Title: Poker Night
By: Sweet Bliss
Rated: T (language, mentions of alcohol, gambling, and minor sexual references)
Genre: Humor (slight SasuSaku mentioned)
Summary: A friendly game of poker suddenly grows competitive between Naruto and Sasuke when the wager is a certain pink-haired teammate of theirs.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any game that is mentioned in this
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A/N: This was inspired by… well, nothing really. But I was sitting at my computer desk eating grapes, and I decided I wanted to write another one-shot. This is actually the most random thing I've ever written. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Happy Birthday to Sasuke!
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Dedication: To Hangwoman, who has read all of my Naruto stories, and lists me as their favorite author. I promised to write one just for you and here it is! And to the reviewers who have stuck by me since the beginning of my Naruto fandom.
It was a beautiful Friday in mid-April. The weather outside was cool, but the sun shone brightly in the sky. Konoha's trees were finally regaining their leaves, one by one. There hadn't been many missions assigned as of late, but if they were, they only consisted of baby-sitting or other menial tasks.
So most of the more experienced ninja had their fair share of lazy days. And Team 7 was one of those groups.
After they had teamed up with other groups from their genin days, they had managed to kick Sasuke's ass and force him back into Konoha. Tsunade had punished him with community service and E-ranked missions for the last year until she thought he learned his lesson. Which he probably did after the third day of having to clean the Hokage tower head-to-toe while wearing a version of Lee's spandex suit.
Tsunade said it was to learn humility. He couldn't agree more…
But once she stopped the torture, she allowed him to join his old team again. Nothing much had changed about them, even though it had been six years since he betrayed them and two since he came back.
Naruto had outgrown his original orange jumpsuit thanks to the amazing growth spurt he had hit. He did not, however, outgrow his devotion to ramen. Kakashi still had his beloved novels, and had begun to petition for new ones after Jiraiya had completed the series. Maito Gai had surprisingly supported him—he had shrugged it off as another competition to see who could get the most signatures.
Sakura had managed to fill out where she had previously been lacking. She was quite the looker now—even Sasuke had to admit that his eyes had occasionally wandered. And our beloved Uchiha? He was still blessed by his boyish good looks, hounded by his fan club, and just as cocky as ever. Team 7 was just like it used to be…
And this is where it all started…
"Okay, so we've played Clue, Operation, Scene It, Scrabble, Monopoly," Naruto started as he counted them off on his fingers.
"Not to mention Bull Shit, Go Fish, and any other card game that I kick major ass in," Sasuke added, his face impassive as he flipped casually through a magazine in Sakura's apartment.
Naruto pouted, finally taking his head from inside the storage closet.
"You cheated, bastard!"
"You're just a sore loser."
The blonde stuck his tongue out, sitting in the floor as he shuffled the deck of cards in his hands.
"We also played Shogi and Go—the latter which you thought was checkers."
Naruto huffed indignantly, "How was I supposed to know!"
Sasuke tapped his index finger to his chin. "Well, Shikamaru did go over the rules and instructions for about forty-five minutes."
"It's not my fault he's so boring," the blue-eyed male answered in his defense.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, sitting up from his previous position on the cream colored couch. He brushed off his dark blue zip-up jacket, smoothing out the fabric that had bunched up while he had been lying down.
"Whatever. Where is Sakura? She's usually here by now."
"Huh?" Naruto stated as he placed the fake money back in its correct box. He paused. "Oh, she said something about having to stay a little longer at the hospital and that she'd be back around seven. We've got two hours to kill."
When Sasuke had come back to Konoha, Sakura decided that every Friday they'd all get together for dinner and stay the night at her place. This way they could all see each other again between missions and Sasuke's punishment. It became Team 7's tradition after the first year.
Except tonight wouldn't be like the others. Sakura wasn't home so Naruto decided to make ramen for them—but then he burned it while arguing with the Uchiha. Kakashi had to cancel because there had been an important meeting for the jonins that night. So, it had been the rivals of the group for the last few hours, and they were becoming increasingly bored.
The living room's floor was a sure sign of it. What with the game pieces littering the area around the coffee table. And on top of it was a scoreboard Naruto had made, which hinted that nearly every round of the card games they had played, Sasuke had won. Except for Bull Shit, he'd won that one entirely. He'd had an extremely good poker face.
"How about a rousing game of poker?" Sasuke suggested, boredom taking over him. That magazine was trash. He made mental note to remind Sakura to purchase better reading material if she expected him to come.
"Sure!" Naruto exclaimed, ready to prove that he could beat Sasuke at some card game. Besides, he'd been practicing with Kakashi, who had at least looked like he knew what he was doing even if they had been tipsy. "Wait. Did you just say rousing?"
"Ha! I win, bastard!" Naruto stated, rubbing his hands together as he looked at his winnings. There were two packs of ramen, four dollars, eighty-six cents, and bubblegum.
Sasuke scoffed. "I let you win. It's not like there was anything worthwhile in the pot."
Naruto sat back, his arms folded over his light blue t-shirt, his brows raised in disbelief.
"How bouts we make this game a little more… shall I say, interesting?" Naruto said, rubbing his hands together wickedly.
"That's probably the smartest thing you've said all day. What's the wager?"
Naruto grinned.
"Sakura."
"I'm in."
Alright," Naruto started. "Let's get this game started."
"Hey, guys, I'm home!"
The pink-haired girl dropped her bags onto her floor. She sighed, slipping off her coat and throwing it onto the chair near the entrance. It was unusually quiet inside. She was sure that without Kakashi there to mediate, Sasuke killed Naruto. And the silence that hung in the air was a sure sign of it.
"Sasuke! Naruto!" she called once more, praying to the heavens above she didn't have to clean up after them.
She headed to the kitchen first. But neither was in there. Although there was burnt ramen inside the microwave. Then she checked the two bedrooms. But they were just as she had left them.
She was about to check the bathroom when a loud voice rang out. The nineteen year old heaved a sigh of relief. Naruto was alive, but the way he sounded made it seem like he was dying.
"What's wrong, Na… ru…to?" she asked slowly, finally entering the larger room.
On her once clean floor, were all of her board games. Their pieces were mixed together, and she was sure it'd take all day to sort through them all. And at the coffee table were the two eighteen-year-old boys, cards flung all over the oak.
Naruto had his hands to his head, mouth agape and eyes wide. Sasuke sat opposite him, a triumphant smirk on his face and his eyes twinkling with amusement. They obviously hadn't noticed her presence yet.
"You cheated, bastard! Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have trusted you," Naruto accused, his index finger in the Uchiha's face. "How come you know how to play poker so well?"
The dark-haired male slapped the other's hand out of his face, and answered, "I learned from Itachi a long time ago. Hyuuga and I always play, keeps me in the best poker-playing shape. The pretty-boy has only beat me once, though… but he was so drunk that night he doesn't remember."
Naruto slapped his hands to face, running them down as he sobbed for his looses. Sakura stooped down to their level and placed her hand on the Uzumaki's shoulder. It was then the two noticed her.
"It'll be okay. How much did you lose? Ten dollars, twenty, or… please, don't tell me it's your pants again." She shuddered at the thought of last time.
Naruto should've known from experience that Sasuke was the best at any kind of cards. She even knew that after she had lost all the tomatoes in the house, her paycheck, and her bed once before. Damn him for being so good at everything!
Naruto looked at her, his depression growing more. She didn't fail to notice the mischievous smirk on Sasuke's face either. Why was he staring at her like that? Uh, oh… Did she want to know what he won?
"What? Naruto, you're creeping me out. And Sasuke what the hell- AH!"
Her statement remained unfinished because Sasuke, with his swiftness, was up and had her tiny frame thrown over his shoulder.
"Dearest Sakura," his voice low and seductive in her ear. If she hadn't been furious at him now, she probably would've had him immediately. "You shall address me as Master Uchiha."
"SASUKE!!!!!!!! PUT ME DOWN!"
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The Next Morning
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Naruto, who had barely gotten any sleep last night due to all the crashes in the next room, sat at the kitchen's island. He poured his coffee into his bowel, his Cheerios into his mug, and smeared butter onto his orange—which wasn't even peeled.
It was only eight o' clock and the noises form the other room had died down at around six. It'd get quiet and Naruto would begin to doze off, only to be awoken again by Sakura's screaming.
"G' morning," he greeted unenthusiastically as Sasuke entered the room.
Oddly enough, he was covering his right eye and kind of limping. He didn't even want to know. Well, until Sasuke removed his hand to reveal a nasty purple bruise forming on his pale skin.
"You might want to put some ice on that," Naruto advised his friend. He pitied the poor guy. He cringed at the thought of what else Sakura had injured.
Sasuke glared at him, opened up the freezer and cursed.
"Sakura got rid of anything frozen. Damn her. Might as well use the beer," he said to himself as he pulled out two of the beverages.
He tossed one to his blond teammate, who in turn looked at him curiously.
"You might need it."
And just as those words left his lips, a female growled out the Uzumaki's name. He gulped, looking back and forth between the drink and the way to freedom. He pulled the tap open, chugged the alcohol and made a speedy getaway. Naruto escaped just as Sakura entered the kitchen.
She narrowed her eyes at Sasuke, silently demanding him to tell her where the blonde went. He pointed out the door as he himself opened his drink. She flashed him a cheeky grin before leaving the room.
And as he settled down into the barstool next to the window, hoping to see the show, she reentered. The Uchiha prayed that she wasn't coming back to finish him off, or make it so that he was in fact the last remaining Uchiha.
She came up to him, her hands placed on his bare shoulders. She leaned into him and practically purred in his ear, "Oh, and Master Uchiha."
Sasuke smirked, liking where this was headed as he placed his own hands onto her curvy hips. Sakura smiled, her green eyes dancing impishly, as she raked a hand through her pink locks and succeeded in making it tousled.
"I'll see you later."
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A/N: Well, did you like it? It was actually experimental. Since I haven't done a one-shot in over a year or two. Anyways, this was just for my own amusement and yours, as well as to see if I could get away with this. I don't even know what I think about how it turned out. It kind of strayed from the over all humor I intended when I was planning. And I do realize that they are kind of OOC but it has been a couple of years, so… And I apologize for grammatical errors, I did edit to the best of my abilities, even if it was at midnight. I really would like no one to flame me, but if you must, please, MAKE IT REASONABLE. That's all I'm asking. But please do review. Thanks, and much love,
Sweet Bliss