title: deal breaker
pairing: SasuSaku
prompt: "i accidentally fell asleep in the bookstore you work in cause i read so much"
rating: K+
author's note: I found some cool prompt-list I really loved on tumblr, so I decided to make it into a prompt-challenge/oneshot-collection for my (CANON) otp: SasuSaku. The prompts are by tumblr user: xaquaangelx. Title and summary based on the song: Naked As We Came by Iron and Wine.

He came in almost every day, save for Wednesdays and Thursdays. He always sat on the same couch in the back corner of the store in the same, burgundy sweatshirt, with the same worn-out, black leather dress shoes. He never wore glasses when he came in, but always when he left. He never bought anything.

Now, Sakura had worked at the bookstore for an incredibly long time—since the second week of her freshman year of college, to be exact—and Sakura knew the rules; one: no free refills on the coffee, two: no credit purchases below ten dollars, and three: no reading without purchase.

She just didn't have the heart to say no.

So, she allowed an unspoken deal of sorts to form. Normally, Sakura was not one to break the rules, and this boy should've been no exception… if it weren't for the fact that he was inexplicably beautiful. She was allowed to stare, as long as she didn't disturb him.

They had never even spoken, but it was almost as if they had their own little relationship, their own little agreement. She could trace the line of his jaw, and she made sure the seat was left clear for him. She could gaze at the unruliness of his deep, wild hair, and he promised not to damage the books he used. She could overwhelm herself with his slight build, and the tiny arch of his nose, and he always put his book back exactly where he found it. He would leave with a nod in her direction, and she wouldn't say a word to her manager.

That being said, she had no idea what to do with the lump of a man fast asleep in his chair far past closing time.

The second-to-last customer had already left a half hour ago. She had put away all the stray books, and shut all the blinds. She had turned off the coffee maker, swept up the crumbs, and packaged up the brownies. She had locked up the storage room, and closed up the cash register. She had even gathered her coat, and her purse, making as much noise as she possibly could. In fact, she was fairly certain she had nearly made a show of her closing of the store.

The last thing she wanted to do was have to go up to the man and wake him, the man she knew so well, but didn't know it all. It was against their agreement, for God's sake! She wasn't supposed to talk to him; she was supposed to leave him be, nod at him, and let him go on his merry way—and yet, here he was, ruining everything by falling asleep in that damn chair.

He was so cute, too. His hair more ruffled than usual, his cheeks puffed and rosy, his lips slightly parted; he really was incredibly handsome, and now she had to wake him up.

For a moment, she considered just leaving him there. What was the worst that could happen? The doors don't lock from the inside; he'd just get up and leave when he was done!

Or, he could sleep the night away, and the manager could totally fire her tomorrow morning when she walked in to find someone sleeping right in the middle of the store that she knew Sakura definitely hadn't missed.

And yet, Sakura weighed her options.

With a resigned sigh, she began slowly making her way toward the sleeping man. For someone who had been so loud earlier, she was more than timid enough now. Her heels barely clicked against the wood floors, her breathing soft and shallow. If she had been a little younger, and a little more naïve, she knew she'd be shaking terribly right now.

When she finally made her way to him she was able to get a much closer look. She'd never been this close to him before, actually, so she took a moment to soak him in; a long face, with a sharp chin, and an aristocratic nose. He had thin eyes, and thin lips, and a dark set of eyelashes that tickled his high cheekbones. His hair wasn't as dark as she had thought close-up; what once was a midnight black was now nothing more than a dark brown. His skin was clear, and smooth, and alabaster, like a statue she had seen in a museum. He was even more beautiful than she had imagined.

She coughed. "Sir?"

He didn't budge.

She coughed again, and stamped her foot for added affect. She flipped her long, pink hair over her shoulder, and said, "Excuse me, sir?"

He stirred for a moment, and mumbled something, but didn't say anything. For a moment, she wondered if he would put his book away when he woke, or if she would have to.

It didn't seem like he'd be waking up any time soon without a push, but the last thing she wanted to do was touch him—okay, it was the first thing she wanted to do, but that didn't mean she should. She stared at him again for a moment, noting the flush on his cheeks, and the scar on his neck, before lifting her hand daringly close to his shoulder.

She gave him a light push.

"Sir?" she said again. He stirred once more. "It's past closing time."

He stirred one last time, turning away from her before, quite suddenly, jumping up from his seat. His book crashed to the floor, the noise louder in the silence of the dead store than it should have been. He looked startled more than anything, and downright adorable. Sakura barely jumped, only taking a step back for him to settle down.

"Oh, uh, my god, I'm sorry, what time is it?" he asked, having caught himself. His cheeks flushed even deeper, maybe in embarrassment, but his expression was apathetic at best. He picked up the book from off of the floor and cradled it to his chest.

"Ten-forty-five," she explained. She shifted her weight from the balls of her feet, to the tips of her toes, and back. "We closed a little less than an hour ago."

"I see," he said. He looked at the book in his hands, then back at her. "I apologize for the inconvenience."

"It's no inconvenience at all," she said. "It takes me a while to close, anyway."

He made a noise of acknowledgement, before shrugging his shoulders. "Well, at any rate, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Don't worry about it," she assured him. "It happens."

"Yeah, well…" he trailed off. "I really don't mean to cause you any inconvenience, especially since I know I'm not really supposed to be reading the books," he added with a small smirk.

She felt the blush creeping onto her face. As much as she called it a little agreement, she wasn't even sure if he knew he wasn't supposed to be reading the books all day, but there was her answer. "Oh, well, I mean—"

"Thank you," he said. He looked at her for a moment before adding, "Sakura."

"I, well, you're welcome." She effectively took the book from his hands and offered him a small smile. "Have a good night, please come again."

"I will," he said, his smirk widening. If his expressionless face was enough to get her going, that smirk caused heat to bubble within her she really didn't want to acknowledge at the moment. "Goodnight."

He sauntered toward the door, hands deep in his pockets, only to glance her way one last time, and wave haphazardly in her direction.

With a sigh, and a blush she was sure wouldn't subside for at least a few minutes, she placed the book back where it belonged on the shelf. His personality had been just as she had imagined: curt, arrogant, and overwhelmingly enjoyable.

It wasn't until after she made it to her car that she realized she had been wearing a name-tag.