of webcam cameras and shitty internet connections can ever hide her wide-blown grin. May it be over a monitor, your smartphone or in person, Haruno Sakura’s smile will always be as beautiful as its owner. And it’s even much brighter now that her team is singing her happy birthday through her computer screen.

Boisterous laughter followed after all the singing because was that Lee-san who croaked that last note?

“That was awful, Eyebrows!”, laughed Naruto, some dramatic tears leaking from the corners of his happy blue eyes and his tongue slipping the familiar nickname outside work. “Was that you or you have a pet frog?” The addressed man cannot be seen beyond his webcam because he was busy lying under his desk because Sakura-san! I have failed to sing the best happy birthday song! Shame on me!

Almost choking on her drink, Tenten interrupted, “Hey Naruto, we’re still technically at work even though we’re working from home. Stop with the nicknames until later!”

“C’mon, buns! It’s not as if Boss is here to murder us with his glare! And it’s just another 10 minutes before our shift ends; we need to celebrate Sakura-chan's birthday at least!”, the blond whined as an answer.

“Aww, thanks so much guys!”, Sakura smiled. “Naruto, stop teasing Lee-san. And listen to Tenten, we still need to be professional while we’re still at work. I wish we are together at the office though! I would’ve loved to celebrate with you all, too.”

Another blue-eyed, blonde person answered. “Ugh, tell me about it. I’d rather be at the office right now and listen to Naruto’s obnoxious voice than be with a lazy ass and be bored out of my mind like someone over here..” Ino’s annoyed face and an even more annoyed voice rang through their earphones and speakers, noting the emphasis on some words about her boyfriend who rolled his eyes. In the background, you can hear Tenten’s Language!

They can all see Shikamaru, the boyfriend, who simply smirked, looked sideways at his workmate/girlfriend and lazily drawled, “You love this lazy ass.”

Series of ‘OHHHHHH’ can be heard from Kiba, Tenten and Naruto while Lee choked some more and laid again under his desk. Sakura just laughed at her best friend’s face because Ino was trying so hard not to blush that she covered her almost-red face and slapped Shikamaru’s arm at reach. Sakura even heard the man chuckled under his breath.

“Shika, you smooth fucker,” Kiba teased. “Teach us your ways!”

Tenten growled, “Inuzuka, if you don’t shut the fuck u-”

“Weren’t you the one who said to remain professional and mind our language while at work, Tenten-san?”, Lee’s head came up to peek onto the camera and asked his innocent question. He ducked again when the brunette’s eyes flashed for a second and escaped before she unleashes her rage on him.

Sakura’s laughter was light and happy, her green eyes sparkling with mirth. These people’s faces on her screen belong to not just her team at work but her friends. Her second family. Or maybe third? she thought.

They spend more than 40 hours a week together whether it be stressing over clients at work, drinking coffee at the pantry, pizza parlor visits after shift, and ice creams every payday. And now that she realized that it has been two long months since they worked from home, now at their last day of quarantine, let alone on her birthday, she misses them. Terribly so.

“I miss you guys. Really,” she said, her voice a bit lower than usual, which means she’s serious. Her friends saw it and immediately stopped their bickering. “I didn't have anyone before until Naruto and Ino came along. Then came Tenten, then Shikamaru... until Kiba and then lastly, Lee-san. It’s been 10 years since my first celebration with the blonds, but I feel like I’ve been celebrating it with all 7 of you ever since.” She smiled again, “Thank you for always being with me on my day.”

A few moments passed and finally, a chorus of incomprehensible words were heard through Sakura’s speakers because they all reacted at the same time:

“Sakura-chaaan! Don’t be sad! I’ll be sad too!”

“Cut... hik... cut the drama f-forehead! I d-.. I don’t want it!... hik...”

“Ah... now you want me to fall for you now, huh? Stop, damn it Sakura..”

“Girl, don’t touch my fucking heart like that. You already know we got you always.”

“SAKURA-SAAAAAAAAAN!!!”

Sakura watched it all with glowing eyes and a full heart. She looked one by one on their blurry little faces and she felt love just seep through her pores. She’s finally seeing them next week since the quarantine is finally over and there will be no need to hide from the pandemic that affected the rest of the world.

They’re still busy reeling over Sakura’s mini birthday speech and the rosette is overwhelmed with emotions when they heard Shikamaru asked, “Seven?”

“Huh?”, Sakura confusedly asked back.

“We’re only six here, excluding you, but you said ‘all 7 of you’ earlier.”

All eyes turned to her and she felt nervous. Crap, I slipped!

“Oh,” she started, nervously added an awkward laugh. “I meant six! I might be more tired than usual then. We had to talk to a lot of clients today anyway, right?”

She knew she didn’t convince Shikamaru and the rest of her friends, so she thanked all the deities she knew when her phone rang and Kakashi’s name flashed on her screen. She took it as an opportunity to escape more questions from them and so she said, “I gotta take this call, it’s my old high school teacher.”

She muted their audio of their conference call and opened the window of her emails instead to hide her screen and chat box. Sakura went to the balcony to answer the call.

Little did she know that she forgot to turn off her camera.

--

“Did you notice she was acting weird?”

“She absolutely did, right? She looked nervous earlier. Do you know something about this, Naruto?”

“No! She tells us everything but for the past few months, she’s been a little secretive, I think. It also doesn’t help that we’ve been in quarantine for 2 months! Is she still my best friend, Ino-chan?”

“First of all, I am her best friend and not you. And second, I agree. Ugh, this Forehead is making my head hurt!”

“Don’t judge Sakura-san! She’s a good friend! If she wants to tell us something, she will!”

“I don’t care about her secret or whatever, all I want to know where her house is because look at her room. So fucking huge!”

“That’s not her house, Kiba. Forehead said she’s staying at her mom’s friend because she’s alone at her apartment.”

“Yeah, Sakura-chan's room is much brighter and full of flowers! The room they gave her now is so boring, look! It’s either black or gray!”

“I wouldn’t mind. The size of that room is almost as big as my entire apartment. That bed looks something I want to break with Neji.”

“Tenten-san!! Control yourself!!!”

“Y’all are so noisy even in chat.”

“Shut up, ponytail!”

A movement from Sakura’s camera caught everyone’s attention. Her computer is located at the corner of the room so they could see a part of the queen size bed and has a direct view of the bedroom door. The knob turned and someone entered the room.

“WHO’S THAT?!!!”

“SOMEONE ENTERED SAKURA-SAN'S ROOM!!”

“Is that her mom’s friend?”

“Stop panicking idiots!”

“THEY BETTER LEAVE SAKURA-CHAN ALONE!!!”

“Wait...”

“Is that....?”

“OHMYFGOFDD”

“IS THAT BOSS TEME???!”

“Holy shit..”

“Damn he’s so fucking hot in sweatpants...”

“Why is he there??????”

“UCHIHA-SAN IS IN SAKURA-SAN'S ROOM!!!!!”

“I see... this could be why Sakura said 7.”

“NOOOO! THIS CAN’T BE! SAKURA-CHAN WON’T DATE THAT ASSHOLE! SHE CAN’T!!”

Stood inside the room is no other than their young CEO, Uchiha Sasuke, dressed in casual gray sweatpants and thin white t-shirt. If not because of his wild black hair and intimidating aura, they wouldn’t even know it’s him. They have always seen him in crisp suits and perfect posture, maybe once in a bomber jacket and ripped jeans, but this is the first time they’ve seen him in comfortable clothes with his usual stiff shoulders a bit relaxed and his hands casually tucked in his pockets.

Another movement from the other corner of the room, and Sakura came into view. They didn’t know she was only wearing a big shirt that barely covered her thighs, and the chat room exploded again.

“Sakura’s so hot, damn..”

“HOY DOG-BREATH, LOOK AWAY!!! STOP HOUNDING SAKURA-CHAN!!”

“YAAAS GET THAT ASS GIRL!!”

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS! FOREHEAD IS BANGING OUR BOSS! THAT’S SO HOT”

They watched in awe when the two met in the middle of the room and Sakura tiptoed and wrapped her arms around Sasuke’s neck. Their boss leaned down and held her hips, his face hidden within her pink locks.

The scene didn’t have any audio for their mini audience but even without it, they know the two are speaking in whispers, with Sakura’s head nodding and Sasuke’s hands running over her waist and back as indications. They felt like intruders and most of them almost blushed because of the affection and intimacy, excluding one who definitely passed out under his desk, so they decided to leave the two.

“Let’s leave them alone now, things might get pretty hot. I don’t wanna see my best friend shagging my boss, no matter how proud I am of her.”

“INO-CHAN! WE GOTTA HELP SAKURA-CHAN ESCAPE! WHAT IF HE’S HOLDING HER HOSTAGE???”

“Idiot..”

“Sakura can take me hostage any time though..”

“Wait, I just want to see Boss Uchiha topless before we go!”

--

Sasuke pulled away for a bit to look at Sakura, his birthday girl, and poked her forehead with his two fingers. His two arms wrapped around her waist again after the gesture, “Are you done for today?”

She nodded in affirmative as her hands roam around his shoulders and looped around his neck, “I almost slipped earlier though. They almost knew I have a b-..boyf-”

He smirked. They have been secretly dating for almost 4 months now but she still blushes more than usual when she tries to address him as her boyfriend. He remembered the time he introduced her to his parents as his girlfriend and she was redder than his favorite fruit the entire dinner. That was fun.

She’s his employee, he knows. Sakura’s been working for his company for more than a year now and ever since he laid his eyes on her and saw her potential, wit and charm—he knows she’s his endgame.

It’s been a long pursuit for him, being her boss and all, and her righteous perspective about everything. So when she finally gave in to her own feelings and decided to say yes to being his, he decided to never let Haruno Sakura go. Even if she decides to fight tooth and nail for her freedom from him, he will do the same to keep her. Maybe not as an employee, because that would mean he will be free to take her on lunch dates, but as his lover.

I like that, he thought. Lover.

Sasuke peered at her blushing face, her emerald eyes downcast because of embarassment, her enticing full pink lips on display that she keeps on licking and biting. Sasuke’s eyes twitched because of the sight.

“Annoying,” he almost growled under his breath. Is she aware of her effect on him?

Before she could even ask, Sasuke ducked his head down to press his mouth on hers. His hand went to the back of her head to tilt it a little upwards so he could taste deeper and he was rewarded by the opening of her mouth and the quiet moan that he drank greedily from her.

As much as he wants to call it a night and just bury himself with her and in her, she hasn’t eaten yet because his hard-headed and annoying employee still worked at home on her birthday. He baked a strawberry cake downstairs while she thought he’s busy working with investors on his office. He spent the entire day in his kitchen Facetiming with his mother to guide his baking. He’s never seen his mother so ecstatic because of him.

He came back to his senses when he felt slightly cold hands under his shirt and he fought the urge to throw her onto the bed they have been occupying for the past 2 months of quarantine and just ravish her all night. Sasuke moved both his hands and held her face as he savored more of her lips by a few flicks of his tongue before he gently pulled away.

This might be her second birthday since he knew her, first as her boyfriend, but he feels like he’s known her for a long time. He wants to be there on her birthday every year, forever, as long as she’ll have him. “Happy birthday,” he simply said, tenderly looking at her gorgeous face.

Her smile was blinding and her green irises glimmer against the setting sun. “Thank you, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura softly answered. “I love you so much.”

He pecked her lips again, lingering a bit more, and murmured against her mouth. “Love you.” He felt her smile, and he smiled back.

A small blink from the corner of his eyes got his attention and he noticed the tops of her laptop’s screen with a little light, indicating that the camera is on. Sasuke turned to Sakura, “Go downstairs and wait for me. Let’s eat dinner. I’ll just take a shower.”

Sakura nodded and happily skipped across the room and slipped outside the bedroom to wait for him downstairs. Sasuke stood for a moment looking at the door and slowly walked toward his, their, dresser. He took off his t-shirt and tossed it carelessly on the floor. He took a deep breath and finally approached Sakura’s computer on the side.

He clicked the program that runs the conference call and was greeted by her team’s shocked faces. He saw one window where Rock Lee was supposed to be but he didn’t see anyone aside from the crooked angle of the camera and are those his feet under the table? He scoffed inwardly. Guess you’ll give up pursuing her now. She’s mine.

He did a lazy sweep of his dark eyes one by one on their faces and remembered them in the future if they decide to blame Sakura for not telling this secret. Of course, they both wanted to show the world that they’re together but they still need to be a little cautious. Yes, they’re her friends and her team, but he’s not gonna be lenient especially when it comes to Sakura.

Sasuke thought the look in his eyes were effective because they all sat a little straighter. His job is now done, and now it’s time to shower so he could celebrate the entire night with Sakura. His spine tingled in anticipation.

He looked directly at the little camera above and gave his signature smirk before he logged out her account and closed Sakura’s laptop. He stretched like a feline and his grin went wider as he stripped for his shower.

Let’s just say it was an interesting first day back at the office the following Monday.

--

~fin~

[roraewrites]

twenty eight

[ sakura’s secret ] rating: m

// so i’d like to give a shout out to @samarunnn​ for making some very beautiful fanart of a scene that happened in chapter twenty seven and that can be found here ! please take a look if you have the chance because it made me veryveryvery happy and motivated my lazy ass to get another chapter written! anywho, hope ya guys like!!

also thank u to @saradacchi for saving me from ultimate humiliation ily hoe

previous | next

“Maybe I should try this another day?” Sakura questioned while her fingers curled around the steering wheel. She could hear her heart thundering from within her chest, making her that much more nervous as she kept her foot on the pedal.

“Why would we do that?”

She turned her head to look at her father, clearly feeling the pressure sitting on her shoulders before she shrugged it off. “I haven’t even taken classes for driving, and if we get pulled over, we’re both going to get in trouble!”

Kizashi laughed at that before patting Sakura on the shoulder and offering a smile. “Just relax, you’re doing great.”

Sakura huffed before letting her foot off of the brake and slowly applying pressure to the gas. Just like that, the car began to roll forward.

“Don’t forget to turn your blinker on,” her father instructed. She did as she was told and began to merge into the road, joining the rest of the cars that were out and about and after she felt the nerves start to vanish, everything felt alright.

Her father insisted that the radio remain off while she was learning to drive the car and Sakura was thankful for that. She had enough stuff on her mind already, and if she heard something that remotely reminded her of Sasuke, it would be near impossible to focus on driving.

The two of them sat in the car as Sakura proceeded to drive them around, circling the block a few times before Kizashi instructed her to venture closer towards downtown. Sakura did as he instructed, but when they started down a particular road, she could feel her palms start to sweat.

“Is there any reason why we’re going this way?” She asked nervously through clenched teeth.

“Oh, no reason,” her father hummed back, clearly enjoying the ride. “We’re just trying to get some practice in for you.”

Sakura nodded, “right.”

Almost instantly, Sasuke’s building came into view. The outside always caught Sakura’s eye as it was one of the bigger buildings located in this part of town and it was designed to look nice. Her grip around the wheel tightened as she began to turn around the corner.

She felt her entire body go numb when her father started to wave at someone, clearly recognizing who it was and made her blood run cold. Sasuke stood outside his building, waving a hand awkwardly as Sakura and her father drove by and it wasn’t until they rounded the corner and he was out of sight that her father looked back at her.

“Why didn’t you stop?”

“Because I didn’t want to—!” Sakura squeaked out before slamming on the brakes.

Both her and her father’s bodies were flung forward, only to be caught by their seatbelts. Kizashi cleared his throat before looking at Sakura with a concerned look in his eye, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” His voice came out soft, almost like a whisper but Sakura was too startled to even think about the volume of his voice.

“Yeah…” she breathed out, “there was a cat.”

Silence fell over the two of them before a nervous laugh escaped her father and he patted one of her hands. They were stopped in the middle of the road, Sakura’s arms completely extended as she looked forward with wide eyes.

“How about I take over from here? We can stop for ice cream on the way home!” Kizashi offered with a reassuring tone.

Sakura nodded her head slightly before unlocking her arms and relaxing a little. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

.

.

.

“Earth to Forehead!”

Sakura blinked her eyes once, twice, three times until she was focused in on Ino’s flailing arms in front of her. The blonde looked rather annoyed with her friend all while Sakura flashed a sheepish smile.

“What was your question again?”

A long sigh, frustrated and drawn out before Ino plopped down next to the pinkette. “What are your plans for your birthday? You realize it’s this month, right?”

Sakura paused for a brief second before realizing that her birthday was in a couple of weeks. Not only had she been caught up with everything going on with Sasuke, but she had been focusing more on her schoolwork as well as juggling around mending her relationship with her parents. Exhaustion pressed at the center of her forehead, making it seem like a headache but she shook the feeling before nodding her head.

“I think going to the mall and seeing a movie would be fun, wouldn’t it?”

“If that’s what you want, then we can go do that.”

Sakura smiled this time while nodding before hooking her arm over Ino’s shoulders and pulling her in for a lopsided hug. “I think it sounds like a good time.”

“What sounds like a good time?”

Karin was standing behind the two of them with her tray of lunch in her hands, black glasses fitting over the bridge of her nose perfectly while her fiery hair reflected the rays of sun. Both Sakura and Ino flashed a brief smile before scooting over on the bench and allowing a spot for their friend.

“Sakura’s birthday,” Ino spoke first before taking a bite of her apple.

“That’s coming up, isn’t it?” Karin asked with interest coating her voice. To that, Sakura merely shook her head and gulped down the bite of sandwich she had taken.

“Finally! I’m going to be eighteen,” she commented with a proud smile.

“And you know what that means—!”

Ino and Karin sat next to each other with smug looks on their faces as Sakura’s entire face flushed red with embarrassment. The scarlet color dusted her ivory cheeks, bringing out the green in her eyes as she looked away. Of course her perverted friends would comment on her turning eighteen, because not only did that mean she was a legal adult, but legal adults could do things that minors couldn’t get away with.

The mere thought made her blood boil in such a way that it almost felt good.

“Look how red her face is this time!” Karin commented before poking Sakura’s cheek with two fingers. “We were only kidding.”

“You can’t go saying stuff like that though!” Sakura finally hissed, her free hand fanning her face as she tried to calm herself down. “Especially at school!”

Ino waved her off with a smirk before wrapping her leftovers up in a bag. “There’s no one around, and plus they wouldn’t even know who we’re talking about, so chill.”

The pinkette sighed before letting her head rest in her hand, her elbow sitting on her knee. It was almost unreal that their senior year would be ending shortly, and not only that, but she would be turning eighteen and her life would be changing — hopefully for the better.

One thing that made her sad, was that after high school, she wouldn’t be seeing her friends as much. She wouldn’t be seeing Ino’s bright blue eyes or her bright smiles that would make her day better. She wouldn’t see Naruto, the local sunshine boy who made her laugh on a daily basis and she wouldn’t be seeing Karin, her newest acquired friend who she had grown oh, so very close to over the past couple months.

It always made her worry whenever she thought about losing those who were closest to her.

“Hey guys?” Sakura asked softly before glancing over at Ino and Karin. “Promise me we’ll still hang out after high school?”

Karin nodded almost immediately while Ino gave the pinkette a dumbfounded look.

“What kind of stupid question— of course we’re going to hang out after high school! You really think you can ditch your best friend after we’re done here? Well?! Because if you think that’s what you’re doing, you’ve got another thing coming your way!”

“Easy, killer,” Karin commented before taking a bite of her sandwich and Sakura could only laugh.

“You two take it easy now, I gotta go!” Sakura stood from her seat and grabbed her garbage. As she began to walk away from the two of them, she could feel her cheeks heat up at the conversation happening behind her, clearly inappropriate for the two of them to be talking about but instead of telling them to knock it off, she continued down the hall.

“Are you busy?”

Sasuke’s head immediately turned to find Sakura standing in the doorway, her fingers wrapped around the entryway and her head resting against the wood.

Sasuke shrugged before a low grunt sounded from him. “Close the door,” he spoke and Sakura did as he asked.

Gracefully and quietly, she walked to his desk until her thighs rested against the wood, her eyes watching him write on papers that he graded carefully. He didn’t bother looking back up at her, as he was still working and not taking his lunch like he was supposed to. She couldn’t keep quiet for much longer, but before she could say something, he beat her to it.

“Is there a reason why you’re here?” He asked with a firm tone before looking up at her with smoldering eyes. He looked tired, almost irritated but she discarded the nervous tickle in her chest.

“I just wanted to see you before heading to another class,” she admitted with a soft voice.

“Ah,” Sasuke commented before looking down, his hand moving once more to continue scribbling notes on more papers. “Is that the only reason?”

At that, Sakura shuffled slightly, her skirt rubbing against his desk and showing more skin than necessary. Sasuke’s head lifted somewhat, his bangs covering his eyes and making it hard to see where he was looking, but Sakura had a feeling she knew where exactly he was looking. Her teeth sunk into her lower lip before she adjusted once more.

“Yeah,” she breathed out. “That’s it.”

A smirk painted its way across his lips, showing some stubble before he brushed his bangs from his eyes and really looked up at Sakura. “Your uniform is out of code. You’re showing too much skin, Sakura.”

Shivers crawled down her spine when her name rolled off of his tongue. Even the look in his eyes had changed to something she had seen before and it aroused her. Before she took a step away from his desk, her hand came to grab at the fabric of her skirt before pulling it up a little more, letting him get more of a view before a soft whisper fell from her lips.

“Sorry, Uchiha-sensei.”

As she tried to turn on her heel and leave him to his wandering thoughts, his voice stopped her in her steps. She could feel her heart hammering against her chest once more while a soft shade of pink dusted her cheeks.

“That’s a good way to get yourself stuck here after school with me.”

She spun on her heel, her viridian eyes finding him standing at his desk and if it had only been them at this god forsaken school, she would’ve jumped into his arms on spot. She shook those thoughts from her head before smiling brightly at him.

“Is that a threat or a promise?”

“Tch,” he mused before running his hand through his hair. “Get to class.”

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.

.

Throughout the rest of the day, Sakura found herself twirling her pencil in her hair; her pastel, silk locks would soon unwind themselves before falling back to her shoulder and it was then that she realized just how long her hair had gotten.

“Hey, Shikamaru,” she whispered to her classmate who sat next to her. The simple raise of his eyebrow made it apparent that he heard her. “Do you think I should cut my hair?”

This time he ignored her. He blatantly ignored her before scribbling something on a piece of paper and sliding it towards her. She knew that if Anko-sensei caught them talking, it wouldn’t end well — that same rule went for passing notes in class, but Shikamaru didn’t seem to care.

Why are you asking me?

Sakura scoffed before shrugging slightly and looking back down at the locks that spilled down over her shoulders. It had been quite some time since she had cut it, but now she was actually thinking of cutting it all off. Maybe up to her shoulders, or even above her shoulders? It started to make her giddy just thinking about it, but instead of pursuing her classmate with further questions, she straightened up in her desk until the bell rang.

With Naruto on her right, Ino and Karin walked behind them before departing from one another for their homeroom classes. From there, Sakura found that Sasuke wasn’t even in the room, but instead of continuously searching for him, she found herself engaging in a conversation with Karin.

“Where is he?” She asked quietly, trying to keep the conversation to just the two of them but when it came to having Naruto around, that wasn’t very likely to happen.

“Where’s who?”

Sakura and Karin glanced to Naruto, the blonde kneeling on the floor at Sakura’s desk with his bright smile and curious blue eyes looking from one girl to the other before asking once more, “where’s who?”

“Nobody,” Karin smiled before putting her hand on top of his head and ruffling his blonde locks. Naruto simply swatted her hand away before pouting his lower lip out.

“You guys never include me in on all your hot gossip!”

At this, the rest of their classmates turned at the sudden outburst and Sakura could feel her cheeks flush under the attention. She smiled nervously before waving at them, meanwhile Karin spat out words, telling them to turn around and mind their own business. A breath of relief came from Sakura before she grabbed at Naruto’s collar and pulled him closer.

“That’s why we don’t tell you, because you attract attention,” she spoke softly, her green eyes looking at him with a serious look. Naruto’s head nodded slightly before she let go and continued. “We’re not even talking about anyone that’s here.”

Naruto’s hand cupped his chin before he took another look around, trying to figure out which of their classmates was missing until he finally shrugged and gave up. “Beats me. You girls are always willy-nilly over guys anyway.”

Sakura simply laughed at him before she turned in her seat, finding a pair of eyes staring directly at her from the entryway. They were eyes that she was more than familiar with and the burning look that he gave her was enough to make her squirm in her seat.

“Seats. Now.” Sasuke ordered as he walked through the door. He had stacks of papers in his hands and Sakura could feel a groan sounding in the back of her throat.

After he did his roll call, he began to go over everyone’s tests that he had graded earlier that day. As usual, Sakura aced hers with little to no studying, but they had covered stuff she already knew. She didn’t want to say that it was easy or brag about her grades, but it mainly covered subjects from prior years.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering what these papers are for,” Sasuke grabbed both piles from his desk, each hand holding a stack as he took a seat on the corner of his desk. “I’m aware we’re getting closer to your graduation, but that doesn’t mean we’re done with school just yet.”

Soft groans and mumbles filtered throughout the classroom but Sakura couldn’t bring herself to make a single noise. All she could think about was the way Sasuke’s lips moved when he talked, or the way he slightly nodded his head to get his bangs to shuffle away from his face. Next, she was staring at his hands and thinking about how gently he touched her not that long ago.

It made her bite down on her lower lip, totally disregarding whatever he had just said.

“— this research project shouldn’t take you that long, but we will be presenting in front of the entire class, plus some. I’m thinking we could bring underclassmen into the presentation rooms so they can get a feel for what they’ll be doing next year, but again, this isn’t something that you should halfass.”

Chuckles filtered through the room at the fact that Sasuke had said “ass” and Sakura could only roll her eyes.

Immature, she told herself before flipping her notebook open and scratching down a couple of notes. After her teacher handed out the papers, it was then that she realized that this project was going to take more work than all of her previous assignments in class. It wasn’t that she was worried about not getting a good grade on it, but it would cut into her Sasuke time and that made her pout slightly.

“Now then, turn to page two hundred and forty three and we’ll continue our readings.”

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.

.

“Two weeks, Forehead! Two. Weeks.”

Sakura laughed at Ino before pushing the jacket away from her. Both her and Ino decided that they were going to drag Karin along to the mall and it was the last thing the redhead wanted. Now they stood in one of the more fashionable stores that held hipster-like clothing — it was one of Ino’s favorites.

She continued to pull clothing from racks and after what seemed like twenty minutes of this nonsense, Karin began grabbing clothes before disappearing to the changing rooms.

“My little girl is growing up,” Ino commented before wiping a fake tear from her eye. Sakura swatted at her friend’s hand before grabbing a long sleeve from one of the racks.

It had a simple design, adorned with small gems that reminded her of a little girl’s shirt, but it was good enough for her taste. Something like a vest would accompany it well and that’s what she began to search for.

“So,” Ino coughed. “Any plans with the man-friend?”

Sakura nearly choked on her own spit at Ino’s question, but once she found her composure, she shot the blonde a heated look. Of course Sakura had plans, but whether Sasuke would want to go that route was what she was worried about. A simple shrug would suffice.

“I’m not sure yet. He hasn’t asked.”

“Hnf,” Ino rolled her eyes before smirking. “Try and hide it all you want, but I know what you’re thinking, Billboard Brow.”

“Oh, shut it, Pig.”

Once Karin returned she only had one pair of leggings and a sweater in her hands. Sakura and Ino approved of her choices before they began searching for “the perfect outfit” for Sakura to wear on her birthday. No matter how much Ino nagged her, the pinkette couldn’t get her to cut it out; she simply shrugged at each suggestion, humming her disapproval until they finally found a cute yet simple outfit.

It consisted of a slightly loose sweater, colored in a mint green and sporting the brand’s name in large, bold letters in white over the chest. It was simple but it screamed out Sakura’s name, so she grabbed at it.

“I think it would look cute with some high-waist shorts and a pair of sneakers,” she stated as she held it out once more.

Ino shrugged, clearly thinking it didn’t show enough skin, but Karin smiled adoringly at it.

“I think that’d look amazing on you.”

Before Ino could try and talk her into another outfit or try to change her mind, Sakura purchased her couple of items and left with her friends in tow.

“Chinese sounds amazing right now,” Ino whined before pulling both of them towards the food court. While she wandered off towards that section, Karin and Sakura opted for a smoothie and found a place to sit among the crowded section.

“So, continuing our conversation from earlier—!”

“Forget it,” Sakura held her hand up before taking a sip of her strawberry banana smoothie. “I’m not giving any details, because there’s none to give. And plus it’s inappropriate to talk about a relationship, is it not?” She winked at Karin, only to have the redhead respond with a glare.

“Easy, killer,” Ino mocked before sitting down next to Karin. Sakura smirked from her side of the table until Ino began to question just what exactly they were talking about.

“Pinky here says she doesn’t have any deets to spill yet.”

“I’m sure she’s got a lot to tell us but she’s holding out,” Ino wiggled her shoulders and eyebrows before digging into the fried rice on her plate.

Karin simply raised an eyebrow in question, eyeing both of the girls around her before her gaze fell on Sakura. “What do you mean?”

Sakura could feel her heart throbbing in her chest, but instead of answering, she continued to ignore them; her cheeks burned from an underlying blush and it took everything in her body to fight it. Once the blonde finished chewing her food, she shot Sakura an all-knowing look, fully aware that her best friend was hiding something from her.

“She’s glowing,” Ino commented. “So of course there’s something that happened and she’s not spilling the details.”

Karin really took a moment to look Sakura over and it was then that she could feel her cheeks burning. She didn’t like having their eyes look at her with such a knowing and curious look, and no matter how hard she fought, her entire face was burning up.

She refused to tell them what her and Sasuke did. It’s been kept a secret for this long, so she could keep it from them forever. Once she finished a long, drawn out sip of her smoothie, she sighed before slamming the cup down onto the table and giving them both a soft smile.

“Not sure what you’re talkin’ about, ladies.”

“I call bullshit! Look at that smile! You’re definitely hiding something from me,” Ino spat out while pointing her chopsticks at Sakura. The pinkette merely shrugged before her smile widened.

“Again, not sure what you’re talking about!” Sakura sang out before standing from her seat and grabbing her bags. Before Ino could stop her, she waved her goodbye and fled from the food court, escaping the mall completely until the natural breeze from outside caught her.

Sakura could hardly keep her smoothie down once she started walking away from the mall. Ino and Karin had almost gotten her most deepest and darkest secret from her and she’d be damned if she ever told them what exactly her and Sasuke did — and it didn’t just happen one time, it had happened more than once.

Everytime after she had gone over to his condo, it resulted in them kissing one another, eventually engaging in gentle touches and soft moans and it always drove her wild. Just thinking about it made her very core hot with excitement. Her grip on the bags tightened, her nails pressing into the skin of her palms as she tried to bring herself down from cloud nine.

“What’re you doing, Sakura?”

Her body tensed up under the voice calling out to her, and when she turned her head, she found Sasuke parked on the side of the road, his window rolled down and obsidian eyes looking straight through her. She swallowed hard before laughing nervously and shrugging.

“Walking home?”

“You live in the opposite direction.”

She took this moment to take in her surroundings before she noticed she had exited the wrong end of the mall. Not only was it fairly late, but it was also dark and she could hardly see her surroundings anymore. Now she really felt embarrassed and if she thought she was blushing bad earlier, she was so very wrong.

“Oh.” It was the only thing she could say before Sasuke shook his head at her.

“Hn. Get in and I’ll take you home,” he spoke in a somewhat amused tone and Sakura did as he told her to.

Once she placed her bags in the back and crawled in the front seat, she was greeted with a soft kiss on her lips and his hand on her knee — she wanted more, though. Instead of staying in her seat, Sakura found herself leaning further towards him, her right hand reaching over to cup his cheek before she pressed her lips to his, applying more pressure than he had.

Almost instantly, their lips molded to one another while their tongues met in the middle. Sasuke still had one of his hands on her cheek while his other hand came over to rest on her hip and she wasn’t sure when he had done it, but she was now sitting in his lap with her knees straddling his body

This was what she wanted.

Things were quickly heating up and just when Sakura began to find the buttons on his shirt, his hands grabbed at hers, stopping her from proceeding.

“What?” she murmured against his lips before looking at him with concerned eyes.

A soft chuckle before he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “I’m parked illegally.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I just—!”

Sasuke pressed a finger to her lips before lifting her out of his lap and placing her back in her seat. The smirk that pulled at the corner of his mouth made Sakura smile, yet a blush dusted her cheeks with a pink hue.

“Another time.” He stated, but Sakura couldn’t figure out whether it was just a statement, or if he was asking for her permission. Regardless, she shrugged it off as he began to drive her home.

Their ride was quiet but it was comfortable. Sakura found Sasuke’s hand grabbing hers, his fingers intertwining with hers as he continued to drive and she could feel the soft wings of butterflies in her stomach. The moment he pulled up to her house, he didn’t release her hand just yet.

Instead, he pulled on her arm before meeting her lips with his, only to pull away and press one more to the corner of her mouth. Sakura paused, goosebumps spreading down her arms as he whispered against her skin. She could feel the stubble from his cheek against hers and it made her shudder that much more.

“We’ll discuss plans for your birthday soon.”