A/N: I'm eating raspberry pie while I write this; cherry is still the best.
Disclaimer: I don't own cherries(well, technically there are some in my fridge), I don't own pie(also in my fridge), I don't own Naruto(on a bookshelf), I don't own the song 'If Heaven' by Andy Griggs(on CD), and I don't own Andy(thank God). Any more questions?
Cherry Pie
'If heaven was a pie, it would be cherry
So cool and sweet, and heavy on the top.'
-Andy Griggs
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The sweltering sun had driven all indoors today; even the young genin were cowering indoors beneath fierce gasp of the blistering heat. The air was humid and alive with waves off heat that roiled off the scorching pavement and up into the cloudless sky. The trees were bent over and withered, the grass was the colour of burnt toast; collectively, the vegetation wasn't doing too well. Nothing or nobody in their right minds would dare to stray outside, except for one very irritated, soiled, and sweaty Uchiha.
Now Sasuke's day hadn't been going well as it was. The previous night he had gone to bed without anything to eat because he'd been too tired to cook and he'd forgotten to buy any tomatoes after he had run out. When he'd gone to bed he'd been tired and hungry, expecting to be able to wake up the next morning for an intensive day of training to blow of some steam. Instead, he'd woken up to find himself slick with sweat, a headache, and a muggy apartment. Wanted nothing more to take a long shower before eating something and beating Naruto to a pulp to relieve all stresses he'd experienced over the last twenty fours hours, he'd stretched and climbed out of bed.
When he'd entered the bathroom that stood across from his bedroom, he'd slipped on the condensation that had collected on the tiles and ended up on his backside. Removing his clothes, he'd entered the shower only to find out that it was broken. Donning a navy yukata and grumbling profusely about extreme heat and useless appliances, he left the room and headed downstairs towards the kitchen to find something to satisfy his growing hunger. Upon his arrival in the kitchen Sasuke's stress levels increased tenfold. For there, lying in the middle of his floor stood the largest puddle of water he'd ever seen in the entire span of his fourteen years. Warily, he walked over to the large wet entity that covered the porcelain surface of his kitchen and surveyed the area for the cause of the damage; it wasn't pretty.
The center of the ceiling was crisscrossed with rugged cracks that stretched from one end of the room to another. Looks like he'd found the cause behind the ineffectual shower. Now, being an Uchiha, a shinobi, and a man, Sasuke had one thing that no female would be stupid enough to bother with; an ego and pride so big it overrode any rational thinking. Sasuke would be damned if he had to admit defeat to a ceiling, a puddle, and a bunch of pipes. With a loud huff and string of profanities that would make any decent person's ears bleed Sasuke stormed out of the room. However, he failed to notice that he'd trudged through the immense puddle and he ended up head over heels for the second time that day; God sure was quick about punishing the wicked these days.
Glaring at anything and everything that lay in his line of vision, Sasuke picked up his bruised pride and rump and vacated the area. Marching back up the stairs-leaving a trail of water in his angry wake-he strode into his bedroom. Tossing the soaking robe upon the sweat dampened silk sheets; he grabbed a dark blue towel and dried himself. Still seething over the events of the last few minutes he dressed himself in his usual garb and trekked over to the supply closet that lined the corridor to his bathroom. He ended up throwing the door to the cramped whitewash room open with more force than necessary. Examining the fresh dent in the wall with disdain, he roughly grabbed the ladder from its perch and made his way back to the kitchen. Carefully wading through the ever increasing pool of water-he didn't want to slip again-and dropped the ladder beneath the largest of the cracks that resembled something along the lines of the San Andreas Fault. Narrowing his eyes at the damage, he reached forward to inspect the damage further. His fingers barely grazed the surface of the crowning, before…
CRASH!
Multiple pieces of ceiling came crashing down on the head of the young Uchiha, filling his already tussled hair with plaster dust and small chunks of debris. Swelling with pride that he'd managed to stay on the ladder throughout the ordeal, all happy thoughts faded away as the dust settled and…
SPLASH!
Sasuke finally received the shower he'd desired that morning; his kitchen couldn't have possibly been wetter-he didn't have much time to register these facts however. Due to the fact that the ladder suddenly slipped and he tumbled to the ground with a deafening howl of rage that was instantly silenced by the sickening crack that reverberated throughout the house when his body came into contact with the floor. Sasuke was immediately rendered unconscious and was, by now, thirty minutes late for his meeting with the remainder of Team 7.
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At the bridge…
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Sakura sat on the upper railings of the vermillion bridge, sweat pouring down her face and concern for a certain boy filling her young mind. It was normal for Kakashi to be late, in fact, it was tradition. Naruto was a little late for training once in a blue moon-he always came with the same excuses of a date with a bowl of miso ramen at Ichiraku's. She would however, never expected Sasuke to be late though, he was a stickler for the time. Generally the first one who was at their designated meeting place, leaning silently against the wooden poles, trademark smirk in place and an air of cool surrounding his demeanor.
She moaned as she leaned back from her position on the rail; it was just so damn hot. Sweat trickled down her face, neck, and back and her clothes clung to her slim figure. Her palms slid against the rough wood of the overpass trying to find a way to hold onto it. Her cherry tresses clung to her skull-also damp with perspiration-and were a shade darker that their normal hue. She shot a look over at Naruto; he didn't seem to be doing much better that her. Probably worse if she thought about it, at least her arms and legs were exposed, he was entirely covered by is vibrant orange suit. His gold spikes were plastered to his head as sweat streamed down face and dripped off his chin; his hitai-ate was drenched.
"It's soooo hot! I hope we don't have training today, Ino-pig doesn't," sighing in frustration, she wiped some sweat from her brow and changed the subject, "Naruto, what do you think is taking Sasuke-kun so long?"
Naruto looked over at her and shrugged carelessly, "I don't know Sakura-chan, maybe he couldn't get his hair just right," he snickered at the thought of the Uchiha standing in front of the mirror, a frustrated scowl on his face and a bottle of hairspray in hand. Shaking his head at the humorous mental images, he continued, "Who cares anyway?"
Sakura immediately hit Naruto over the head.
"Who cares?!" she practically shrieked, "I care! How can I impress my precious Sasuke-kun and beat Ino-pig if he's not here!" Her face suddenly creased in concern, "You don't suppose he's hurt, do you? Or sick? He's is never late, I hope it's not serious."
"I bet that teme is scared to fight because he knows I'd win!" Naruto crowed triumphantly to sky.
"Sasuke-kun is much too awesome to be scared of you and you can't call him a teme," she snarled while smacking the blond upside his head again.
"Owwwwww, Sakura-chan! Did you have to hit me so hard?" he grumbled, clutching his head.
Before Sakura retort with either a verbal insult or a physical blow there was a small popping above their heads.
"Yo."
Glancing upward, the pair saw their sensei crouched upon the top bar of the bridge.
"YOU'RE LATE KAKA-SENSEI!"
"So is Sasuke," Kakashi responded; discarding his usual excuse and trying another tactic to distract the set of accusing fingers pointing his way.
He honestly couldn't understand why they reacted like this ever time-he was late everyday after all. However, when he saw the worried and somewhat devastated look that crossed Sakura's face at the mention at her crush he instantly regretted mentioning the dark haired boy.
His visible eye crinkled into a kind smile, "Well why don't you go find him?" he questioned as he pulled out his vibrant porn novel.
"What?"
"Because it's so hot," he began, almost wished he hadn't worn a mask in such blistering heat, "Training is cancel today because of the heat wave. Don't want you collapsing now, do we?" he chuckled.
With a single wave of his hand, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke that had marked his arrival merely a few seconds ago.
"Well," Naruto sighed as he got up, stretching and cracking his neck, "I'm off to Ichiraku's for some ramen." He turned to face his teammate, "Wanna come Sakura-chan?"
"No, I'm gonna wait here for Sasuke-kun to show up."
"Suit yourself."
With that said, Naruto turned and ran down the street despite the heat, yelling something about pork ramen as he went.
Shaking her head at the antics of her friend, Sakura wiped some more sweat off her face.
"I hope Sasuke-kun doesn't take too long," she muttered.
Somewhere in the distance, a sneeze exploded from Sasuke's nose.
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Sasuke's kitchen…
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Sasuke struggled to his feet as he tried to wiggle out beneath the fallen ladder and not trip himself on the shattered pieces of his ceiling. Fainting was not his idea of a good morning and this chaos did not help his mood. Finally getting himself upright, he assessed the damage that had befallen his home.
The floor was a disaster-to put it mildly. There was grime and pieces of the ceiling littering every possible surface in the room-and many more that Sasuke didn't even know existed. The excess water that had come crashing down when the ceiling had been ripped away left the feeling of being lost at sea-a very disgusting sea mind you-in one's head. Not even wanting to know how his appearance was doing at the moment, Sasuke brushed some sweat and dust out of his eyes and lifted his face to the ruins above his head. He got as far as registering something similar to the aftermath of an explosive tag was now situated above his head before he lost himself in an explosion of his own. A vicious sneeze tore its way threw Sasuke's throat and sent him stumbling backwards from the force and into a face plant of a particularly large pile of sludge. Coughing and sputtering his way out of the muck, he shot to his feet. He glanced suspiciously around before straightening the ladder and mounting it to fix the stream of water that was now splashing onto his face. Gagging, he turned his icy stare to the calamity above him.
He narrowed his eyes in fury. A pipe?! A stupid goddamn pipe was the reason he'd had such a lousy morning! He couldn't believe it; how could he, Uchiha Sasuke, a prodigy and genius be outdone by a pipe?! Frowning at the large fissure that rent its way down the center water line for roughly two feet, he came up with what he supposed was a brilliant plot. All he had to do was fix the gash and his problem was solved right? So why not try welding it shut. He just needed heat to that and he could take care of that easily, he was an Uchiha after all. Lifting his hands and forming a series of seals, Sasuke took a deep breath and shouted.
"Katon, Gokakyuu no Jutsu!"
An enormous fireball roared out of Sasuke's mouth; fueled by his rage and frustration it was slightly larger than he meant. Intense flames licked a path along the support beams and completely incinerating the pipe he had intended to fix.
Sasuke was a typical man; all talk, stuffed up on pride and ego and no talent what so ever.
The flaming wood was almost immediately put to rest by the tsunami of water that blasted from the pipes filling the room with even more water. Sasuke was thrown back by the impact of the discharge of liquid and ended up washed up in his living room-along with half of ceiling and kitchen appliances.
That was it! He could not take anymore! Slipping and sliding way over to the phone, he wrenched it off its cradle slammed open a phonebook. Tearing through a few pages, he chucked an unfortunate-and dilapidated-phonebook where it met an early demise in the flood of water. Gripping the phone venomously like it had done him a personal wrong, he nearly blew out the keypad from the force he applied to dial the number.
"Hullo," a gravelly voice grumbled on the other end.
"You, Uchiha District, NOW!" he snarled viciously into the phone before it too met the same fate as the phonebook.
With another enraged growl, Sasuke stormed out the front door leaving the plumber to his own devices when he arrived.
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Sakura…
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"I hope Sasuke-kun arrives soon," Sakura wondered aloud.
A guttural noise down the street caused her to snap her head up and she was greeted with the most shocking sight to ever meet her eyes. For there, just a few meters away from her stood…Uchiha Sasuke looking like he had been dragged through a hurricane, run over by a bus, hit by a tornado, crushed by a brick wall, and attacked by an angry mob.
Wet, disheveled, and dirty. These words didn't even begin to cover his appearance. His hair and clothes were singed; he was soaked to the bone, and covered from head to toe in a thick layer of grime and swearing the most colourful string of profanities she had ever heard.
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Sasuke…
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Sasuke's bad mood had increased-if that was possible. Having to walk in public looking the way he was hadn't been his plan, but he'd been so angry when he'd stormed out of his house he couldn't think straight. His pale skin was covered in a solid film of filth and his hair was filed with the same wet, slimy debris. His clothes were plastered against his skin with water and sweat and were tattered and disheveled. His hair stuck up in a wide array of different angles that shouldn't even be possible if he had dumped a truckload of anti-gravity hair gel in his midnight locks. They were soaked and he doubted he would be able to remove the collection of knots that has amassed in them even if he tried for another ten years.
Now, being the only remaining member of the Uchiha clan in Konohagakure caused Sasuke to attract a lot attention. But nothing could ever compare to whispering and stares that he was receiving now. And what was most infuriating was that his death glare did nothing to waver the intense scrutiny he was being subjected too…then, he sneezed. He couldn't believe it; Kami had been having a field day with him for the entire morning. Now this infernal sneezing?! Swearing with every curse he could muster-around him several seniors fainted-he raised his head to find Haruno Sakura staring at him like he'd grown another head. With his luck, he probably had.
She stood there, mouth agape, jaw practically on the ground and her eyes extended beyond nature should allow. Striding over to her with as much dignity he could muster, only to end up tripping halfway there on a small patch off gravel.
Several people snickered and Sakura seemed to snap out of her trance at the sight of him taking a nosedive.
Rushing forward, she crouched before him and asked, "Sasuke-kun, are you okay?! What happened to you?!"
He had the sudden urge to reach out and slap her because he was clearly not okay.
Instead, he glowered and managed to bite out, "Where are Naruto and Kakashi?" without ripping anyone's head off.
That route nearly became a reality when he heard her answer.
"Oh, Naruto and Kakashi? They're not here; we have the day off because it's so hot."
The only reason he'd stepped outside this morning was so he could vent out all his frustrations by ripping Naruto to pieces and tearing half the forest around Konoha apart.
"Sasuke-kun, are you alright? You're rather filthy and stuff…" Sakura's questions broke off his inner rant.
A sudden idea woke him up from his anger. Sakura! She could help him.
"Sakura, we are going to your house this instant," he commanded.
Looking both delighted and shocked, she breathed, "Of course!"
He allowed her to help him off the ground before he dragged her away from the throng that had congregated around the pair and onto the city's rooftops. Spinning the sweaty girl around to face him he motioned for her to lead the way. Nodding in understanding, she took off, Sasuke at her heels.
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Sakura's house…
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Soon after, the two genin arrived on Sakura's porch. They had traveled in silence; skirting contact with anyone else by traveling from roof to roof.
Glancing back at Sasuke, a small blush creeping up her face, she offered, "My parents are at work right now."
Nodding, relief flooding through him before he turned too stared pointedly at the door. Seeing what he meant, she flushed in embarrassment and pulled a small key out of her pouch and proceeded inside, holding the door open for Sasuke. Stalking past her, he dropped his sandals off by the door and waited for her to do the same before continuing forward into the house.
Feeling Sakura's eyes trailed on his back, he turned around and said in way of explanation, "Bad day. Now, where is the bathroom? I want a shower."
The colour that had recently faded from her cheeks returned twice as dark as before. Eyes glued to the carpet beneath her feet, she dared to shot another glance at Sasuke. Blush brightening; she scurried past him and up the stairs, Sasuke once again trailing after her.
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Bathroom…
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"The towels are over there and here's a spare yukata."
She handed him said item and immediately sped towards the door until a slight tug on her wrist stopped her, looking down she saw that Sasuke had taken a hold of her. She snapped her head up and gave him a questioning look, confusion etched across her features.
Feeling slightly embarrassed he shrugged casually, "Sakura…thanks."
"Oh, it's no problem Sasuke-kun, I'll be downstairs if you need me," she smiled brightly, her blush almost gone.
Disappearing around the corner, Sasuke was left alone in a spacious bathroom. Stepping toward the door she had kindly closed for him, he turned the small knob in the center to lock it for good measure. Turning towards the shower, he shed his filthy clothes and slipped inside the glass heaven. Flipping the taps on, he allowed the hot spray to blast his chest and massage his grimy skin, washing away all the dirt.
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Kitchen…
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Sasuke stepped into the kitchen in all his-finally clean-Uchiha grandeur. His slightly damp hair was now in its usual style, although, it smelled strangely of cherry blossoms. His skin glowed in its trademark pale splendor now that it was free of the film of dirt. As he adjusted the charcoal coloured yukata he had to admit he was grateful of the air condition that blasted cool throughout the house.
Sakura sat at the table, spooning a mouthful of pie into her face. Clearing his throat to grab her attention, he joined her. Sakura glanced up at Sasuke and pushed a plate of pie his way.
"Here, eat this. You must be hungry."
Accepting her offer he glanced down at the food in front of him and then back at the plate in front of her.
"What's that?" he asked almost childishly, sounding reminiscent of a toddler who had been denied something.
"Cherry pie," she offered offhandedly, not bothering to look up.
"Give me some," he demanded.
"I'm sorry Sasuke-kun; this is the last of it. I gave you apple pie because I thought you liked apples."
"Well, I want some of that," emphasizing his point with a swift jab of his slender digits.
"There's none left," she said as spooned the last bite into her mouth.
Sending her a scowl that she blatantly ignored, he got up; walked around the edge of the cherry wood table and crouched down until he was eyelevel with her before he shot her another glare.
"What?" she snapped, somewhat annoyed.
"Next time," he began, "I want cherry pie."
He immediately proceeded to crush his lips against her, roughly grabbing her shoulders before her pushed his way into her mouth. Sakura, too shocked by the sudden events didn't move as Sasuke continued to ravage every corner of her mouth, dominating all her senses. Hormones finally taking over her paralyzed body and mind, Sakura's arms wrapped themselves around Sasuke's neck on their own accord and pulled him closer. Satisfied with himself; he pulled himself away from her lips and gave her a smug smirk before he leaned in and kissed her again.
He always did like the taste of cherries best.
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A/N: Ha ha, Sasuke had a bad day! The beginning was fun to write but I bet you saw the end coming.:P Also, I know that Sasuke isn't fourteen before he leaves to go to Oro and with his reflexes none of those things could have happened but this is my fic, so deal. Writing this was difficult, the page kept minimizing to my other word doc for the first chapter of my new fic, 'Tunneling'. Please review this; it makes all my wasted efforts feel useful.
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Something Random: Americans did not commonly use forks until after the Civil War.
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Rie-chan