[Closed]

[sucker_punches]

Who: Naruto Uzumaki (couragetodare), Sakura Haruno (sucker_punches), and Sasuke Uchiha (earned_my_eyes).
When: March 28th.
Where: Team 7's apartment.
Format: Action.
What: Naruto remembered Sakura's birthday. Sasuke didn't. Whoops!
Warnings: N-none? Angst, maybe. I feel like I should default warn for violence when Sakura's involved :/

Comments

[couragetodare]

[It is a cake.

Chocolate and cherry to be exact and the woman who made it gave it a particular name, a forest or something but Naruto cannot remember it now, just that when he saw it he thought Sakura would like it and over a week ago, ordered one to be made in advance. So it has a 'happy birthday Sakura' on the top, even if the Sakura is spelled wrong, because the people of Anatole don't have 'Sakura's' it seems and Naruto finds something fundamentally wrong with that, though he can't put his finger on it.

About an hour ago, he sent a clone off to pick it up, without a single word because maybe it would be better to let today pass without fanfare but Naruto has had too many birthdays alone and forgotten (or dead) to want that for anyone else. Even if it's just the words, even if Sakura does not touch the cake, it is there, candle and all, and so are her teammates and the sentiment behind it is genuine gladness because considering everything recently, Naruto can't think of a better thing than to celebrate the fact that Sakura is

[earned_my_eyes]

[Sasuke was roused from his light sleep (which was as close as he could get most of the days now) by the sound of careful movement. Dark eyes rolled from one side of the room to the other, spotting Naruto (unsurprising) and Sakura (unsurprising) and, finally, to a cake that he was fairly certain hadn’t been there before he had initially drifted off. The frosted writing clued him in before Naruto even spoke, and he looked back and forth between them again

[sucker_punches]

[She is happy. It's an irresistible thing, really, once the sight and smell and words register fully. Sakura pushes herself up and she tries to tell herself it wouldn't have mattered if they hadn't done this for her, that she'd have been content if today was just another day, but given the option between this and not this, she vastly prefers the single candle and her name misspelled in the cake's frosting and her two teammates

[couragetodare]

[The first hint of a smile appears when Sasuke meets his eyes because Naruto can tell the instant he does, that Sasuke is not going to offer a cruel comment or criticize the quiet celebration. The same smile blossoms into something altogether brighter as Sakura turns to hug their taciturn team mate. Unseen by her at least, Naruto allows the smile to shift gear, all the way to a grin

[earned_my_eyes]

[Sasuke watched Naruto smile, even as he felt Sakura’s arms slipping around him. The hug was awkward if only because he didn’t necessarily reciprocate it, but didn’t push her away either. There was a single tense moment when he was stiff in her embrace, rigid and tight, before sighing and relaxing ever-so-slightly, really just inches. He didn’t show affection, especially not in front of another person, and doing this now felt almost invasive.

[Old walls, worn with age, were sometimes the hardest to make fall.

[His head rose up as she started to slip away, his lips whispering against her ear as she pulled back.]

Later.

[Later, he would get her a gift, already had an idea. Later, he would surprise her. And later still, he would bring the head of the killer and drop it on their doorstep. It was a vow, a promise, to her and to himself

[sucker_punches]

[Later. That's as good as confirmation that he had forgotten, but Sakura still can't bring herself to be angry or upset about it. Dealing with Sasuke is all about selective hearing: for example, editing out the part where he didn't bother to remember this date and doesn't really hug her back; instead focusing on that promise to her and the fact that he allows the affection, softens under it, more than he would ever have done before. She smiles at him, and the smile means later's fine, later's perfectly all right. How long had she been waiting for moments like this, with him? A few days more, or a week, they don't really matter

[couragetodare]

[When Sakura squeezes him in that hug, Naruto wants badly to squeeze back. Once again he has to fight the urge and he tells himself that when she is fully recovered he will make up for this.

And he grins when she tells him that he is too easy to please but only while she is looking at him. When she turns her attention to the cake, the grin drops from his face, sharply. Try as he might (and he tells himself he should be able to by now) he cannot ignore the vulpine response in his head, the one that whispers:

Lucky for them.

Naruto stares at a point beyond Sakura, and Sasuke, eyes unfocused for all of two heartbeats. Easy to please. Yes, in regards to affection he supposes he is. In the same way Sakura has been waiting for moments like these from Sasuke, Naruto has been waiting for moments like these from Sakura. From anyone. But what an ironic little triangle you have going.

And that is not allowed, so on that second heartbeat he swallows once, steps on that voice, pulls the smile back up, tilts his head again and watches at how

[earned_my_eyes]

[Naruto wasn’t the only one curious on what Sakura wished for. A bitter part of him thought she would probably wish that they could stay here forever, him away from Konoha, their broken team somewhat and shakily reunited, but that that was simply frustration born out of the last few days. It was no fault of her own.

[And if that was her wish, was it any different than his to go back and finish what was started?

[His eyes lingered on the flame, watched it sway, watched it wave and flicker away to nothingness under the push of her breath, carrying its hidden wishes along with it. The moment lingered, stretched, and he wondered what they thought of in that moment.

[Pointless. But…not bad, necessarily. He hoped this wasn’t setting the stage for when his birthday rolled around; perhaps they had forgotten. July would tell. He just hoped it would tell in his favor

[sucker_punches]

You can ask, but I'm not going to tell you. [She grins at Naruto as she says it.] It won't come true if I do.

[Even if she doesn't believe in that magic, there are certain rules of decorum to be observed on this day, one of them being the ribbing about the wish and subsequent refusal of the wisher to respond, and who was she to break tradition?

Besides, she doesn't know how to reveal the wish in front of Sasuke, and suspects that it would be a bad idea. Very bad. She knows what he wants to do, why he is so overeager to go back to their world, and she has to push the thought out of her mind rather forcefully before she can frown, or perhaps throw something just to have the satisfaction of breaking it. It's banished back, far back to the edges of conscious thought where it lingers only as a sense that saying aloud that she want what they have in Anatole to be replicated in Konoha... wouldn't go over well.

The ready-made excuse, therefore, is the one she utilizes. She doesn't want to sour the moment.

Speaking of souring:]Guys, don't

[couragetodare]

[It won't come true if I do. And Naruto's smile is taken from the same page as Sakura's line. Predictable, like a script, like them, all of them.

Sasuke with his dislike of cakes, which Naruto knew and knows and has provided for but couldn't help but tease initially to Sakura's almost-rebuke almost-request that has Naruto pause and look at her.

Just briefly. Just a blink.

I wasn't gonna fight, is what he wants to say. He hesitates though, frowning. Are they that bad? On this day of all days she should know-] I wasn't gonna fight.

[Pause. He glances away. Shifts on his seat.]

It's your birthday.

[--because it's your birthday. He can't look at them then. Either of them. Feels disappointed or as though he has disappointed them, which is far worse. He stands to retrieve a plate-- three actually, fights (and hard) to retrieve his earlier enthusiasm and cheer which is more and more difficult to grasp at these days and manages to grab a finger hold, somehow. He shakes his head. Smiles, again.]

Besides, I knew he was gonna say that. [

[earned_my_eyes]

[Are they that predictable? Yes, they're rivals. Yes, the fight, but--]

I had no intentions of arguing.

[Which was true; he said his piece and that had been the end of it as far as he could tell. His eyes flickered to Naruto for a moment, thinking back onto the conversation when he had returned from the mist, about how...well, civil it was. Normal. Respectful in its own way. There had been peace there, but no one had been there to see it. No one other than themselves. He had wanted it that way.

[Of course she wouldn't know. Of course she wouldn't be any wiser.

[He watched Naruto look away, staring at him, wondering what he was going to say, what was in his head. He had been so reserved lately, restrained, quiet, and for a moment, he had seen the old Naruto peek through. Now, he wasn't so sure.]

Are you calling me predictable?

[And sure, it was baiting, but it was a little ribbing in a comfortable way. One eyebrow arched, curious as to why he was reaching under the bed. Never a good sign, not when the blonde was concerned. Sure

[sucker_punches]

[They are that predictable, sadly. Or perhaps, predictable in their unpredictability. There's no telling where one of their squabbles will come from, and while she gets the rivalry--she has a rival of her own, after all--Naruto and Sasuke tend to get destructive when they get heated. Sakura simply tries to nip as many potential arguments in the bud as she can. Part of their routine.

But something is wrong with Naruto. She can't place her finger on what, but he shouldn't have reacted quite that way. Guilt creeps over her for not trusting him, and she wants to reach out to him, wants pull him into her arms again, wants to ask him to tell her what's wrong and whatever it is, make it stop. Fix it, make it better. That's her job, right?

Now isn't exactly an appropriate time, though. Or place. She makes her own resolution for later.For now, she wraps that guilt up under an layer of her own requisite smile, determined to keep this enjoyable and hope some genuine happiness finds him

[couragetodare]

[Are you calling me predictab- Naruto's grin is again more real. Sasuke doesn't sound angry, in fact he recognises that rare tone, understands it even because as much as he and Sasuke genuinely argue there are times when they needle one another and the tone isn't as... serious.]

Yep. [Might as well be honest. ] At least, when it comes to cake.

[Anyone who knows Sasuke remotely well knows of his dislike for sweets and sweet things in general. Naruto ignores the dutbunnies shot with a muffles 'pfft!', still trying to get that slice of cake into the plate and-

Maybe. Just maybe he revels a little in their surprise. Maybe it is gratifying to know he hasn't screwed up again and this small thing (and it's just a slice of cake) at least has Sasuke interested, which means they can all have some cake and... just do that one little thing together.

Naruto doesn't know why it is so important to him. It just is.

And he hasn't screwed up.

Still time for that yet, something whispers.]

'Course they make it! [He is all bravado for a moment

[earned_my_eyes]

[As long as it was just in regards to cake, he could accept being predictable. In fact, he couldn’t really argue; he was predictable and regimented when it came to his eating habits and preferences. And while he didn’t mind trying new things, he knew what he liked, knew what he didn’t, and he didn’t see much need to disrupt the pattern already devised across his palate

[sucker_punches]

[A few weeks. She could have guessed. She should have anticipated this, really, and maybe she did before the attack. The thing about winding up in life-threatening situations is, they tend to re-organize and re-prioritize lives. For the one attacked (she hates to think of herself as a victim, and Sasuke probably does too) and those around them. Sakura had honestly forgotten, and when she remembered, she expected things like this to slide.

But it didn't, because Naruto is glad she was born and she blushes, just slightly, when he tells her so. She's still not sure what to do with his often naked admiration for her; it often leaves her wondering what precisely she did to bring it on. She handles it by deflecting the discomfort into teasing.]

You'll have to thank my parents for that.

[The being born part. There are others to be thanked for allowing her to reach seventeen, especially in their profession

[couragetodare]

[Naruto just eyes Sasuke a little upon that demand. Show him the bakery. It wasn't exactly something they made unless... requested. Naruto had just blurted it out one day 'do you make tomato cakes?!' in a sort of desperate bid to find something cake-ish that Sasuke would eat. The lady behind the counter had told him she would see what she could do. He had come back a week later to find that, indeed such things did exist. Or at least, in Anatole they did. So he sort of, eyes Sasuke up and eventually gives him a little nod. ] Later.

[When you can walk, he does not add. Then, he pauses. Just for a moment- half a heartbeat really- but he does go perfectly still. You kept a secret. He should snort, should scoff, should protest loudly and grin because this is how it goes (how they work).]

You'd be surprised.

[--- it's not necessarily supposed to come out. And it's not necessarily supposed to have a haunted edge to it but it does and Naruto is angry then, with himself and this and everything, for slipping and slipping, and what the hell