Coffee Beans || Sasuke Uchiha X Reader

.:Chapter Twenty-One:.

  It was New Year's Eve, which meant that nearly the entire world was put into party mode. There were probably thousands of different parties in your city alone, each with the intention of starting off the New Year as a drunk mess, and a kiss from any willing volunteer. Most years, you were a part of this. Everyone from the café got together, along with other friends – maybe a few family members who were bigger hot messes than you were and wouldn't judge the amount of shots you did – and together you celebrated the beginning of a fresh year. The party was almost always held at Suki and Miki's place, since they had the most space. Suki and Rin would get the most drunk, followed by whichever chef decided to challenge them that year. Emiko would only have a single shot at midnight with everyone else, but other than that, she wasn't a drinker. Sora and Kou would share a sappy kiss as soon as the ball dropped, and everyone else would mill around and share hugs and cheek kisses, then continue to get drunk until the morning. You could picture the entire event vividly in your mind, like how you remembered every creak and groan the old café made, and how you could identify each of your friend's footsteps. The New Year's party had become a part of your normal life, and you looked forward to it every year. But this year, you wouldn't be attending. Why? Because you were sick.

It started a few days before and began with a tingle in your throat. You knew right away that the tingle was the beginning of a sore throat – it was just something that everyone could recognize. You took a few lozenges and some cough syrup that tastes like medicine trying to pretend to be cherry juice. But things only got worse. Soon your nose clogged up, and you couldn't remember a time that you could breathe through it clearly. You went through endless boxes of tissues, and your nose was sore from shoving so many Kleenex in it. You had a horrible headache, your back was aching, and you infected your entire apartment with all you coughing and sneezing. You told the others that you would have to pass this year, but to have fun without you.

It was nearing midnight when you started to think about Sasuke. It'd been about a week and a half since the morning after the party. You never really talked about this new relationship that the two of you found together. You continued on with how you normally acted around each other, but with a lot more kissing and cuddling when no one was around. You decided not to tell anyone about the two of you; it was something new, and you both wanted to enjoy what you had before you let everyone else in on it. You knew the girls would make a huge fuss over it, so you didn't mind not telling them what was going on with him. He was going to attend the café New Year's party with you, and the two of you had debated on whether you would tell everyone that you were 'dating' (could it be called dating if you'd never actually been on a date?) at the party. You decided not to plan it out, and just go with what felt right. But it didn't matter anymore, since you weren't going. You told Sasuke that you were too sick to go after you told Emiko. You told him that you were sick and disgusting so he shouldn't come over, and to find another party to go to and have fun. You knew Naruto was having his own party and insisted that he attend. He didn't say much about it, so you weren't sure what he was planning to do with his evening.

When it was around 11:30, there was a knock on your door. You were sat in your living room, cuddled up in a thick blanket on your couch, flipping through the channels and occasionally checking in on the New Year's show to see what big star was performing next. You sighed when you heard the person at the door. You grabbed a few new tissues and stuck them up your nose to stop the leaking, then picked yourself off the couch and wrapped yourself with the blanket. You shuffled towards the door, and without looking through the peephole, you opened the door, and in a very stuffy voice, asked, "Hello?"

Sasuke stood there with takeout in one hand and a drugstore bag in the other. When he saw you, he raised one eyebrow and held back a laugh. "You look party ready," he commented sarcastically and pushed past you to enter your apartment. You snorted and closed the door behind him.

"What are you doing here?" you asked, still sounding ridiculous with the tissues in your nose.

"Keeping you company," he replied.

"I told you not to come over. I'm not fun when I'm sick," you said, then sniffed deeply.

He almost laughed again. "I think it's pretty entertaining to see you with those things stuffed up your nose," he said. Your faced turned a shade pinker, then you took out the Kleenex and dumped them in the trash.

"Seriously, you shouldn't be here. You'll get sick too," you said.

"I don't get sick," he answered.

You rolled your eyes at his cockiness. "Everyone gets sick, Sasuke."

"Well I'm not leaving, so suck it up," he said stubbornly, then began unloading his bags on the kitchen counter. "Sakura recommended me some medicines for you to try and I picked up some miso soup on my way over."

Despite his annoying stubbornness, you smiled at what he had done for you. "You went to all this trouble for me?" you asked teasingly.

He paused, looking down at what he brought you, then blushed angrily. "Don't make a big deal out of this. I brought you drugs and cheap soup, it's hardly a proposal," he said, and you stopped your giggling at hearing the word 'proposal'. You didn't know why hearing him say that made you feel so weird. Maybe it was because you'd hardly been together for a week and a half. You knew it was a joke, but it made you feel uneasy for a few seconds, and Sasuke took notice.

"What's wrong?" he asked and raised an eyebrow. "Feeling queasy?"

"I'm fine," you said. "Just tired, I guess." You trudged back over to the couch and cuddled into the corner. Sasuke appeared by your side a minute later and put your soup on the table. He sat down next to you and casually wrapped his arm around you as you leaned forward and grabbed the Styrofoam cup of soup. You peeled off the plastic top off and took a large spoonful of the hot liquid into your mouth and felt it sooth your scratchy throat on the way down.

"Thank you," you said sincerely to him after there was too much silence between you. "I'm sorry you have to spend your New Year tending to a sick girl."

"I'm not just taking care of some sick girl, I'm taking care of you," he said in a steady voice. You smiled at him, but he was staring straight at the TV and refused to look you in the eye. Sasuke never went all the way with romantic gestures. He said the right words, but he wouldn't dare look you in the eye. Or sometimes all he would do is stare into you, but he couldn't find any words to say. Even though he was trying hard to keep his eyes forward, you kissed him sweetly on the cheek.

"You try to act tough, but I know you Sasuke Uchiha. You're a big teddy bear on the inside."

"Hn," he grunted, and you giggled. "Two minutes," he said, and you looked at the TV. The hosts of the show were hyping the crowd and everyone at home, preparing them for the New Year. As the countdown clock made its way to midnight, and the ball was ready to drop, you felt that same fluttering feeling in your chest that you always felt. Neither you nor Sasuke counted down out loud, but you could feel the anticipation in the air as it hit ten seconds. Nine seconds. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

"Happy New Year," you whispered, and turned to look at Sasuke. He was already looking at you. He cupped your face with his hands and kissed you tenderly, and your hands wrapped around his neck.

When he pulled away, he touched his forehead to yours and whispered, "Happy New Year."