Oh No I'm In Love With The Bartender!

Ch 15

        Sasuke was tense to say the least. He had invited the pinkette over for some coffee in the spur of the moment. Never in his life did he think she would accept his offer, much less be comfortable enough to walk about his apartment. Sure he was used to visitors, I mean Kakashi and Naruto practically crashed at his place like it was a hotel. So why was he nervous now. Maybe it was because she studied his pictures on the wall so earnestly. Or maybe it was because the sight of her stray hair playing on the side of her cheek made him want to tuck it behind her ear. Honestly he would never know.
       "You and Naruto have known each other for a long time, huh?" The question snapped him out of his jitter fest and called the attention to her. She was looking at a picture of a young Naruto and Sasuke. " yeah, we practically grew up together. We kinda went to the same school and everything... until I moved away." He explained as he began preparing the grounded coffee beans in his expreso machine. "You moved? Why?"she asked curiously as she turned to look over at him. "My old man thought it would be better if I took special classes starting at a young age... so we did just that."
         Sasuke wasn't really sure why he was explaining to the pinkette as if he wanted to share his whole life story with her. To be honest if he did she would probably be bored. There wasn't really a lot to tell beside going to special boarding schools and business meetings. But to his surprise she didn't seem bored at all. "Special class? Don't tell me you went to a private boarding school?" She teased as she made her way to the counter. "Indeed." He nodded, trying to ignore how her lips formed into a teasing smile. "Did you have to do those drills and wake up early in the morning?" She asked as she leaned her head on the palm of her hand.
      "You're thinking of military schools..." he said turning his back on her to avoid her teasing looks. His hands worked smoothly as he prepared her drink, just like he would at the bar. "But you still had to wear those little uniforms and hats huh? Oh I bet you played something like lacrosse or golf." She continued. Sasuke stopped midway from making her drink. He tried to hide the embarrassment as she continued to tease him. "I played ...rugby" he said in a semi embarrassed tone. This caused her to laugh. (She seems to be doing better..) Sasuke thought to himself. The sound of her laugh echoing in his apartment made him want to stay like this a little while longer. He finally finished making her drink and turned around to place it on the counter.
       "I hope it's to your liking. I only had decaf..." he explained as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "It's fine. I'm sure I'll like anything you make. She said as she eased the drink closer to her mouth. The smell seemed to calm her as it reminded her of the coffee her mother used to make. She took a sip and expressed her gratitude in pure blissful hums. "Wow everything you make is amazing." She said as she beamed a smile at him. Sasuke could feel his heart begin to quicken. Maybe it wasn't decaf after all... "thanks.." he said as he let a minuscule smile play in his lips. "Seriously Sasuke, I'm really glad you became a bartender.."
       Her words were like tiny bells lightly ringing with the subtle breeze. It took him a minute before he could process what she had just said. And a minute more before he could react. He widened his eyes before looking up at her face as she enjoyed her drink. "... Metoo." Was all he could say. (Because I got to meet people like you.) he whispered inwardly. It was the first time someone had actually told him that. He didn't know how much he had needed to hear those words until he had heard them from her. "Meow" his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar noise. "Ah you have a cat? How cute." Sasuke watched as Dango sniffed Sakura before she bent down to pet him.
       "Yeah.. wait don't-!" He tried to warn her but it was to late Dango had decide to swat his mittens of fury at her hand leaving a bloody trail behind. Sakura yelped more out of surprise than hurt and accidentally ended up knocking over her drink which spilled onto Sasuke's pants. "Crap." Sasuke hissed as he stood up out of reaction. "Oh god! Sorry! Let me clean that for you!" Sakura said as she quickly stood up and tried to wipe his pants with the nearest towel. Because of her nervousness she ended up fumbling the towel and squat down to pick it up. Unaware of the very compromising position she was in. "Uuuh Saku-at-!" He was quickly cut off by the noise of his front door swinging open. Obito strides in while taking off his coat.
         "Yoo Sasuke ima crash with you for today. I bet Kakashi I would streak across the baseball-....." he stopped in his tracks as he finally noticed Sasuke and Sakura in the kitchen. It was like lighting had struck the three of them leaving them in dead silence. While Dango hopped on the counter and licked his paws. A bead of sweat ran down Obito's brow before he quietly got his belongings and walked out the door like nothing had happen. Sakura gave Sasuke a confused look before reality finally hit her and what Obito might have thought was happening. She gave a silent shriek inwardly before instantly jolting up. "WAIT ITS NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" She yelled awkwardly.
            Sasuke face palmed himself before giving Dango an annoyed look to which he replied with a simple meow. "Sakura it's ok I got it from here." He said as he gently took the towel from her hand and began to clean up. "Ah.. s-sorry again. I ended up ruining a perfectly good drink." She said with a slight bow. " well I would say I'll make you another one but that seemed to be my last batch. I need to go buy more coffee beans." He explained as he finished wiping down the counter. "That's ok... maybe, I could stop by another time...?" She asked shyly as she played with her hands. Sasuke seem to flinch at the boldness of her statement. "I.. would like that." He added as he finally finished cleaning everything up and put the cups away in his sink.
            "I'm going to go change out of this I'll be back." Sasuke explained leaving Sakura to explore more of his apartment. She was half way through exploring his living room when he came back with in her sight. Sakura's heart nearly jumped out of her body. God had she wished she was blind so that she didn't have to react so embarrassingly. But she couldn't help it.  He was way too attractive to keep her eyes away. He wore some grey sweats pants that did wonders for his ass and package and a lose white tshirt that hugged his upper body nicely. God she never wanted to step outside of her body and smack herself for not thinking about the consequences of her actions.
        "Sorry I didn't explain earlier Dango is a bit of a dick to new people." He said as he dropped his work clothes in his hamper. Sasuke could tell that she had began to look incredibly stiff and nervous, but he couldn't figure out why. Maybe he had done or said something that put her off.  He wanted to fix it as soon as possible. "A-Ah ha no no it's ok! I should have asked before touching him..." she said as she finally managed to yank her eyesight away from him and divert it down. Sasuke raised a brow. A bit confused by her actions. His eyes traveled down to her hand where Dango had managed to scratch her. "You're bleeding." He said instantly causing her to look down at sed hand .
           "Oh tis but a scratch. I'll live. Hahaha" she said nervously. (Stop talking like an old person! You're embarrassing us! Shanaroo!) she yelled inwardly as she tucked her loose strands behind her ear. Something Sasuke had been wanting to do since she had gotten to his apartment. "Go wash your hands and I'll clean it." He said as he walked into a room disappearing from her sight again. "It's ok you don't have to-." "Go." His command was firm but kind, cutting her off from another excuse. Sakura was quick to nod and follow instructions. She didn't know why but being command to do things made her feel things she didn't know she could feel. She called herself a masochist just for thinking of that. She quickly shook her head to get rid of any unnecessary  thoughts before washing her hands and drying them. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the cut that Dango had crescent her with as their first meeting.
           After walking out of the restroom Sakura panned her head around to look for the black haired man only to come up empty. "Sasuke..?" She said unsure of wether to continue or not. "In here." He yelled from a room which caused her to walk over in curiosity. To her surprise he was busy rummaging through a drawer. Her eyes glanced at the supplies sprawled out on his bed. "What's this? she asked with a raised brow.
      "Sit down I'm going to disinfect and wrap your cut." He explained as he continued looking through cabinets. Sakura was unsure wether to sit down or not, for in fact it was his bed. Deciding to make it less weird she proceeded to sit down letting her hands run along the sheets. They were soft and smelled like detergent. It made her feel safe and calm and finally allowed some tiredness to seep in. Her medication did not make it easier to stay awake either. "Found it." He said as he pulled a small bottle from his drawer. He turned around only to stop in his tracks. She was sitting on his bed. (M-maybe I should have been more clear.) he thought in his head as he pulled out the chair next to his bed and sat down on it.
        He didn't want her to get the wrong idea or think he was up to something. Yet it was her who had chosen to sit on his bed. "Let's get started.." he mumbled sheepishly as he took her hand softly and began to clean the area around her wound. Sakura stiffened as he took her hand. Noticing the obvious difference in their size. Sasuke was aware of her stiffness. Maybe she was nervous about the pain, he thought. "It'll only sting a bit." He said as he looked up at her. Sakura gave a confused look. "O-oh Kay!" She said as she nodded her head excessively. (I had totally forgotten about the pain. I'm more nervous about being on his bed!) Sakura yelled inwardly.
        Sasuke went ahead and dabbed a wet cotton swab on her cut. She winced from the sting, and he tightened his grip so that she wouldn't jolt and drop the cleaning solution like the coffee. The heat in sakuras face was evident she wouldn't admit it but the way he so assertively grabbed her wrist made her mind run wild with imagination. "Almost done." He said as he glanced at her face. He didn't fail to notice how her emerald eyes shimmered and her cheeks freckled with color. He never seemed to fail to notice the details in her face for some reason. As Sasuke worked the bandages he admired how she seemed to have some strong and hard working hands. Compared to other girls, who's hands were soft and well taken care off, Sakura's were callous yet smooth. Something she had always been embarrassed off.
         "There, done." He said as he finished tucking in the bandage on her hand. Sakura snapped out of her thoughts for a second when she admired his handiwork. "Wow. This is not bad. If you ever decide to quit bartending, you'd be a great nurse." She said as she happily looked at her hand. This made a genuine laugh escape his lips. "I don't think I'll ever quit." He said as he began to pack away the supplies. "Why is that?" She quirked. "Contrary to what it seems... I enjoy doing it." Sakura of course knew this, but it was rare to hear him actually say it. She could tell by the way he reacted every time, somebody complimented his drinks.
          "That's how I feel about nursing... but to be honest I want to do more. I want to be a doctor. That's been my end goal..." Sakura looked down at her bandaged hand. A small blush settled on her cheek as she remembered how carefully he wrapped it. Normally she would have been flooding Ino's phone with messages by now. Her best friend would have responded with shoulds, woulds, and don't... but now her phone laid in her pocket dark and empty. The thought of Ino brought with it some sour memories. "Sasuke.. be honest with me." She suddenly said making him turn around from fixing his drawer.
         "Yeah?" He asked a little concerned by her change in tone. "Did you speak with Ino today about firing me?" His gut instantly sank as he remembered the conversation he had with the blonde. (...I want you to fire Sakura...  Sakura suffered an angina attack... if she continues to stress out Sakura can die...) the heavy words flashed in his mind as he remembered them. He gave a sigh before answering. "Yes. We talked about it." Sakura's eyes filled with hurt again. He instantly grew concerned. Did that have something to do with why she looked so down when he had first seen her. "Why didn't you fire me?" She asked without looking up at him.
          "Why? Because you're a grown women who can make her own decisions. I stand by that." He said as he crossed his arms. "Ah I see.." she said half heartily. Ino didn't seem to think so. It hurt to think that her friend had such little faith in her. "Did... you talk about anything else?" She continued, still looking down to her feet. Sasuke's eyes shifted from her form to the clock on his night stand. " we talked about you being stubborn, refusing to let people help you ... and we also talked about your heart" he said as he shifted his eyes back to her. (Ah... so he did know about my heart condition.) she thought to herself. Would he think she was useless now. She dreaded the thought alone.
"Is that why you gave me a month off ? Do you think .. I am incapable of completing my tasks now?" She asked hesitantly. She expected a blunt answer like how he used to give her when they first met, but to her surprise sasuke response was soft. " I don't think you are weak or useless. Still I think people should value their health and put their needs over their jobs. If they don't... it only ends up hurting them in the long run.. along with people who care about them." He explained as he thought about his earlier conversation with Itachi. Sakura's eyes soften as she looked up at him. She had never thought of it like that and if she thought hard maybe her mom could have used this talk too.
"But don't you ever feel like a burden when you ask for help, or let people help you?" She had been feeling that way ever since she could remember. Sasuke brought a hand up to touch his chin. "Maybe it feels that way to you. But have you ever seen me as a burden?" Sakura was confused by the question. "Of course not!" She answered quickly. "Then getting help from those who really want to help you is not a burden. You should know... after all you are the one who is helping me with my business." His words were like a splash of cold water finally waking her up. Why hadn't Sakura thought of that. She had never realized that all the times she had helped people she had never once seen them as a burden. It was so simple yet she didn't apply it to herself.
"Uuuugggh... im so dumb." She said as she laid back on the bed and used her arms to cover her face. This made Sasuke smile. What was she on about. That he would never figure out. "Sasuke I made a mistake... Ino and I got into a huge fight over that... I feel like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. I still feel like I have some right to be mad but I also know that I was wrong on some parts.." she grumbled still keeping her face covered. (Aaaaah so that was what was wrong.) he thought finally connecting the dots. "Yeah I can't help you with that." He said making her look up at him. "What?! But you just gave me really good advice. Just tell me how I can make up with her!" She pouted.
"Yeah.. girls are weird. I can't help you with that." He shook his head. "Well how do you and Naruto make up when you fight?" She asked with a raised brow. Sasuke had to think back to the times they had gotten into fights, which wasn't that far back, as it was common. "Umm we kinda just. Punch each other till we are tired and then go get food." He explained as she thought about the blonde man. A bead of sweat ran down her brow. (That's barbaric) she thought to herself. "Huh... I doubt that'll work." She mumbled in thought. "I'll let you think about that. I'm going to get water. Do you want something?" He asked as he walked towards the door. But Sakura was already too deep in thought to register his question.
Sasuke couldn't help but feel more relaxed now. He had gotten used to her presence in his house as if it was a natural thing. His eyes scanned the clock on the wall and blinked. "How is it already 4:00am?" He asked himself. He didn't even feel tired yet, maybe it was because talking to the pinkette was actually interesting. Still he knew it he was going to be tired later on that day, yet he didn't seem to mind. Sasuke took two glass drinks with him back to his room only to find that Sakura had fallen asleep on his bed. (I guess she was tired...) he thought as he set the drinks down on his night stand.
Sasuke shook his head as he pulled her boots off. "Sleeping with shoes on... you should know it hurts your feet." He grumbled. Sasuke was fine about having the pinkette on his bed that is until he reach over to pull his covers over her that he remembered a very specific steamy dream he had had in that very bed. Sasuke's face burned red as he quickly covered her and left the room. He stared at the ceiling from his couch, too afraid to close his eyes. He knew that his mind would take the images of her sleeping on his bed and run wild with them. He didn't want to think of what kind of dreams his mind would subject him to that night. But no matter how hard he tried to stay awake sleep came to claim him.