#aka wicked headache and wicked annoyance

[grapecaseschoices]

so i'm leaning toward briala-celene [ugh] or public truce*. but i wanted to know ...

*I've been reading posts/articles that state that public truce isn't best long run ... but it isn't like the inquisitor would KNOW that.

[behindheremeraldeyes]

SasuSaku Month 2016 Day 25- Do You Believe in Magic . Title: Wicked . Summary: He’s waiting for her to finish her shift at the hospital, when a very intriguing patient of hers catches his attention. Kids are certainly weird creatures. . A/N: AHH! Another theme I had to struggle to write! All the ideas were AUs and then I kept thinking about that quotation, and then there was Moana and then I cracked XD Just kidding, guys… I’ve tried something different with this one, and I wanted it to be shorter, too, but in the end I guess I couldn’t really write less than 2,5K words XD Still, I loved the way it turned out! Hope you enjoy it, and please, tell me your opinion!! . . . The hospital cafeteria is by far the best place where those destined to wait can literally sit and relax. The chairs are comfortable, the disinfectant smell gives the feeling of a safe atmosphere and the large variety of food certainly helps those who must spend hours confined in those white walls. It’s the perfect place for those who want to take a break from all that stress caused by all kinds of illness and procedures; and certainly the one place where those who can’t allow themselves to sleep go to remain awake for the following hours. The demand for coffee is abnormal, but thanks to her, the Uchiha understands the importance behind that beverage.

For the Konoha Hospital is never quiet or empty not even during peaceful times, the medics aren’t allowed to be sleepy or tired at all. They have to be alert at all times whether they like it or not, and of course the pink haired woman- aka the head medic of the hospital, is one of those whose vital functions are fueled by caffeine. If she has coffee, he’s seen, then she can go on for days without anything else in her stomach. That woman is certainly neglecting when it comes to her own health, therefore his presence there is more than just necessary, as he waits for her shift to end so they can go grab something decent to eat.

What an annoying woman, he thinks. Making him wait like that almost every week after her night shifts. She should feel guilty for making him go through those silent, lonely hours just so that he could make sure she would take care of herself.

Annoying, indeed.

Luckily, waiting was never a problem for Sasuke. As long as there’s nothing bothering him, the raven haired man can be alone with his thoughts for hours. Time is precious, and thanks to his grumpy reputation, no one in the hospital dared bother him.

No one who actually knew him.

“ Hey, ojji-san… Do you believe in magic?”

The low, childish voice sounded too close for his own liking, and for there are only women standing in the cafeteria, he knew immediately that that annoying voice was talking to him. His eyes, which were previously closed, remain like that in one last attempt to shove away that unwanted brat, as he tries his best to convince himself that he’s just having a nightmare and that it will soon come to an end.

Sasuke doesn’t move and he's barely breathing right now in order to send that bad dream away.

But of course, he doesn’t succeed in waking up from that living nightmare that is a talkative child.

“Oi!” Tiny hands pull his armless sleeve, making dark orbs finally shoot open in pure annoyance. “ I’m talking to you! You’re not that old to be deaf, ojji-san.”

When he looks below, he’s not surprised to see a small girl, not older than 7, with two brown eyes that match perfectly with the pigtails hanging over her head and a demanding expression ruling her infant features. There is a tooth missing in the front row of her smile, and she’s wearing that typical, lime-green dress offered by the hospital to the patients.

People would definitely call her cute.

But not him, for sure.

“ Tch, go away.” He ignores her, looking away and through the glass widow where he can now see Sakura. Apparently, her shift is already over, which means that torture will end even before it starts.

“Eh!? But I need your help! You’re a shinobi, right?”

“ Aah.”

“Then will you help me?”

“No.”

“ B-But…” Tears start forming around her eyes, and the Uchiha isn’t moved by that at all. However, when the sobbing start, he realizes that he will be in big trouble if that brat starts crying out loud. The ladies enjoying their break will definitely think he was the one who made her cry, and his peaceful waiting will never be the same with all those future stares.

She will definitely ruin his moments, and never again will the people of the hospital allow him to wait for the pink haired medic in that more private area. The comfortable chairs will be gone along with the food and the hot coffee he has found himself to appreciate very dearly.

He certainly can let her destroy it all. And that’s when he realizes that he will actually have to talk to her in order to preserve his current condition.

Defeatedly, he sighs. Kids these days. “ Tch, what do you want?”

“ What happened to your arm?” She asks, her eyes now entirely dry after the tragic expression she had worn minutes before- such thing certainly annoying him more than it should.

“ None of your business.”

“ Does it hurt?”

“ No.”

“ Not even if I touch it?” She lifts her index finger, slowly moving it towards his missing member.

“ Kid… If that’s all you have to ask me, then leave me alone.”

A deadly glare finally appears to stop her, and she feels as if her entire body burning. Her brown eyes watch as the man in front of her closes his eyes, massaging his temples with his free hand. Apparently, he’s having a headache just like her mama every time she makes the same gesture.

Adults and their heads, she thinks, still looking at him without saying a single word. Her head is falling to the right, as confusion takes over her round, chubby face.

“ Oi!” His strong, imposing voice brings her back from her trance and it’s as if she snaps back to reality. “ Are you going to ask me what you have to ask or not?”

“… Ojji-san, is your head okay?”

“ Tch, I’m leaving.You’re just like that idiot.”

“ No!!” She moves her small hands in front of her face, as if telling him not to go. The little one, then, holds onto the hem of his shirt when he finally stands up from his sitting position. “ Please, ojji-san! Don’t go! I need your help.”

“ Let go off my shirt! I don’t want to hear another childish question.”

“ B-But it’s important!!!”

“ I doubt it!”

“ I promise it is!! Please, listen to me!! Please, please, please!!!”

What he didn’t want is finally happening right in front of his eyes. While the little one pulls his shirt down with all her childish strength, all the eyes of the cafeteria are set on him and there are two ladies already whispering something to one another.

That brat had really done it, after all.

The Uchiha bites his lower lip in pure annoyance as he tries to think of a way out of this situation. He knows he can’t cause a commotion in the hospital, for the pinkette will definitely kill him if he does so. It stresses out the patients, she says and he has been listening to these words for longer than he would’ve liked to. It’s true that he and Naruto were always the ones to be blamed for every time a wall was destroyed, but now these days are long gone. He’s a grown man now, who doesn’t pick a fight against his best friend in the hallways anymore and who certainly won’t create any problems in the girl's workspace.

Uchiha Sasuke is a mature man now, who certainly knows how to perform a silent kill without any of those people noticing.

He’s certainly a new, improved man.

“ Tch, spill it out already!”

After the tall man’s approval, the little girl quickly let go off his shirt, smiling from ear to ear and blinking rapidly those brown eyes of hers. “ Thank you, ojji-san!”

“ Hn.”

“ Back to my first question, then… Do you believe in magic?”

Sasuke lifts one eyebrow in response to her weird question, sighing once more. That girl was really abusing his good will. “ Kid, I’m not in the mood for these games. Go bug someone else, will you?”

“ It’s not a game, I promise!! Do you or not?”

The determination in her eyes certainly caught his attention as he continued looking at her. Her hands are turned into fists, there’s a pout decorating her lips, and for a moment, he swears he could see the pinkette’s own green eyes glaring at him.

Apparently, the toddler doesn’t seem to be joking this time, and so, he finally decides to take it seriously.

Magic, uh?

Of all the things he believes, magic is certainly not one of them. He believes in a goddess from the moon, reincarnation, life after death (in more ways than normal people would interpret this sentence), different dimensions, spirits and even in the possibility of Naruto being a good Hokage for the village. All of those things have something to do with chakra, so none of them actually seem that impossible, let alone for the last one.

There’s logic behind all of those things, and so it isn’t hard for him to actually accept them.

But magic? There’s no such thing as that, for sure.

“ No, I don’t.”

“ I didn’t either when I first came in here… But you see, ojji-san… It’s real.”

He rolls his eyes at the dramatic tone in her voice, not wanting to continue that talk anymore. Still, when he sees the evident yearning spread around her face, Sasuke changes his mind. That girl will definitely not leave him alone until he asks that question she’s dying to hear. That previous mystery in her voice is nowhere to be found anymore, and instead, an exciting feeling can be seen creeping behind every unsaid word.

What an annoying child.

And to make matters worse, he can see the pinkette looking at him from the corner of his eyes. There’s a silly smile on her lips, and he knows how funny that view probably is.

What an annoying woman, he thinks before sighing.

“…. Tch, and how do you know that, kid?”

“ You see… The doctors around here… They are witches!! A green light comes out of their hands and when they touch people with it, weird things happen… People touched by that change! Even the Hokage changed after it!”

As his dark eyes are still watching the drama queen of 7 years old, the Uchiha can’t help but feel little amused by what she considers to be magic. Her childish imagination certainly shows how naive and manipulable children can be at such age. She seems to be so excited and happy about the whole magic thing that it would really be a shame if anyone actually explained her that the green light is nothing more than chakra itself.

She would be devastated, for sure.

A smirk grows on his face as he imagines that little girl crying after learning the truth. She looks like the crybaby type, and if she were to release her tears far away from him, then that would be simply perfect.

She would definitely learn not to mess with him.

And that sounds simply amazing.

Unfortunately, he won’t be able to destroy the dreams of the new generation tonight.

“ Look, kid… Is this what you wanted to tell me?”

“ Yeh… Don’t you think it’s important? I mean, they can be planning to take over the village with an army of brainwashed ninjas!”

“ Tch You do have a weird imagination.”

“ What!?"

"That’s not magic. It’s simply one of the many ways to transform chakra. It’s possible to manipulate their natures and-“

“ Are you seriously going to explain a 7 year old girl about the change of chakra’s nature, Sasuke-kun?”

That soft, teasing voice came from behind and as soon as it entered his ears, the Uchiha knew his diabolical plan would go to waste. He tch-ed before lifting his head just to find his eyes aiming for the entrance of the cafeteria, where the pink haired doctor has her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes are playfully judging him, as a smile can be found on her lips.

Sakura does look beautiful even after a night shift, he thinks, as he finally stands up and straightens himself. He places his hand inside his pocket, and offers the woman one of his calm, stoic expressions. His dark orbs are perfectly connected to her emerald ones, and in the silence of their gaze, both of them know it’s time for them to leave.

But there’s still one small problem for them to solve.

“ Witch!!!”

A small, sharp voice finally breaks the silence of the room, as the annoying pest is pointing her index at Sakura. It’s possible to see how her arm is shaking, and it’s not until the Uchiha connects the dots that he finally understands that accusation. He can see an annoyance wrinkle forming on the pinkette’s forehead, and he understands that if that little girl was a little older, she would be in huge trouble for calling the strongest woman in the world a witch.

Perhaps having her dreams crushed wouldn’t have been that bad.

Finally, a sigh escapes Sakura’s lips. It’s been a long day, for sure. “ Chie-chan, are you still going on about the whole witch thing?”

“You won’t fool me! I’ve seen it!”

“ Tch, what an imaginative kid- shannarou…” Sakura mutters to herself, causing the Uchiha to smirk in pure contentment. Now that he's not the one being targeted by Chie, things do seem funny. “Look, your mother is looking for you.”

“ Mama? D-Did you do something to her!?”

“What? No, of course not! Come on, you should be in your room, resting so you can go home tomorrow. Be a good girl and come with me, will you?”

“ Never! You’re not using your powers on me!”

By the look in her eyes, Sasuke can easily tell Sakura is about to explode. She’s tired and hungry; and she’s definitely not in the mood to deal with that kid. As she looks at him, he can see how she’s practically begging for his help so they can both get out of there at once.

Sakura needs his help. And as the caring husband he is, he will help his wife so they can finally go home. Sarada is probably tired of waiting already.

“ Chie.” He finally speaks, catching the attention of both girls. He looks at the child, offering her a serene expression. “ You should listen to her. Your mother is probably waiting.”

“ Eh!? You’re with her!? How could you, you traitor!?”

“ Hn.” His attention drifts towards his wife, and right now, he can list endless reasons why he would betray the entire village to stay by her side. A sly smile takes over his lips, as he watches the cheeks of his silly wife blushing a little. “ Let’s just say she bewitched me.”

“ Y-You two are… Tch, I give up. Take me to my mom, witch.”

The pink haired Uchiha sighs in relief, looking at her husband in a thankful way. He has just saved their dinner, and he certainly deserves a nice reward after that. A chuckle escapes her lips, and as soon as she’s holding Chie’s small hand in hers, Sakura doesn’t waste a single minute before taking the little girl back to her worried mother.

She’s a pest, but she’s that mother’s precious pest.

And for having that curious daughter of hers waiting at home, Sakura knows exactly how that mother is feeling.

While the pinkette takes the little one down the hospital’s hallway, Sasuke watches with a certain pride in his eyes. Decorating the back of that red shirt of hers, there is nothing more than the beautiful Uchiha crest, and it’s at times like this that he realizes he could stare at that forever.

He, who is no longer the last survivor of his clan.

He, who is no longer alone.

He, who has a perfect family always waiting for him.

And it’s all thanks to that pink haired woman that is now coming towards him with a soft smile on her face. He doesn’t believe in magic, but he certainly feels something different every time he looks into those stunning eyes of his wife.