#ssm19d2

[alisstairs]

Sasusaku month day 2: Patterns

[queen-serena]

Another catching up on SasuSaku Month before sleep: Patterns 🐍🌸

[lielartstuff]

Something Cute for Day 2 of ssm:

Patterns 🍅🌸

Please Do Not Repost! 

[kuriquinn]

Reverent [ficlet]

General Disclaimer 

 Rating: PG 13

Author’s Note:  Posting this early, because Canada Day stuff has me exhausted. I don’t think I’ve been this social in over a year... :P

⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ⁂ ⁂

His lips trace the well-known paths across her skin, following a map of his own discovery. Guided by sighs and whispers, etched into a space only he can see.

The thing about the Sharingan is it grants constant, perfect recall. Even when she reclines in front of him, completely bare but for a smile and the intention of her eyes, he can see the markings on her skin. Not the constellation of scars that pepper her skin from before—old kunai wounds, powder burns from exploding tags, that stab wound—because he doesn’t even need eyes for those. His fingers find those unerringly, every time, brushes against them with reverence and apology, even though he wasn’t the cause of any of those.

(Not directly, thank the gods; he’s left enough marks on her soul, he’s not sure he could stand to see a physical reminder of his sins on her body.)

It’s something beyond this realm that he perceives. Memory superimposes wispy ribbons of black down her cheeks and beneath the line of her jaw, the underside of her breasts and backs of her knees. It’s as clear to him when she is at rest as when in the throes of battle, and the sight warms him.

He presses his mouth against the outlines of her power, trying to convey gratitude and worship to the gift that keeps her safe, that keeps her with him. Even when he is far away.

He doesn’t put much faith in his own abilities to protect—life and experience have shown him he is a failure at trying to spare others pain. That she has something within her to keep her safe, to fortify her against harm, something that has nothing to do with him—

It’s a relief.

She’ll never break, he knows.

She’s already shown that to be true, over and over. That strength grounds him in turn, as if her might follows him wherever he goes. As if somehow, the markings stretch out and surround him as well, like a string of fate.

He still can’t figure out what he ever did to deserve her. Why the only constant in his life has been leaving and returning to find her waiting.

The first time, after everything, he thought it was a mistake. The second time, mere coincidence; she just happened to be there when he slipped through the village gates.

But every time after that…

He presses his forehead against her, imagines he can feel warmth at the centre, the seal of her power and kindness and love.

By the third time, it was established, understood.

He wonders, sometimes, if it wasn’t so long ago, ages before he followed in the footsteps of his brother and his mentor.

And then she smiles, and he decides it doesn’t matter. What matters is here, in the present, where they can set their own precedent.

Their own patterns.

栗

[lavendersmiles]

It's an Uchiha Thing

SasuSaku Month 2019

Day 2: Patterns

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*furiously writing to catch up with all prompts*

ffnet link

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Kakashi believed he has read every love story trope there is.

Enemies to lovers?

Check.

They were roommates?

Check.

Fake dating?

Check.

Being a closet hopeless romantic and an open bookworm, he believed he knew all there is in a love story. An expert - so to speak.

Though he didn't expect to be able to witness one unfold before his very eyes – and get a front row seat at that.

The dismissal bell finally rang, and all the kids in Kakashi's third grade class ran away like bullets fired from a gun, eager to go home for the weekend. He stayed behind to fix some things and headed outside as well. He raised a questioning eyebrow when he saw two of his brightest students at the swings. It was a rarity to see any student stay after school on a Friday after all.

He approached them slowly, but Sasuke was still able to spot him. "Shouldn't you two be at home right now?"

"Hi, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura beamed. "We're waiting for Itachi-nii and Izumi-nee. The Uchihas invited me to dinner!"

"Ah, I see," the teacher smiled. "But it's quite new not to see Naruto with you guys." The three were childhood friends and the bond that they shared is a common knowledge. The trio's mothers were close, and thus it was passed on to their children.

A scoff was heard from the raven-haired boy. "It's his fault he caught a cold." In a low voice that Kakashi only heard due to his sharp ears, he added, "I only wanted Sakura over anyway."

Said girl suddenly stood up from the swing and positioned herself in front of her best friend, dusting off some dust on her pink flower-patterned dress that matches her hair. "Ne, Sasuke-kun, let's go to Disneyland when Golden Week comes!"

The boy visibly winced and sighed. "Can't. I'm going camping with my brother."

"Can I come?"

He shook his head slowly. "It's for boy scouts, Sakura."

At the news, emerald eyes lost a bit of their sparkle. "Oh..."

Lifting up his index and middle finger together, onyx orbs twinkled as he gently poked her forehead.

"Mou, Sasuke-kun..."

"Maybe next time, okay?"

The sight was enough to make Kakashi clench his hand on his chest, unable to control a wave of giddiness that washed over him.

Sakura pouted and Sasuke just ruffled her hair, a soft smile on his face. It took all of Kakashi's willpower not to melt into a puddle of goo.

He has a reputation to uphold, after all.

The silver-haired teacher settled with a soft chuckle. He can clearly remember a familiar scenario like what happened just minutes ago, and it included one Uchiha prodigy as well.

'Speaking of the devil.'

Itachi arrived with Izumi and the two quickly approached them. After saying the formalities, Kakashi's former student proclaimed that they needed to go since the Uchiha matriarch was expecting them not to be late.

"Bye Kakashi-sensei!" the two children chorused while waving to their teacher. Kakashi gave a wave of his own and didn't stop until the four of them reached the school gate. Sasuke held Sakura's hand while his brother did the same to Izumi. Looking at their backs, he didn't fight back a smile.

'Itachi and Sasuke are brothers indeed', Kakashi mused.

[southsidestory]

p a t t e r n s

“Come see the cherry trees of a water constellation and the round key of the rapid universe, come touch the fire of instantaneous blue, come before its petals are consumed.” ― Pablo Neruda, 100 Love Sonnets

[ariannjs]

MR. HAWK | A SasuSaku FanFic (One Shot)

For Day 1 (Far from Home) and Day 2 (Patterns) of SasuSaku Month 2019

Rating: K

Summary: Sarada has a specific routine every afternoon, but there was something different about today that caught her mother’s attention.

————

At first, Sakura thought everything was just like the usual – Sarada would go out upon waking from her afternoon nap to play in her treehouse, return inside the house happily to help her prepare dinner, and then eat dinner with her while rambling about her new discoveries for the day. It’s been like that for more than a week now, but today was quite different than expected.

A loud thud was heard from the front door while she was slicing some tomatoes in the kitchen, followed by stomps of little feet that were becoming louder as it approached her earshot. With a raised eyebrow, the Uchiha matriarch turned and caught a glimpse of her daughter’s scowling face as she ascended the stairs, avoiding the kitchen in the process.

Sakura could’ve opted to cook their meal first and then deal with her daughter later, but if there’s one thing she and her husband have become accustomed to, it’s having a positive ambiance while eating together for it was very rare for them to even be in the same table all at once. So after putting the knife down, she wiped her hands with a small towel and then made her way to her daughter’s bedroom.

“Sarada?” She knocked lightly, entering the room only after hearing the approval in her daughter’s small voice. “Is everything okay, sweetheart?”

But what she saw already confirmed the answer to that.

It was both amusing and heartbreaking to witness how her daughter was just stationary on her bed, with her arms crossed and a pout plastered on her face. Amusing because the sight was reminiscent of a young Sasuke, making her heart skip a beat for the reminder that indeed, she has married her childhood crush and this was her beloved child with him. On the other hand, it was heartbreaking because she has done everything that she could to keep Sarada happy and fulfilled; so seeing her like this now, Sakura knew she was ready to punch to the ends of the earth whoever or whatever was making her daughter lonely.

She sat beside Sarada on the bed, pushing some strands of her black locks away from her face. “Want to tell mama what’s wrong, Sarada?”

“Mr. Hawk never came.”

“Mister...hawk?” Okay, she was kidding. She wasn’t ready to punch a little bird to the ends of the earth.

“Yeah. I saw you meeting with him sometimes.”

Sakura could only blink at this, not sure if her six-year-old daughter was merely imagining things or she has already outsmarted her.

Sarada gave her a look as if she was supposed to understand things in a snap because she was actually the mom here. Then she added, “Whenever you meet with him, it’s either there’s a new letter from Papa or you’ve sent him one.”

Ah. So that’s Mr. Hawk, huh? The Uchiha matriarch stifled a laugh at the realization. She didn’t know that her daughter was a witness to her encounters with Sasuke’s hawk.

And for Sarada to give him a nickname? Ain’t that cute?

She cleared her throat before speaking again, “I see. Can you tell me why you’re expecting Mr. Hawk to come to you?”

Sarada bit her lip, and for a moment, she looked as if she was hesitating on something. Then, she hopped off the bed and tugged her mother’s wrist as she made her way outside her bedroom and towards their backyard.

Perplexed, Sakura simply followed Sarada’s footsteps, until they reached the tree house that Sasuke had built for their daughter a few years back.

With a glance, Sarada told her to climb up its small steps after her. And once her mom was already seated beside her in her play area, she bashfully handed her a small box that has no lid.

“What’s this, Sarada?”

“Uhm...I’ve seen you meet with Mr. Hawk at around four o’clock thrice before, so I…uh...I thought that when I leave something here for papa, Mr. Hawk would get my letters and bring them to wherever papa is.” Then she pointed to the box on her mother’s lap. “I’ve been leaving a letter daily, at first I was sad that he didn’t get my first few letters. So I thought that maybe Mr. Hawk only comes weekly, but it’s been nine days now and my letters were still untouched.” She pouted once more, looking away to blink back the tears that were now brimming her eyes. “He never came, mama.”

With a hand on her mouth, Sakura stared lovingly at her daughter and then to the box she was holding. She never realized how difficult it was for her daughter to not have her dad around. She wasn’t able to take into account that just as she was missing her husband, Sarada was surely missing her dad too.

The fact that she tried to reach out to him with her own means (and understanding of how summoning works) warmed her heart and made her convinced that from now on, she would tell Sarada when she would send letters to her father so she could write her own too, with the assurance that Mr. Hawk would come and deliver them to Sasuke.

Smiling, Sakura lifted her two fingers and gently tapped Sarada’s forehead, surprising her and getting her full attention. “Ne, Sarada, do you still want to send these letters to your papa?”

The sparkle in Sarada’s black orbs was enough to brighten her own day. Upon her daughter’s excited nod, her hand made the seals needed to summon the black bird that Sarada called Mr. Hawk. It was originally Sasuke’s summon only, but it eventually became hers as well, a result of their connection that was visible even to the hawk and the rest of their summons.

The feathered summon appeared beside them then, making Sarada’s eyes widen in amazement. “You came! Mama, you made Mr. Hawk appear!”

Sakura chuckled. “Yes, sweetheart. So, are you ready?”

Sarada was too thrilled as she nodded once more, staring in awe at her mother while she made quick hand seals that stored nine letters in a single scroll.

“Alright. Garu, please bring this to my darling husband.” Sakura attached the scroll to the hawk’s foot before turning to her daughter. “Why don’t you say goodbye to Mr. Hawk, Sarada?”

Slowly, Sarada reached out to touch the summon on its head and grinned widely when it leaned to her hand. “Bye, Mr. Hawk! Please bring my letters to my papa, okay?”

And then Mr. Hawk took off.

-

Miles away, Sasuke thought everything was just like the usual as he ventured to another unnamed forest in search for a spot where he could stay the night, but the familiar sound of a feathered animal made him look heavenward.

With a raised eyebrow, he waited for the hawk to land on his left shoulder before getting the scroll it was carrying. “Thank you,” he muttered, but the hawk didn’t leave as if it wanted to watch his reaction with the news he was about to receive.

This slightly made him nervous while unsealing the scroll. Did something happen to my family? Was Konoha attacked and Naruto wasn’t able to do anything about it?

He then furrowed his brows at the sight of nine colorful papers carefully folded in different shapes. He tilted his head to glance at the bird on his shoulder, as if asking where these came from because these were definitely not from Naruto nor Kakashi, and his wife was not childish anymore to send him some cute stuff.

Childish. Cute. And then it dawned on him.

With widened eyes, he opened the pink shuriken-shaped letter and what he saw made his heart burst:

Dear papa,

I miss you. I honesly don’t remember your face so much. Please know that I still love you even though you’re far away. I hope you teach me some ninja stuff when you come back.

With love,

Sarada

P.S. I’m not sure if Mr. Hawk would deliver this today but I finished writing it anyway. See you soon, papa!

After staring at the colored paper long enough, he gave the hawk another look, but this time, with a smile on his face. “Mr. Hawk, huh?”

And then Mr. Hawk took off.

————

July 2018 | AriannJS

————

This was a day late! But here’s my drabble combining the prompts for Day 1 & Day 2! It’s my first time joining SasuSaku Month and I hope you’ll enjoy my works! You could check my other fics here and on FF or AO3 with the username AriannJS.

It you like what I do, kindly consider supporting me on ko-fi or patreon. I’m also saving up for a special post-birthday trip this November so your support would mean a lot to me!♥️

Thanks & God bless!

– A

[7team7]

SasuSaku Month Day 2: Patterns

Title: Red Yarn of Fate // Summary: Sakura tries to teach Sasuke how to knit to improve his ability to use his new arm. He knits something made out of Husband Material. // Rating: G // ao3 link

*tap tap tap, tap tap*

“Ah, Sasuke-kun, come in. Choose your colors, we’re going to try a new pattern today! I’m using blue, pink, and purple. I think they go well together, but you can do anything you want. And don’t say black, dark gray, navy. That’s boring.”

Sasuke hovered by the door of Sakura’s office in the hospital, eyeing the pile of yarn reproachfully. “There’s nothing else we can do?” he asked as he flexed his new hand habitually. “Not training or something useful? Naruto gets to train.”

Sakura rolled her eyes at him, “Naruto decided to get his arm way before you, so he gets to train before you. Now close the door before he comes in and messes with my supplies.”

Sasuke stepped fully into her office; he knew better than to disobey Sakura.

“I’ll use the same colors as you.” After seeing Sakura’s questioning expression, he cleared his throat and clarified, “so I can follow you more easily.”

Sakura nodded, seeming dejected, but Sasuke didn’t push it. She would talk if she wanted to. It didn’t take long—after what had to be only a few moments of silently sorting through the yarn, her sparkling smile was back as she teased him, “are you sure it’s not because you want to match with me, Sasuke-kun?”

He decided to humor her, “Maybe you can just knit this one for the both of us, but I’m not sure if we’re the same size,” he picked up her doctor’s coat thrown haphazardly on the side of the desk, “do you think I can squeeze?”

First knitting, now jokes? It was plain to see how far gone he was.  

But in Sasuke’s mind, anything was worth it to hear that laugh.

Even Sakura couldn’t quite let go of her smile after using her professional doctor voice to order him around. “I have the pattern on this paper if you want to look at it, but I think I’ve got it down. Use the blue one first, yeah, like that, then we’ll put purple in the middle and red on the other side.”

His new arm still felt awkward, so he dropped his knitting needles a few times, but Sakura was nothing if not patient, and waited for him to catch up so they could continue together.

“When did you learn how to knit?” he asked conversationally. The sound of only their knitting needles was starting to grate on him. He expected her to say she learned recently because of increased downtime following the war or something, but she answered quietly, “when you left the village. That first winter was colder than usual and it gave me something to do besides just train and read.”

The former rogue fumbled his knitting needles again, but this time Sakura didn’t say anything. Maybe in the future he and his arm would slip less.

In the coming months, Sasuke kept up with knitting. He just wanted to spend time with Sakura, really, and this was safe common ground, but she was busy and he didn’t want to seem too desperate. His latest creation was a purple and white patterned blanket with the Uchiha symbol in the center. He got distracted by how excited he was to have successfully knitted the Uchiha symbol that he didn’t pay much attention to the size. It was smaller than he originally wanted, honestly more fit for their baby than what he was going for: a throw blanket for Sakura to leave on her couch to keep her feet warm.

Wait.

Their baby?

Sasuke knew he was in love with Sakura, had known there was something between them for a long time, but a future with her was something he actively avoided thinking about. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, especially when he still had trouble communicating the depth of his feelings, and she surely had other options.

But he really liked the sound of “their baby.” A baby. Together. With Sakura. He could certainly get used to that.

*tap tap tap, tap tap*

His reverie was interrupted by a pattern of knocks on his front door. Only one other person used those knocks to say, “let me in, it’s me.” It was his secret code with a certain someone, because too many times they were attempting to spend time with each other, just for it to be another member of their former squad coming to bother them. “Let me in, time for a team seven reunion!” just wouldn’t cut it anymore, especially not when they saw each other all the time these days. If anyone else, even Naruto or Kakashi—no, especially them—caught him dropping his knitting needles, he might have to kill them. Maybe he could knit a coffin?

He pulled the door open to reveal Sakura, looking very cheery as she held up a bag of food. “I wanted to try this new place by the hospital, but couldn’t decide on what to order since it all looked so yummy, so I ended up getting way too much. Share with me?”

He opened the door wider to let her through. As she got herself situated at his kitchen table, he grabbed the blanket to show her.

She ran her hand over the center, feeling the comforting softness of the knit, “the colors...they kind of remind me of susanoo. Nice job, what are you going to do with it?”

Ah. That.

“It’s a bit small. I’ll probably just save it…”

“Save it? For who though?”

“I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable since this is quite forward, but it’s baby sized,” he waved it around to show how small it really was, “so I was going to save it for a baby. Our baby.”

The future mother of his child (oh, he loves the sound of that) blushed deeply, but she was far from feeling uncomfortable. She continued laying out their dinner before adding, “that sounds good to me. It can go with the little baby hat I knit last week.”

[desi-pluto]

SasuSaku Month 2019: Day 2 - Patterns

“At the end of the day, the hawk will return to the cherry blossom tree, and will repeat the pattern the next day.”

[kotokoharuno]

Dia dos patrones, para mi el poke es una tradición uchiha cada que alguno se va durante un tiempo

[sagara-megumi]

SasuSaku Month 2019 - Day 2: Patterns || [Fanfic] Family Ties - Chapter 1

Hello! Here’s my contribution to the SasuSakuMonth this year. It’s going to be a multi-chaptered story this time too (the last time I participated I wrote one too). I won't be using all the prompts since I'm going to be taking this opportunity to finish a story I started a long, long time ago.

However, before you start reading, you have to know that this story has a PROLOGUE and some NOTES that I strongly advise you to read before starting this chapter. In that prologue, Sasuke and Sakura are only mentioned so that's why, after asking the mods for advice, I left it out of the Month.

So, here's the link to it: Family Ties: Prologue (there are a few notes there that are important for the story).

.

Title: Family Ties: Chapter 1

Rating: T/PG-13

Words: 2475

Notes: There's not much to say here this time :) The following chapter will have a few comments related to some things stated in this one that I don't want to spoil beforehand XD

English isn’t my first language so if you spot any mistakes, please tell me. I hope that you enjoy it, and thank you for the notes in the Prologue ^^

.

CHAPTER 1

Akihiko contemplated pensively his image reflected in the coffee that filled his cup, while his mind replayed once and again Mikoto's words, her serious and sincere look, the slight trembling of her hands, as she told him her secret, something extremely fantastic that seemed conceived by the most twisted imagination. He put a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes, which palpitated slightly from the tension and lack of sleep.

'The truth is that ... I haven't been sincere with you when I told you about me... It's true that I'm forty-one years old, that I work as a shop assistant in a department store, and that I'm divorced... But I'm not from the south of Japan... In fact, I belong to an old and extended family established here in Tokyo ... '

She had stopped for a moment, biting her lower lip as if unsure of how to continue, and the first thought that had crossed his mind was that she was referring to the yakuza. He had seen her swallow with difficulty, pressing the sheet against her chest, and take a deep breath, before continuing.

'We... are vampires...' she had looked at him in the eye, without hesitation, and he had felt a painful knot in his stomach, his heart suddenly empty, knowing that she was telling the truth. 'My ex-husband, my children ... and I ...'

“Are you okay, dad?”

He suddenly raised his head as his daughter put a plate with a few pieces of toast on the table. Already dressed in her school uniform, a dark grey checkered pleated skirt, a white shirt and a dark blue striped tie, and her hair tied in a high ponytail, Sakura was scrutinizing him with those intense green eyes inherited from her mother, showing clear concern. He sighed and shook his head with a small smile.

“It's nothing. I'm just a little tired.”

She smiled as she sat down in front of him and picked up a piece. She bit it and then took a sip of tea.

“And?” Akihiko looked at her somewhat confused for a moment, while spreading jam on his bread. “How did it go last night?”

“Well...” he had already thought about what to say in case that she addressed the subject. “I preferred to leave it for another time. Mikoto-san was somewhat distracted and she seemed tired. I didn't think it was a good occasion to bring up something so important.”

Sakura pressed her lips clearly disappointed. When she had come down, she had been expecting good news, but as soon as she had seen her father sitting at the table, thoughtful, she had known something had gone wrong. For a moment, she had feared that the answer to his proposal had been negative, but she had dismissed the idea immediately. She knew his character perfectly and that he had been meditating that decision until he was sure of everything, so much that she herself had had to give him a little push, openly asking whether she was going to have a new mother.

She half-closed her eyelids and swallowed. It was not something she was comfortable with yet. Although she had been orphaned since she was eight years old, the memories she had with her were strongly engraved in her mind, and she knew that it would take her a while to get used to seeing another woman standing and walking where she and her mum had laughed and played together, in the kitchen where she had taught her to prepare his father's favourite dishes or in the place she had occupied at the table and which had remained empty until then. But she understood that he should go on with his life, which had taken long to rebuild, after being completely dedicated to her upbringing and to supply an absence that, despite his efforts, Sakura had felt. And if he had found a good woman to be happy with, she would give him all her support.

“Okay, then” she smiled and leant forward, resting her arms on the table. “When are you going on another date?”

“Ah ... We aren't sure” he adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose and Sakura pursed her lips slightly, having the impression that something was wrong with him. “Mikoto-san is going to be very busy in the department store, being Christmas so close, you know, and we have to make all the end-of-year reports in the office. Probably, I'll have to work overtime... I was going to tell you that I'll be late many days...”

“Dad” the girl frowned and looked at him questioningly “You didn't have a fight, did you?”

Akihiko felt a small knot in his stomach. It was not a fight, but something that changed things between Mikoto and him entirely, and about which he had to think carefully because now, it was not only a matter of love. However, his daughter was sometimes too intuitive, another trait inherited from his first wife.

“Don't worry, it's nothing like that. And now let's hurry or neither of us will arrive on time.”

Sakura gave a little cry when she saw the clock on the kitchen wall, and tried to finish her toast in two bites, drinking gulps of tea to try to swallow it as quickly as possible.

“I resemble Naruto more and more each day...” she muttered as she picked up her plates and left them in the sink.

His father laughed softly and took the last sip of his coffee before following her.

“If you don't get to the station in time, tell me and I'll drive you to school.

“Don't worry, dad, I'm fine. Go upstairs to shave.”

Akihiko patted her gently on the shoulder and went to the stairs while pulling his tie out of his shirt pocket, and the young woman began to wash the dishes quickly.

'There's no way I can miss that train!'

.

The train reached the platform one minute after Sakura arrived. She had walked to her usual place, carefully calculated so she would be near where the door of the third carriage would be when it stopped altogether. Like every day, she came in after three salary men, a lawyer who was always talking on her phone right behind her, and she turned to the left, feeling delighted when she saw that her usual seat was empty. As she approached it, she tried to change her expression to a neutral one; she occupied the space and took a studied, distracted look to the side and then to the front, and had to fight the smile that was struggling to draw on her lips. There he was, as always, with his headphones on, his right leg crossed over his left one and his satchel on them, his arms crossed and the bored expression that seemed permanently engraved on his features. And diligently, Sakura pulled a novel out of her school bag and opened it by the bookmarked page, keeping her eyes on the words.

She had been following that routine for almost seven months, since one day she had woken up early and had decided, while sitting at the kitchen table, that she was bored waiting there for the usual time. She had taken a train fifteen minutes earlier than the usual one and occupied one of the free seats before raising her head and finding two impenetrable dark eyes studying her. Sakura had never seen irises like those, so black that the pupil could not be distinguished from them. They had only set on her for a second before turning towards the window behind him but at that moment, she had felt that they had borne into her and read all her thoughts. She had not been able to avoid a hot blush and, embarrassed, she had retrieved the book that she was finishing from her satchel and tried to concentrate all her attention on it. However, it had been impossible. Several times, she had thought he was watching her, but when she had secretly looked up over the pages, he was lost in his own thoughts. Without knowing very well why, telling herself over and over that she only wanted to see what it was that she had felt the first day, she had started to take that train. After the summer holidays, during which he had invaded her mind on numerous occasions, she had realised that she liked someone she knew nothing about, not even his name. She called herself stupid and immature, but the next day she walked to the station, got on the same train and sat on the ‘her’ seat.

Every day, her best friend Ino had tried to convince he to confess, or at least to talk to him, but she had flatly refused. From what she had been able to see, he was not very sociable, and she was not willing to make a fool of herself in a crowded car just to receive a boring or an irritated gaze, and then being ignored, as it happened once to a girl who had tried to approach him by pretending to lose her balance. It had been the last time she had seen her there. She only had three more months to enjoy his company, and she did not intend to waste them.

She noticed that curiously, more people than usual boarded the train at each stop, and soon all the seats were occupied, and briefly, she wondered why. It was not a special holiday anywhere, nor did she know that there was a festival in the districts through which that line passed. She remembered what her father had said about his girlfriend, and she supposed that some people were probably doing their Christmas shopping ahead. She stole a quick glance in front of her. The boy was busy with the buttons of his smartphone, some strands of hair, as black as his eyes, falling over his features, and she swallowed hard before lowering her eyes and counting to three before turning the page. She could not pretend to be a convincing reader if she did not do it seriously.

'It should be forbidden to be so handsome.'

She could not help but feel like an idiot once again, but sometimes, she could not control her own thoughts.

'And also being a stupid fan at seventeen...'

The train slowed down once again and entered a new station. Two more stops and she would have to say goodbye to her platonic love until the next day.

An old woman stood near her, holding on to a stanchion, and after a quick glance to see if someone gave her their seat, Sakura sighed inwardly and closed her book. She would have to bid him farewell before that day.

“Sit here, please” she said as she got up, kindness showing on her face.

“Oh, no, don't worry...”

“I insist” her smile widened. “Anyway, I'm getting off soon.”

The woman smiled then and sat down while Sakura stretched to reach one of the grab handles that hung from the roof of the carriage, with her back to the young man, happy because the strict regulations of her high school did not allow wearing skirts above the knee, reason why she did not have to worry about the possibility of ending up showing her not-really-fashionable underwear with red polka dots to the people around her.

“Thank you.”

The girl shook her head with an affable expression and then, lifted her head to look through the window at the buildings that passed quickly before her eyes.

Suddenly, a slight tingle ran down her spine and the thin hair at the back of her neck stood on end, feeling someone staring at her from behind, and she breathed slowly, knowing exactly who was there. She closed her eyelids for a second and again, filled her lungs with air. It was most likely her imagination playing tricks on her because not once had he bothered to look up in her direction during the time she had boarded the train after that first moment she remembered so clearly, and she was sure that he was not going to do it at that instant.

Her stop was announced through the loudspeaker and she headed for the door while she felt her smartphone vibrate in the pocket of her uniform coat. It was Ino. For a moment, the fleeting thought of letting it ring or hang up crossed her mind, but then, she would have to hear her complaints at school. Moreover, she did not use to call her at that time, knowing they would see each other in a few minutes, so it could be important. She picked it up and pressed the device to her ear.

“Hello?”

<Did you see him today?>

She rolled her eyes. She should have imagined her reason for calling. Overcoming the powerful temptation of ending the call, she clenched her jaw before answering.

“... Yes...”

<And was he still so handsome?>

“Ino, please...”

“Oh, come on, tell me the details, and that at least he's noticed that you were looking at him.>

The uncomfortable sensation of being watched had disappeared but it had been replaced by one much worse, the possibility of the conversation being heard by him. After all, Ino did not have the softest voice in Japan.

“Eh, now I can't speak” she said in a lower tone.

<Don't tell me you're with him!>

“Yes...” the speed was much slower and the people gathered around her, as the train entered the big platform of the station. “I can't hear you well, the train is stopping. I'll see you in a few minutes and we'll talk, okay?”

<Spoilsp->

She ended the call feeling a slightly perverse satisfaction for cutting her friend off. She put her phone in her pocket again and a small smile drew across her lips.

Ino and she had the strangest relationship ever. They had been going to school together since they were little and their families had been acquainted for a long time. They shared secrets and trusted the other blindly. However, they also argued almost every day, using the names that they had thrown at each other in one of their first fights. They were rivals and best friends, and they hated and loved each other with the same intensity.

The doors opened and without even casting a sidelong glance over her shoulder to see him one last time, as she had forced herself to do since the beginning, she got off the train, not realising that for a few seconds, dark pupils, with a slight reddish glow glinting in them, followed her steps.

TO BE CONTINUED

[lady-otori]

Patterns // SasuSaku Month

Hello, here’s day two of SasuSaku Month 2019 💕 this is short and shapeless and a little bit artsy, but I hope you like my take on the Patterns prompt ✨

Patterns

Rating: G

Sakura is a creature of patterns. From the route that her chakra traces as it thrums with her heartbeat, to the spin of Sasuke’s Rinnegan when he tries (fails) to look severe, her awareness is caught up in the shape of things. It’s why she’s so fascinated by the constellations as they wheel above her head; vast, unfathomable patterns moving in ways that have nothing and everything to do with the people who live below them.

She tells this to Sasuke. Unlike Naruto he doesn’t stare suspiciously at the stars, and unlike Ino he doesn’t flaunt his knowledge of the meanings behind unknowable things: he simply tilts his chin back and looks. 

And when Sasuke looks, he looks. She feels the stirring of his own chakra - so different the dance is - as his Sharingan pierces the veil. 

“What can you see?” she asks. It’s just the two of them on the roof; his tolerance for the people of Konoha wears thin at the best of times. And this is not the best of times, because Naruto breached a second cask of sake and their friends are riotous with it, howling like half-starved beasts and ruining Hinata’s good work on the new Uzumaki residence. 

“Everything,” he replies. 

She gets it. There’s no pattern broader, more intricate than the one above her, although the mysterious lines of the human body come close, sometimes. 

“What are the stars like, out on the road?” 

Sakura thinks he might not reply; it’s a gamble she hasn’t got the rhythm of just yet. Then she turns to face him and he’s wearing his thinking expression. If he still had two hands they’d be laced under his chin, and it makes her smile. 

He looks at that, too. 

“There were more of them,” he says eventually, which makes sense but it’s so literal and she didn’t really mean- “but they were all in strange places.” 

It’s a careful acknowledgement of his past, because if Konoha isn’t quite home anymore then it must have been once, been the spot where he looked up at the stars and fixed them forever in his mind as in their rightful places. 

“And now?” 

Sometimes Sakura asks questions when she knows the answer might hurt her; this is one of those days. 

“Now…” 

Sasuke trails off, and his chakra spins and spins into the heady heights of his gift, and Sakura doesn’t realise she’s in a genjutsu immediately because he’s just that good. He stitches together patterns in places she hadn’t thought to look; there is more than stars above them, she sees. There is space and the absence of it, dizzying shades of dust that reminds her of nothing more than the secrets inside their frames, layers of celestial shapes that bring with them the realisation that she and they are one and the same. 

And then Sasuke’s hand over her eyes, because it’s too much. She hopes he doesn’t feel the beat her lashes plays against his palm but he does. He does, because his hand draws back like it’s burned, and then he puts it down, closer between them than any rhythm they’ve danced before.

“I think I prefer looking at them from down here,” Sakura whispers. Some patterns aren’t meant to be solved.

“Ah,” Sasuke agrees. “With you.”