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. . .
“So as we discussed earlier, the once evident division between ‘high’ and ‘low’ forms of art have been significantly blurred as Postmodernists took hold of current ideas, and expressed them in new and edgier fashions,” the ever-calm man standing at the front of the classroom turned, his hair shining under the harsh lights as he lectured in front of his modestly sized class. “Contemporary Art History with a Focus on Postmodernism” wasn’t exactly the most popular course in the history department, but it was his speciality. When he stopped speaking to let students take notes, his eyes swept across the room, landing on a head of long, rosy tresses towards the front.
Her hair always caught his eye. The way it shone under the lights, as she quickly jotted down all the notes she could muster during his lecture, was so different, so… pleasing. He enjoyed her gentle smile when she entered his classroom. Every class, she would take the most notes out of all of the students, and chime in with her own input when he would ask questions.
He noticed that most of his students had caught up in their notes, ready to see what they knew, making his way to the whiteboard. When he wrote a question on the board, the pinkette in the front immediately raised her hand.
“Yes, Haruno?”
She seemed a little reluctant to answer, a small tug at her bottom lip with her teeth.
“Professor Uchiha, did you mean to write Duchamp?” She commented, hesitation lacing her words.
Sasuke took a glance up at his question, caught completely off guard by the woman’s remark. His eyes read over the lines again and caught the glaring misspelling. Did I seriously misspell Duchamp…? Even though he was aggravated on the inside, a small smile, failing to reach his eyes, curved on his face.
“Thank you Miss Haruno,” he quickly erased the misspelling and faced the class for their discussion. As the class rattled on, Sasuke was aware of every little move the woman in the front row made. She immensely distracted him, his normally impeccable focus broken by someone he would say was… cute. He inwardly groaned at his choice of words. Sasuke was not one to fawn over women, especially not one of his undergraduate students.
As the clock in the corner of the room neared the next hour, students started preemptively packing their things away to get slightly ahead of the campus traffic. It always irritated Sasuke, but he was a student himself and knew why they did it. He closed the presentation, the signal that he was done lecturing for the day and they could leave. As he closed his computer, he watched the pink-haired woman run outside to catch up with her friends in the corridor. A laugh left her lips, echoing in his head as she walked away. His heart felt like it skipped as the sound permeated his head. I need to leave. Packing his bag as fast as he could, the raven-haired man escaped to the peace of his office.
. . .
“Sakura, you’re so lucky.”
Ino laughed as the group of friends sat at a table in the campus cafeteria. A quiet woman next to Ino focused and read over some notes from her own class, occasionally picking at her lunch from home, running her hand through dark violet locks. Sakura looked up from her salad, a little annoyed to be dragged away from her lunch. “What are you talking about Ino?”
“Oh, you know…” the blonde snickered, taking a sip of a purple soda. “Professor Uchiha is too hot to be teaching here. Doesn’t he know that one of the students are going to jump him one of these days?”
Sakura blushed, red illuminating her cheeks. “He’s a great professor who doesn’t seem like that. Even when he’s having an off day...”
Ino caught the remark. “Off day? What happened? Anything juicy?”
Sakura groaned. “Not what you’re thinking, pig. He made some small errors while lecturing, which is weird for him. Everyone has their off days so i’m sure he’s fine.”
Rolling her eyes, Ino changed the conversation. “So any plans forehead? You’re graduating pretty soon, after all. You working or staying in school?”
Sakura smiled. “I got accepted into the graduate program here. I’ll be staying another three years and working on research. I’m really excited about it.”
“That’s great Sakura,” Hinata looked away from her notes, giving her friend a caring smile. “Are you going to teach as well? I know they compensate you for teaching as a graduate student. N-Naruto was encouraging me to look into it…”
Sakura smiled. “I’m looking into it. I’m not completely sure yet, but I have time to figure that out.”
Ino eyed Sakura as she put her fork down, finishing her lunch.
“What about you, forehead? You seem to be a little infatuated with your professor. Or am I possibly wrong?” Ino teased, Sakura trying to keep her composure, but failing.
“I mean… he’s cute…”
The women at the table glared at her. They were not used to their studious friend taking interest in anyone. Ino grabbed her by the shoulder.
“What?! How long has this been going on?” Ino shook Sakura as she demanded answers. Hinata wasn’t as violent as the blonde, but curiosity beamed in her eyes. Sakura conceded that they weren’t going to let this go.
“Probably most of the semester…” she paused, face fully flushed and rosy. “But he’s my professor! I’m not gonna… ask out my teacher! That’s weird… right?”
Ino blinked. “Isn’t he about our age? He seems very young for a teacher.”
“Well he’s a graduate teaching assistant so he is still a student, but…”
“Forehead! He’s fair game. You’re both students, so what’s the big deal?” Ino crossed her arms, nodding with her own statement, while Hinata stayed quiet, always shy of relationship topics. Sakura couldn’t believe how forward Ino could be at times like this.
“You seriously want me to confess to my professor?”
“I mean, why not? The worst he could say is no,” Ino’s signature smug grin covered her face.
Why did I say anything…?
. . .
I can’t believe I’m losing it over a student.
Sasuke fumbled with his keys before opening the door to his office, greeted by a silver haired man who gave a small wave. Sasuke nodded, sitting down at his desk across the room. The man raised an eyebrow, curious about the young man’s mood.
“Something on your mind Sasuke? You seem a little irritated,” he asked, not seemingly over concerned, just curious. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
“I mean you always leave me all of your work to do, Kakashi.”
Kakashi laughed. “Besides that, of course.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know… I have work to do.” Sasuke pulled out his laptop and placed it on his desk to start on some grading, before being interrupted.
“I heard you made some mistakes during lecture. That’s strange for you, my dear graduate student” Kakashi paused, a smirk gracing his face, “maybe a distraction during class?”
Sasuke clenched his jaw, giving his professor a seething glare.
“I’m right aren’t I? Oh the joys of youth!” Kakashi spun in his office chair. “A student have you all bothered? It seems you are not even immune, even when you spend all your free time working…”
Sasuke wanted to leave. He didn’t want to put up with his professor’s taunting, and just forget about the bright cherry blossom pink head of hair in his class that kept drawing his attention. Since he didn’t want to give Kakashi the joy of seeing him distressed, he pulled on some earphones to escape his taunting.
Kakashi sighed when he realized the Uchiha was completely tuned out.
“Oh you’re no fun.”
. . .
“Sakura, I think you should do it.”
Sakura clutched her bag closer to her petite frame at Ino’s suggestion. “Are you really sure?”
Ino nodded, exuding confidence that Sakura wish she had. Her heart pumped furiously as she thought about her professor. Sasuke was a very calm guy, and an excellent teacher. Sakura wasn’t sure he would even like her back. She was still an undergraduate student, close to graduation, but still not at the level Sasuke was in his education. Her nerves were fraying, but Ino rested a hand on her friend’s arm.
“Look, you clearly like this guy, and from what you’ve told us he doesn’t seem the type to be a jerk if he says no. I think you should just go into his office and tell him straight up, clear as possible,” Ino explained, keeping her hand on Sakura. “It’ll be okay, forehead.”
Sakura felt a little better with her friend’s reassurance. She’s right. Just tell him, and if he’s not interested you can stop thinking about him during class. He can stop being such a distraction for me. She took a deep breath to realign herself.
“Alright. I’ll go do it.”
Ino let go, the biggest grin plastered on her face. “You going to go see him soon?”
Sakura nodded. “He has office hours for the next hour or so. If no other students are in there, it’ll be just us in there. I can get it over with.”
Now just don’t freak out.
. . .
I can’t concentrate on this right now.
Even with Kakashi missing, it was difficult for Sasuke to focus on his thesis work. Normally he can get some done after grading work from his classes, but today was proving too much of a distraction - with a certain girl entering his mind. He groaned, dropping his pen to run his hands through raven tufts. He couldn’t recall ever being this hung up on a woman. Sasuke was never one to chase women while he was in high school, and even during his undergraduate degree, choosing to focus on his studies and socialize with few people.
His mind drifted to his best friend, Naruto. The blonde haired menace liked to remind him that he had a girlfriend every chance he got. Sasuke tried his best to ignore the blonde’s words, but for the first time in awhile they really started to sink in. Teme, it’s okay to let someone close to you. I mean, Hinata has been so caring and supportive, and you deserve that too. Sasuke shook his head at Naruto’s advice, denial evident.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the beautiful woman who sat in his class, eyes carefully tracing everything he projected or wrote on the board. Sakura Haruno always asked questions - but they were great questions. He could tell she was very curious about the world, something he shared. Looking back through the semester, he knew he was doing a gradually worse job at hiding how much she affected him. The Uchiha was no stranger to frustration in his life, but this was making him uncomfortably vulnerable.
Maybe I should say something to her? She’s almost my age, and it’s not like I’m an older professor. He shivered at that. I know she usually hangs out in the coffee shop when I’m leaving campus, so maybe I could see if she was free then…
KNOCK
Shoving his thoughts to the back of his head for now, “Come in.”
His stomach dropped when she appeared in his office. As the door closed behind her, hair swaying and bag clutched to her side, he noticed that her face seemed a little distressed.
“Haruno, something you need to discuss?” He offered a seat, pointing to the one that sat near his desk. She shook her head and didn’t immediately answer, only a light flush to her face. Is she okay?
“I needed to talk to you, Professor Uchiha…” she murmured, fumbling with the straps on her bag.
Anxiety crept into Sasuke’s body as he took in the gravity of the situation. He was alone with her. Without warning, his body automatically moved to meet her in front of his desk. It irked him that she affected him this much. Her green eyes averted his gaze, searching for something, anything, else to focus on. This was a totally different Sakura than what he was used to.
She couldn’t find anything to focus on to help her calm down. The office was simple, not unusual from other professor’s office that she had seen. There were two desks, an announcements board, some decorative plants, and many books lining shelves around the space. A lingering smell pervaded the space, teakwood , but she didn’t see any candles, guessing it must be his cologne. Why does he have to smell so good? Her determination faded, Sakura’s brain trying to salvage a conversation.
“I-I had a few questions about today’s lecture,” she babbled, improvising.
Sasuke felt his heart beating as she stood so close to him. He never really noticed just how small she was. Her face was round, almond eyes accompanying pouty, pink lips. Everything about her felt delicate, something he loved. After spending a moment looking over her features, he forgot she even asked a question.
“Ah, sorry. A little distracted…” very smooth Sasuke… “What questions do you have? I’ll try to help you out the best I can. I haven’t had you come by my office before, Haruno, so is there a specific topic you need to address?” Yeah, try not to sound like you are falling apart.
Her brain was grasping for questions, when she had none to begin with. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, keeping her other arm gripped on her bag. Sakura knew her nerves were starting to get the best of her as she felt her mouth dry out. She was nervous about saying anything dumb, but silence made it worse.
He was at a loss for words. She was taking longer than expected to answer, something clearly troubling her as she appeared very deep in thought. His eyes lingered on her, her cheeks brimming with a light wash of pink. He could feel a twitch in his hand as he wanted to soothe her, let his hand graze the warmth of her face, but knew he couldn’t. I could. I could just tell her how I feel right now. Get it over with, and if she says no… His heart sank. Then I would just need to move on.
“I was thinking about today’s lecture, a-and I was a little confused by the connection between Duchamp and modern day artists like Banksy, so…” she was cut off by Sasuke’s loud sigh. Her body froze, I said something stupid didn’t I… Now what do I do…
“Haruno, I need to be honest with you,” he reached up, tugging at his collar from the sudden heat in the room. “I like you.” Well, I said it.
Her brain stopped, mouth slightly open as she wasn’t sure if she heard him correctly.
“I just wanted to let you know. I noticed you over the semester, and you’re beautiful, very intelligent, and really just a delight to have in class,” his voice was quieter than normal, missing the confidence he exudes in lectures, “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same, but I really needed to get that off my chest. I hope that doesn’t ruin class for you…”
“I like you too!”
He knew his body stopped moving, mouth drying out, eyes wide as he looked at the petite pinkette in front of him. Sasuke didn’t expect that answer. His mind crashed, losing all the words he wanted to say in an instant. “R-really?”
She pulled her bag in front of her body, a futile attempt to hide in embarrassment. “I was too scared to say anything, but I think you’re really handsome and kind Prof… Sasuke.”
He couldn’t deny the joy he felt hearing her say his first name. “Well, that’s good then, right?” Sasuke chuckled, relieved they both felt the same way. “Did you want to grab some coffee later today? There’s a really good coffee shop near campus that has some wonderful winter drinks.”
Sakura’s face lit up. Her eyes shone as she overflowed with joy. A coffee date sounds fun … However, a strange rustling noise from the other desk startled her.
A head of silver hair popped up from the other desk. Sakura immediately covered her face with her bag, Sasuke clenching his teeth, silent rage spilling out of him.
“Why are you here Kakashi?” Sasuke muttered, voice low and failing to hide his anger. Sakura backed up a little from the Uchiha and the other man. Kakashi only rubbed the back of his head with a laugh.
“I was trying to take a nap in my office, why are you so upset with me?” Kakashi nervously laughed as Sasuke moved a few steps closer to his professor’s desk.
“How much did you hear?”
Kakashi took a second to answer. “I woke up when the door opened so… all of it? By the way, would you mind doing some grading for me before you go on your lovely date later? I don’t think I’ll have time to finish them…”
Sasuke stopped mere inches away from Kakashi, the older man slowly standing up to meet his glare. The Uchiha’s eyes were nearly completely black, rage obvious in the stare.
“You have some nerve right now to ask me to grade papers after you eavesdropped on a private conversation… You better leave this office before I throw you out myself, Kakashi…” Sasuke muttered, fist curled, completely serious with the older man.
A small laugh emitted from Sakura, his anger broken by the sweet sound. He turned, her bag resting back at her side and a small smile on her face as she quietly chuckled. Sasuke let the corners of his mouth perk up by Sakura’s innocent laugh, heart melting at the sight.
She’s so cute.
. . .