Chapter 2
The next day Sasuke as usual woke up at five am sharp. He could have slept in of course but his biorhythm be damned,
he never could. He lay in his bed for about twenty minutes, spent with trying to sleep back even though he knew he couldn’t, and ignoring the pain in his foot, again something he couldn’t.
In the darkness of the room, with the curtains blocking out the minimal light the sun could provide at an early hour like this, Sasuke couldn’t help but let the feeling of the well-known emptiness creep up on him. It filled his body, making his limbs heavy.
There were harder days. And this seemed to be one. When he missed the closure of a body. Yearned for it.
But he had learnt at an early age that hoping doesn’t mean reality. It means falseness. Naivety. Because if he had let himself hope, yearn for something that just didn’t fit in his life he was giving himself a cause for a potential heartbreak.
He wasn’t going to cry about this, that would have been embarrassing. But he did feel a great sorrow. For something he never had, never lost, but knew very well that if he’d ever found himself in the situation of having he absolutely would.
And that thought burned his insides. His throat.
But that’s exactly why he chose to become a teacher. He couldn’t, he hoped that he wouldn’t, destroy children. They were the most precious to him. Lighting up the loneliness that his life was. Giving him a reason to go on with his day, to even get up.
He let himself be soft with them. Stern but gentle. He let himself like them and let himself be liked by them too.
And with that, he instantly was in a better mood. The feeling of emptiness subsided and his hatred for himself faded into self-love. Because of those children, they looked up to him. Loved him even. And if they were capable of that he surely couldn’t be that bad.
He let a smile take over the usual frown on his lips.
And so he let himself hope, for the first time, that maybe one day he could be happy even if he remained alone.
And that naivety was the exact reason why he completely forgot about his aching ankle.
He stepped out of the bed unknowingly. But came in contact with the pain immediately after he laid down his right foot.
“Fuck” he cursed while lifting his leg. Then his bell rang. At six am. “Fucking fuck” he said with more anger.
He grabbed onto the back of his bed and pulled himself up onto his left leg. He didn’t own a cane or anything so his only options were limping (painful) or hopping (cringe). So he went with limping that sorta turned into hopping midway to the door. But when he was about to step into the genkan the bell rang again, he didn’t pay attention and put down his foot with too much force so he pulled it up.
And then.
And then he fell. In the genkan.
And if his right foot wasn’t broken before, it certainly was now.
“FUCK!” He yelled out of frustration.
“Are you all right in there?” And the thing was that Sasuke knew that voice. He ever since yesterday dreaded and cursed that voice.
That piece of paper from that idiot lay in a folder on a shelf above Sasuke’s desk who had zero intention of ever paying that sum of money.
“You must be kidding me,” he said mostly to himself rather than to the police officer who was waiting for him to open the door. He wanted to get up, he really did, but even for the love of God, he just couldn’t.
The bell rang again and loud knocks could be heard as the blonde man’s impatient grew on the other side of the door.
“For fuck’s sake! Could you just wait a moment?” Sasuke shouted angrily as he tried to get up from the cold tiles. After he finally managed to do that he twisted the lock and slammed the door open with as much force as he could allow himself without hurting his foot further or potentially tripping. “I am here! What do you want?” He bit out. His broken leg caused him anxiety and that spiked his already gloomy mood. And maybe, he wanted to use that blonde annoyance as a reason to let off some steam. It was probably rude but honestly? Sasuke didn’t give a fuck.
“Oh hi! Are you okay?” He asked peering inside the house over Sasuke’s shoulder.
“Perfect,” he said as he shifted himself so the guy would stop intruding on his home with his eyes.
“So I came here about yesterday” At this point he looked behind his back to take a glimpse of the car that was still parked in the same place.
“I don’t want to hear it. Just give me the ticket” Sasuke urged. He just wanted to shut the door, sit down, and figure out who to call to take him to a doctor. If he wanted to be overdramatic he could even call an ambulance, but a cab seemed more to his liking.
“What?” The man looked a bit confused, and out of place. Like he didn’t fucking came here to fine Sasuke again at six am, because his car was still there, where -according to him- it shouldn’t have been. “I came here because-“
“Look. I know it annoys you, but I have bigger problems than your strict policy about fire hydrants” he scoffed annoyance evident in his voice. “But even if you ask me to, I won’t, I physically cannot park away. So just give me the ticket” he sighed. Maybe arguing didn’t get him anywhere so he tried it a bit calmer.
“Why can’t you, though?” It was an arrogant yet casual comment. A challenge. Sasuke’s eye twitched when the man nonchalantly put his hands into his pockets.
‘Fuck calmness!’ Sasuke thought. Because every time this man before him opened his mouth, it was like he was practically begging Sasuke to punch him. The urge grew once again stronger.
“Because if you hadn’t noticed” Sasuke gritted out “my ankle is fucking broken! That’s why, asshole!”
“Shit” Was all the other man said, his eyes flicking down to examine Sasuke’s leg. Then, a moment later a “Do you need any help? A ride to a hospital? It looks serious” left his mouth. Worry glistened in the officer’s eyes as he drew his attention to Sasuke’s leg once again. It was a pitying glare. And that made Sasuke feel pitiful, which he wasn’t. And Sasuke just wasn’t someone to let himself be looked down on. If he was anything, he was capable, he had to be. This officer had no right to draw conclusions that simply weren’t true. That’s why he lost it.
“What do you think I am? A fucking charity case?” He probably shouldn’t have yelled at or pushed an officer’s shoulder as roughly as he did, but he couldn’t help it. He wasn’t in need of anything. He could take care of himself just fine. So he didn’t need his help or his pity. He wanted him to leave before he could pretend to actually care about Sasuke and leave later on. Because this way he wouldn’t have a chance to in the first place.
“No, you misunderstand-“
“I don’t actually care! Just give me the fucking ticket and leave!” Sasuke shouted again and this time it worked. Because the man before him took a deep breath and decided that he had had enough of Sasuke’s bullshit.
“Fine! You know what? I am going to give you so many tickets that it will drive you into financial ruin! What’s more! I will give you fucking three right now! One for parking here!” He said in a raised voice as he tossed Sasuke a ticket angrily. “Another for shouting at a police officer!” He passed him a ticket again. “And a third one because why the fuck not!” Sasuke could feel the man’s angry breath on his face, could see the anger and the fire in his eyes. Could see the hatred and the determination to completely ruin him. And he wasn’t scared. Because the hate was absolutely mutual!
“Good luck with that you idiot!” Sasuke didn’t plan on paying a single fucking ticket. All he wanted to do with them was to rip them to shreds and toss them out. The officer will come back anyway, he could always just give him new ones.
“Fine! Four tickets then! And believe me, I can give more, just say the magic word!” He said sarcastically as he passed another to the three tickets Sasuke was already holding in his hand. He took the fourth one with raised eyebrows, the gesture clearly catching him by surprise. Sasuke just didn’t expect this man to actually stand his ground. After he quickly composed himself by managing to suppress a smirk that wanted to rule over his lips he went back to frowning.
“My pleasure!” He grunted.
“Great!” The officer replied and Sasuke started to close the door.
“Have a good day!” He said angrily. The answer ‘I will!’ only came after he had shut the door.
What a fucking dream he was living.
But after he calmed down his racing heart and his anger he realised how miserable he actually was. He shouted at an officer, drove him away and now was again, completely alone. He limped back to the kitchen where he could drink a glass of water and think through his options.
The feeling of not being lonely won in the end as he found his finger hovering over the contact: ‘Haruno Sakura’
He decided to fuck it and pressed ‘call’.
“Hello? Sasuke?” Said a flowy voice from the other side of the line.
“Erm hello Haruno-san. I’m sorry to disturb you this early knowing you have work later but I’m in need of a bit of assistance” he cringed inwardly. Since when was he this much of a coward? Could it be… Was he pitiful???
“Ohh don’t worry about it. And I’ve told you, just call me Sakura” his anxiety subsided then. “So, what’s the matter?” She asked a beat of silence later.
“It seems I have broken my ankle. I cannot get myself to the hospital and I was hoping maybe you could take me when you leave for work? If not that's okay, I can just take a cab-“ Sakura let out a sigh. Oh no. It was a bad idea.
Because rejection hurt even if you were a grown man. It hurt the same as if you were just seven.
“Oh Sasuke I’m really sorry. Unfortunately, I won’t be going in today, because Sarada has thrown up this morning” she said bitterly, guilt evident in her voice.
“Oh it’s okay, thanks anyway-“ Sasuke was just about to put down the phone when Sakura stopped him.
“But wait! My friend! He lives close by and has a heart of gold. I’ll ask him to take you, I’m sure he’ll say yes. Let me get back to you after I had talked to him, okay?” Sasuke was mildly uncomfortable for having to ask such favours. But was it really a favour if Sakura offered it? He decided it wasn’t and he was gonna be glad that at least the woman tried to help him.
“That would be great, thank you,” he said, and after Sakura promised to call him back. What a mess had he got himself into?
After five minutes, that he spent anxiously tapping on the table and trying to force down a croissant that his breakfast was, Sakura finally called.
“Good news! He can totally take you!” Her voice was cheerful and that made Sasuke also feel calmer. “He’ll be there in a few minutes. He’s a nice guy, I know him from school. His name is Naruto” She provided some details and Sasuke was so grateful. Because this was a big improvement for him. Asking for help, and making friends. Sakura was a nice woman and it showed.
“Thank you so much! You’re an angel!” He said with a small smile on his lips.
“No problem. But Sasuke?”
“Yes?”
“I expect to hear news from you on the matter of your ankle. You hear me? I want a call, not just a thumbs-up emoji” and Sasuke found himself letting out a laugh.
“You’ll get a call worry none” and with that, they said their goodbyes, and Sasuke went to put on some decent clothes rather than his pajamas. He decided on a comfortable pair of black pants and an equally black T-shirt. He looked sporty and relatively handsome even with the ugly swelling of his foot and the purple circles under his eyes from the sleep deprivation his body gives itself.
And then the bell rang. He slowly limped towards the door, this time being careful with the genkan.
And when he opened the door he thought he was prepared for everything. That after today morning nothing could take him by surprise.
Clearly, he was wrong, when the person he came face to face with after he opened the door was his nemesis. That fucking police officer from before.
There were two explanations. Either the guy was his obsessed stalker, or he was the Naruto Sakura sent gladly to take him to the hospital.
He wished it would turn out to be the first option.
“Hello, I’m Uzumaki Naruto. But I suppose we have already met” the man bit out with an amused smirk.
“You have to be kidding me” was the flat answer that came out of Sasuke’s mouth.