Sasuke never stays longer than a night. Typically a night of passion, but by morning, he's gone before Sakura can make breakfast, usually going on about how his mother is worried for him.
So, when Sakura returns home on day three of Sasuke's staying, she bears a bewildered expression. There the young Uchiha is, in her kitchenette, attempting to cook dinner for the both of them.
Yes, Sakura dreams of domesticity with Sasuke, but not like this; not like them sitting in an apartment both struggling---her with her studies, and him with his mental health. She'd rather cook for him as he comes home from his high-paying office job, living lavishly in a mansion, drinking cocktails by the poolside; not this.
"Sasuke," she says, closing the door behind her. "You're still here?"
He looks up from the salmon he bought and smiles. "Yeah. I hope that's okay."
She slips on fuzzy pink slippers and gives him a strained smile back. "Yeah, it's fine. I mean, you don't typically stay this long. Isn't your mom worried?"
There's a long silence between them. Only the sound of sizzling from the pan fills the air.
"Sasuke?"
"I wouldn't know if she's worried," he speaks with a chill to his tone. "I turned off my phone."
"You should at least check it," Sakura says, dropping her school bag on the sofa. "What if I was calling you?"
He hums. "You were at school. I know how you hate being distracted from your work. I don't see why you'd call in the middle of the day."
She grunts, putting her hands on her hips. "You should make up with your family."
There's a pause, and then his soft voice comes out. "I didn't do anything wrong."
"Be the bigger man anyway."
"I didn't do anything wrong."
"Sasuke," she says, her tone warning. "Just do it."
He ignores her, focusing on making sure the fish is evenly cooked.
"Don't ignore me, Sasuke. You have to make up with your family so you can go back home."
His reply is quick. "So you don't want me here."
It isn't a question. It's a statement. A fact that neither of them wanted to reveal. The air hangs heavy.
Sakura looks bewildered and meets his cold black eyes. She sputters, "What? No! I want you here."
"You want me to go back home as if I'm not welcome here."
"You are welcome here, Sasuke." She joins him in the kitchen and takes his arm. She feels the muscles he's been building up with Naruto over the past few weeks and smiles. "But the only reason you're here is because you're fighting with your family, and you need a place to stay."
He's silent again. There's this cold barrier that keeps them from connecting with one another. He keeps pushing Sakura out as she tries to reach in. However, she keeps her distance from him, refusing to let him see the dark parts of her heart.
"Turn your phone back on, and if they call, talk to them." Sakura leans her head on his shoulder. "Do it for me, okay?"
With a sigh, he takes his phone out of his pocket and turns it on. It makes a jingle sound, and his lock screen picture pops up. "Happy?"
Sakura pouts, but glad that he conceded to her wishes. He may have an attitude, but she harbors a fiercer one.
She doesn't unleash it on him.
...
"You're never satisfied." This is what Sasuke tells Sakura after an unreasonably expensive date.
"Excuse me?" Sakura huffs, flopping her shopping bags onto the wooden floor. Sasuke does the same.
Sasuke doesn't answer. There's no need to. She heard him well and good. But he feels the need to apologize for it bubble inside him until it forces from his throat.
"Sorry," he says, rubbing his palms against his eyes. "I'm tired, so I'm in a pissy mood."
Her eyebrows furrow. She doesn't unleash the fury that burns her chest. Instead, she leaves, slamming the door behind her.
The pictures lining the walls shake from the force.
...
Sakura has been gone for hours. Sasuke sits in her room, hanging up the clothes he bought for her. He cleans up the tissue paper, folding up the paper bags and recycling them.
He returns to her closet to organize it. Lining up her dresses, her coats, her blouses. Then he finds something he's never seen her wear---a green tracksuit.
He wonders if she jogs in her spare time or if she ever goes to the gym. He thinks they could have a gym date. Grab smoothies and then hit the weights.
Unfortunately, his eye catches the size.
A large.
Sakura isn't a large. In fact, she drowns in anything that's above medium size.
He pushes it towards the back where it previously hung. Along with the orange leg warmers that came with it.
...
[Name] hasn't seen Sasuke since that family dinner. She vaguely wonders how his health has been holding up. It bothers her that she hasn't stayed in touch with him.
So she texts him.
Hey.
How are you?
You holding up?
He doesn't answer right away. But she doesn't expect him to; in fact, she sets aside her phone and readies to paint. She mixes straw yellow paint with pastel pink, creating this beautiful orange color. Perfect for a sunset.
It takes fifteen minutes for Sasuke to respond, and by that time, [Name] has the base colors of her painting done.
Doing OK so far.
She doesn't know how to reply back. Her fingers type up a response, then backspace. Then she just stares. Waiting for him to add something.
Can I come see you?
It's a simple request that leaves her heart fluttering in her chest. Can't quite put her finger on it as to why she's feeling giddy about seeing Sasuke, but nevertheless, she agrees on seeing him.
Yeah. I'm at home.
You know where right?
Yea
...
It's late in the afternoon when Sasuke rings [Name's] doorbell. The artist is still down in her little artist hole, surrounded by paints and shelves of unfinished pieces. The Boy Without Color gazes down upon her like a weeping guardian angel.
Sasuke rings the doorbell again, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep warm. He has no thoughts, no reason as to why he's here at [Name's] doorstep.
Just something about organizing Sakura's closet made him want to run away from that apartment. Everything about that place squeezes the air from his lungs, suffocating him even though he bears a smile for his beloved.
The door creaks open. [Name] stands there smiling. A smear of paint covers her, well, everything. She's in her smock, not really the cleanest thing, but Sasuke doesn't mind.
"Come in. Come in," she says, ushering him inside. "Did you want some tea? Water? Juice? Booze?"
"I'll take whatever you have," he says, plopping himself on the couch.
Sasuke finds a semblance of peace here. The silence at Sakura's apartment was unbearable. For one, there wasn't any real silence. He could hear her neighbors do everything. Yelling, babies crying, soap operas played at the loudest volumes, stomping, and worst of all, nasty sex. His dreams are tortured with the groaning of Sakura's next door neighbors.
But here, Sasuke can push that all behind him and settle his mind. Think about [Name]. Think about domestic life with her. Thinking about leaving Sakura behind.
[Name] returns from the kitchen with a tray. On the tray are two drinks and two bowls of curry. She sets it down on the round coffee table and settles next to him. Close to him.
Their thighs touch.
Sasuke is on cloud nine but still unaware as to why he feels this way.
The family-centered, sedentary fantasy plays again and again in his mind. [Name] will bring him food after his long day after work, she'll rub his shoulders, claim he's the best husband ever, and then the children he helped create run up into his lap and give him kisses on his cheek. Their life is perfect. [Name] is perfect.
"Are you going to eat?" [Name] asks, breaking the pleasant fantasy he created. "Or are you just gonna stare off into space? I'm not a bad cook, so it shouldn't taste too bad."
Sasuke chuckles. Picking up the bowl, he shovels the food into his mouth like he hasn't eaten in days. Between Sakura's lousy cooking and his subpar skills, he might as well have not.
The curry is delicious on Sasuke's tongue. It's perfect, just like [Name].
"Don't choke," she jokes. "Has your family not been feeding you or something? Geez!"
At the mention of his family, Sasuke's shoulders slump. "I haven't seen them in a while," Sasuke says through a mouthful. "We got into an argument, and I just left to rid them of their burden."
"Wait, Sasuke, don't tell me---"
"Don't worry, I'm staying with a... Friend." He shifts under her gaze. It's one of sincerity and pity, as if she genuinely cares for him. "But, it's not really working out. I feel like they're getting stressed by my existence too."
When Sasuke finally looks up, his eyes connect with [Name's], which are misty, completing her pouty, sad face. "It's so sad that you think such a thing. I'm sure your family still loves you dearly. And... And! Your friend is such a gem to let you stay with them. I'm sure they care for you deeply too."
Sasuke feels a pang in his chest. To see [Name], ---his perfect girl, choked up about his situation, crying for him, sympathizing with him, trying her hardest to be therapeutic for him---it really tears his heart out.
"You shouldn't waste your tears on me," he says, taking the back of his hand and wiping a tear away. "A pretty face like yours should never be covered with tears."
She sniffs with a laugh. "Shut up. I just feel bad." Her head meets his shoulder, and she can feel him stiffen beneath her touch. She thinks nothing of it. "You told me so much about yourself, and everything so far has been tragic. I'm tired of tragedies. I want you to be happy."
"You make me happy."
It was quick and unintentional. But he said it anyway. [Name] lifts her head from his shoulder and gazes at him in awe. A warm smile graces her face, pleasing Sasuke's eyes. He wants to always make her smile.
"You're my rainbow in a sky of dark clouds."
And then they're both smiling. Grinning ear to ear, trying not to fall into a fit of laughter and glee. At some point, [Name] turns on the TV. And at some point, they lace their fingers together on the couch, watching each other smile from the corner of their eyes.
[Name] finds joy in making Sasuke smile. She believes someday he'll be happy, and she'll be there to see him smile big and wide, soaking in sun rays and enjoying whatever life has to offer him.
Sasuke, on the other hand, loves seeing [Name] grin wide. That smile belongs to him and only him. He meant what he said when he told her that she is the rainbow in his dark sky. He'll do anything to keep that rainbow.
And he'll kill anyone that tries to take it away from him.