Chapter Text
Sarada Uchiha couldn’t believe her eyes. After getting off the phone with an exasperated Boruto, claiming there was some sort of emergency, she rushed over to the Uzumaki house without a second thought. Now here she was, standing in the doorway, face to face with her friends. Her very drunk and high friends.
“Are you kidding me.” She grumbled under her breath, squeezing her right fist tightly.
It was the night before the SAT’s and her moron friends were wasting their time getting fucked up instead of studying, and to top it off, they saw it fit to drag her into this mess.
“There you are!” Boruto half yelled over the music, while swinging his arm around her shoulder. “Shikadai swore you wouldn’t come, but I knew you’d pull through!” The blonde beamed brightly at her. It took every ounce of self-control for the young girl not to send her obnoxious friend flying across the room.
Sarada immediately shrugged his arm off and turned to glare at him. “You-“ She started, pointing a finger in his face, “You said there was an emergency!”
Boruto put his hands up in defense, partially covering his face (just in case.) “There is! Calm down!” He turned his head to the right and called out, “Right Mitsuki? Tell Sarada about the..uh, emergency..” Boruto trailed off nervously. Sarada could tell he was full of shit. She was proven right as soon as she saw Mitsuki pop up with one of his covering-for-Boruto smiles on his face. Sarada knew them well enough to see through their guise.
“Boruto’s right, Sarada. Actually what happened was-“
“Save it, Mitsuki. I don’t have time for whatever antics you two are up to. Just tell me why you called me here - no bullshit.”
“Did you just cuss!?” Boruto asked, a mischievous grin taking over his features. When Sarada didn’t respond, Mitsuki nudged him in the side.
“Oh right – ok, so maybe I exaggerated on the phone..”
“Maybe?”
“Ok, so I exaggerated. There isn’t really an emergency. But I am hungry and so is Mitsuki,” he wailed, “and we’re too fucked up to drive! Kawaki won’t drive us, and you know how Shikadai’s driving is-“ At that, Shikadai chucked a pillow at Boruto’s head from his spot on the floor. The spiky haired teen had been sitting crossed legged on top of a cushion, leaning his back against the leg of the couch for support, with his eyes closed.
“You’ve got to be joking.” Sarada spoke with a deathly low tone to her voice, causing Boruto to shrink back. Mitsuki, sensing the danger, took the opportunity to step in between the pair. He smiled at Sarada and put his hand on her shoulder as a soothing gesture. “We’re sorry to inconvenience you, Sarada. We just happened to drink too much, and we know you wouldn’t want us to drive under the influence.”
Both boys stared at her, eyes big and apologetic. Sarada sighed. She hated them for guilt tripping her and she hated herself for falling for it anyway. She really was the ‘mom friend.’
“Fine. You two can quit with the puppy eyes. I’ll drive.” At her surrender, Boruto and Mitsuki cheered. She grabbed her keys, while motioning at the pair. “Hurry up and get in the car so we can get to Thunder Burger before they close.”
Boruto hesitantly glanced at Mitsuki and neither boy made an effort to move from where they were standing.
“What.” Sarada snapped.
“Well, actually..” Boruto began, chuckling while he spoke. Sarada could tell he was nervous since there was absolutely no reason for the boy to be laughing.
Suddenly, from the couch in the far corner of the living room, Kawaki cut in. “He’s going to throw up.” Sarada was surprised to hear his voice. When she had walked into the home, Kawaki had been sprawled out on top of the couch and she assumed he was passed out. It took a second for the shock to wear off before his words sunk in.
“You’re what!?” She snapped her head back at Boruto. The idiot seemed to be functioning fine. “You don’t look sick,” she added.
“It’s the weirdest thing. I feel fine! But every ten minutes or so, I just throw up out of nowhere.”
Sarada rolled her eyes. “That’s called projectile vomiting, you moron.” She crossed her arms and gave him a once over. “You drank first, didn’t you?”
“Huh?”
Sarada sighed, uncrossing her arms so she could move a hand up to rub her temple. “You’re supposed to get high first. If you drink before you smoke, you’ll get sick.”
“Told you.” She heard Shikadai mutter under his breath. His eyes were still closed, but he had been listening in to the conversation.
Boruto narrowed his eyes at his best friend, grumbling, “Yeah, yeah whatever.” He then turned his attention back on Sarada, cocking an eyebrow in amusement. “How would you know, Sarada?”
Sarada shrunk back at his accusatory tone. She knew the blonde was teasing, but the question still made her falter. Everyone knew Sarada Uchiha did not drink or smoke, and although she could care less of the fact, her friends were relentless with the teasing and name calling. ‘Sober Sarada,’ had become a nickname she couldn’t bear.
“Because she actually has a brain,” Kawaki had cut in once again. Standing up from his position on the couch. He continued as he began to walk over to the trio, “We know all you have in that big head of yours is air.” Sarada couldn’t help but laugh as his words. She always found their dynamic to be amusing.
Kawaki then turned to face her, and Sarada’s breath caught in her throat when they made eye contact. She’d be lying if she said he didn’t invoke a strange feeling in her. Sarada had always been so focused on achieving her goals, she wasn’t the type of girl to have crushes, but she knew that Kawaki had a way of making her feel something. Sometimes, it was pure frustration with his nonchalant attitude; but at other times, it was a nervous, fluttering feeling in her stomach.
“Come on,” He tilted his head towards the door, “I’ll go with you.”
“What-“
She didn’t get to finish her question before he walked out of the door and headed for her car in the driveway. Sarada quickly trailed behind him, “Hey, I have to unlock my car first!”
Mitsuki had a knowing look in his eyes as he watched the pair leave. He was interrupted from his thoughts when Boruto suddenly lurched from his side, his mouth covered with his hands while he ran down the hallway with urgency. Mitsuki knitted his eyebrows in concern at his friend. Next time, they would definitely smoke first.
---------------
Sarada exhaled as she turned her keys in the ignition. “Those idiots didn’t even tell me their orders,” she muttered under breath.
“You already know what they want.” Kawaki answered. She was surprised he had even heard her, especially with the way he was looking out of the window as if he wasn’t paying attention.
“Yeah,” she sighed once again, frustration lacing her tone, “I do.”
Kawaki snorted.
“What?” She snapped while adjusting the rear-view mirror. He shrugged his shoulders at her in response. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she backed out of the driveway.
She could feel her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. She was really getting tired of being the mom of the group. The boys knew she would save the day like she always does when they’re in trouble, and they even knew she could recite their orders by heart. She felt a little pathetic thinking about it.
“You didn’t have to.” Sarada’s thoughts were cut short when the boy in her passenger seat spoke up.
“Huh?”
“You didn’t have to get them food.” He added, staring straight ahead. Even without looking at her, he could tell what she was feeling. She was starting to think she was a little too transparent.
“Well, I don’t want them to starve..” She whispered, feeling guilty. Kawaki scoffed. “They’ll be fine.”
“Well, they need food in their stomachs! How else are they going to sober up?” She argued back, pressing on her breaks harder than normal as she paused at the stop sign.
Kawaki turned to face her and lifted an eyebrow at her. She couldn’t help but note his peculiar eye color and the way his features effortlessly did the talking for him. She glanced at the piercing on his eyebrow and wondered if it hurt.
“What?” Sarada asked, eyes still on his piercing, barely aware of her own question.
“Aren’t you going to go?” He stated, turned his head back towards the road.
“Oh!” Sarada yelped, pressing her foot on the gas. This sent both teens sliding forward in their seats. “S-sorry!” She yelled in embarrassment. She was thankful they were both wearing seatbelts, she didn’t think she could ever live it down had she sent Kawaki flying into the dash.
Sarada nervously drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. It wasn’t like her to squirm so much, but the way he was able to easily pick up on her emotions had her feeling like an open book – something she hated. Her mama always nagged that she and her father were too closed off for their own good, but maybe she wasn’t closed off enough.
She pulled into the Thunder Burger parking lot and got in line at the drive through. She pretended to look at the menu, even though she already knew what the boys wanted. “A #3 for Boruto, with no pickles and one with pickles for Mitsuki. I think a #5 for Shikadai should be fine. No tomatoes, because he’s weird..” she trailed off, half laughing to herself. Her father had instilled a certain fondness for tomatoes into her at a young age.
“What are you ordering?” Kawaki asked.
“Oh, uh, nothing.”
“You’re not hungry?”
“No, I’m fine-“ As if on cue, her stomach growled. Sarada mentally cursed whatever god had been placing her in these embarrassing circumstances the whole night.
She placed her hands on her stomach and smiled anxiously. “Honestly, I’m not a big fan of burgers.”
“Then why are we here?”
“What? What do you mean? Boruto said-“
“Forget about Boruto. He’s probably already asleep by now anyway. Let’s get food from somewhere you like.”
Sarada pouted at his words. “But what if he’s not? I don’t want him and Mitsuki waiting on me for no reason.”
Kawaki rolled his eyes at her and Sarada suddenly felt her face grow hot, this time out of anger instead of embarrassment. Here she was, expressing concerns about her friends and he had the nerve to roll his eyes. She was being too fucking transparent again.
“Excuse me, for trying to be a good friend!” She spat out. Kawaki pushed a hand through his hair and turned his attention back on the car in front of him. Her outburst didn’t seem to affect him, as he nonchalantly replied, “Never said you weren’t. I’m just sayin that Boruto and Mitsuki can take care of themselves for once.”
Sarada frowned and looked down at her hands which had found their way back to the steering wheel. She was just scolding herself for being the pathetic group mom and yet, she did it to herself. Every time they called, she answered. She’s known Boruto her entire life, and Mitsuki had become one of her closest friends in their recent high school years. She loved them dearly, but she hated when they pulled stunts like this.
“Sarada.”
The dark-haired girl jerked her head up at the sound of her name and found Kawaki staring at her. His light blue eyes looked intently into her dark ones, and she felt that annoying, fluttering feeling she occasionally got in her stomach.
“Pull off.”
Before she knew what she was doing, her right food hit the gas pedal and she was driving out of the parking lot.
------
“You know you drove past Wendy’s right?”
Sarada paled at the realization. Wendy’s was the only other fast-food restaurant open at this hour and in her excitement to get out of the Thunder Burger parking lot, she passed straight by it.
“Sorry, I guess I was just really happy to get out of there. I didn’t even realize..”
“It’s okay. I know a better place we can go to anyway.”
“What? Nothing else is open right now.”
“Just trust me. Take a right at the next light.” Dumbfounded, Sarada did exactly that. She followed Kawaki’s instructions until they ended up a small establishment. The parking lot was half the size of the Uzumaki’s driveway, and the building itself looked pretty run down. There was a neon sign out, but only the first few letters were lit. Sarada pulled up and parked, then looked at Kawaki expectantly.
The boy was already unbuckling his seat belt. He began opening his door, then froze. He turned his head over his shoulder to look at her. “Aren’t you coming?”
Sarada felt the cogs in her brain turning and hurried to unbuckle herself. She quickly paced behind him into the building and silently swore to herself that she would stop acting so awkward.
Kawaki led them to a booth in the far west corner of the restaurant that had a window on their left side. He slid into the side of the booth that was against the wall and Sarada internally panicked on whether she should slide into the seat on the opposite side of him or sit next to him. Wouldn’t sitting right next to him make it seem like they were on a date? She couldn’t do that, they’re not on a date…are they?
She quickly slid in the seat on the opposite side of him. She leaned her elbows on the table and patted her cheeks, trying to rid herself of her absurd thoughts. She would never put so much thought into a seat if this were Boruto or Cho-Cho. She needed to get a grip.
“What are you doing?” Kawaki asked. The realization that she had been swatting at her cheeks in front of him dawned on her. So much for no more awkward moments.
“Sorry, I’m just..thinking about SAT’S!” She lied. “I really shouldn’t be out this late,” she scolded herself. Her lie delving into her true thoughts and feelings.
“You’ll be fine,” He responded with that nonchalant tone again. He slid her a menu, and she grabbed it. Their conversation faded into silence as she scanned the contents of the page.
The place was a breakfast establishment with insanely low prices. Sarada felt a little overwhelmed at the number of options. Despite the prices being so low, the combinations seemed like they would have too much food. Sure, she was hungry, but she didn’t know if she could eat this much. It would be easier to share..
She quickly glanced up at Kawaki, who was also looking the menu over. She shook her head and dispelled the idea of sharing from her thoughts. As if Kawaki would ever be up for that. He easily had the biggest appetite out of anyone she knew.
Kawaki gaze caught hers’ and she felt embarrassed to be caught staring. She swiftly tilted her head back towards her menu to cover her blush. Kawaki placed his own menu back onto the table.
“I don’t get why you stress about school. You’re smarter than all of us.” Sarada was taken aback by the compliment. She lifted her head back up and he was looking at her with a strange softness to his features. She had never known Kawaki to be the reassuring type.
“Well, it’s not like it comes easy,” She threw her hands up in a nervous, defensive gesture. It was an old habit of Boruto’s that she had picked up. “I have to study very hard.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you study so hard? What do you want to do?”
Sarada thought about his question for a moment. She knew exactly what she wanted to do, and who she wanted to be. But actually talking about her dreams always made her feel slightly embarrassed. She turned her head to the right and stared at the vintage photos on the walls, purposely avoiding his face.
“I want to be the mayor. Like Mr. Uzumaki.” She whispered. Something about discussing her aspirations felt vaguely intimate.
Kawaki nodded his head to himself, his thoughts drifting for a moment at the mention of Naruto. “I can see that,” he spoke up.
Sarada finally turned to face him, shock evident on her features. This wasn’t the response she was expecting.
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He had that soft look on his features again and it gave the dark-haired teenager goosebumps. She subconsciously rubbed at the skin on her arms.
“Thank-“ she began, but was cut off at the sound of the waitress approaching their table.
The waitress was a short, older women. Her brown hair had streaks of gray and was pulled back into a tight bun. She had dark circles under her eyes that hinted at the fact that she was working one too many night shifts, but despite her appearance, nothing in her demeanor showed a hint of fatigue.
“Well, aren’t you two a mighty cute couple?” She asked, a big toothy smiled plastered on her face. Sarada jumped in her seat. “Uh, it’s not like!” She spoke up, trying to save them both from the embarrassment, “We’re just frie-“ She caught herself. Are they friends? “We-we know each other!” She quickly added.
Kawaki cocked an eyebrow in her direction.
“Okaaay, two people who know each other,” The waitress said, pulling out her pen and notepad. “What can I get you two to eat?” She asked, voice bubbly.
Sarada hurried to look back at her menu. Kawaki’s question had distracted her so much that she never even decided on what to order.
“I’ll have the #7. Eggs scrambled, hashbrowns not grits.” Kawaki answered the waitress, handing his menu off to her.
“I think I’ll just have the chocolate chip waffles. Can I get strawberrys on top?” She asked, holding her menu out.
The waitress grabbed the menu, and smiled down at her. “Of course, honey! I’ll be right back with your orders.”
“She’s nice..” Sarada said, watching her walk off.
“Yeah. She’s been working here for as long as I can remember.”
It suddenly occurred to Sarada just how familiar Kawaki was with this place. The way he said how he wanted his eggs done, without being asked. She wondered if he ever really needed to look at his menu or if he already knew what he was planning to order from the moment they arrived.
“How long have you been coming here?” She asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. It was no secret that Kawaki was a very private person. He had moved in with the Uzumaki’s two years prior, but she still knew very little about him even though she was constantly over at their house. She knew he had been in and out of foster care for most of his life, but his aloof personality made it seem as if his rough upbringing had no effect on him.
He shrugged. “Since I was a kid, my dad used to bring me.”
His dad, huh. Sarada frowned, trying to imagine an older version of Kawaki. He didn’t speak of his father often and it didn’t take a genius to know there was bad blood there. Boruto had once mentioned something about him being abusive but caught himself before further elaborating on the topic. Sarda knew she was in dangerous territory and decided to change the subject. She didn’t want to make him uncomfortable by bringing up any repressed memories.
“So, what about you, what do you want to do?”
Kawaki squinted his eyes at her question, looking down at the table. He contemplated this for one too many seconds, making Sarada second guess herself for prying.
“I’ll probably just go to trade school or something,” he finally answered.
“Trade school? Is that what you really want to do?” She pressed. Her curiosity suddenly outweighed her feelings of possibly making him uncomfortable. Kawaki was such an enigma to her that she had a hard time picturing what he would be doing with his future, but she would have never guessed trade school as an option.
Before he could answer, the waitress arrived back at their table, placing their plates in front of them.
“Here you go! Enjoy two-people-who-just-know-each-other.” She added in a teasing tone, throwing the pair a wink before walking off.
Sarada felt incredibly flustered, and bit down on her tongue to stop herself from calling out to correct the women. She knew that it would probably make the situation even more awkward.
“Don’t worry about her. She’s just never seen me bring anyone here before.” Kawaki said, before digging a fork into his food.
The fact that he chose her of all people to take to a place that clearly had some meaning to him was not lost on her, and she bit down even harder on her tongue, this time to keep herself from smiling.
Unsure of how to respond, Sarada suddenly blurted out, “I’m surprised you never brought Ada here.” Kawaki almost choked on his food. He took a sip of his water while giving her a look that had her immediately regretting her question. Sarada had always been curious about Ada, jealous even. She was a pretty, college girl who worked at the same supermarket that both Boruto and Kawaki worked at after school. She stopped by one day to pick up a couple of things for her mom and couldn’t help but notice the way Ada was fawning over Kawaki. The boy was only 17, and Ada had to have been in her 20’s at the least. It made her sick.
“Why would I bring her?” He snapped. “We just work together,” he added, regaining his composure.
Sarada decided not to respond. She pushed her strawberries around with her fork, suddenly losing her appetite. She thought about apologizing for making things awkward for the millionth time that night, when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and groaned.
“Hello?”
“Where the hell are you!?” Boruto yelled over the line, loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear. Luckily, she and Kawaki were the only two dining there at this hour.
“Oh, y’know, just around.” Sarada answered nonchalantly, earning a soft chuckle out of Kawaki. His change in demeanor gave her a feeling of giddiness. She thought she had ruined the night but realized she had just been overreacting. Geez, she had to stop letting her emotions get so carried away around this boy.
Her giddiness was short lived when Boruto whined. “Saradaaaaa, I’m dying.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am! I think if I don’t have anything to eat soon, I’m finally going to meet my maker. I do have a few questions for the guy, but I didn’t think I’d be asking so soon,” she could hear him pouting through the phone and a wave of guilt washed over her.
She sighed and glanced down at her own plate. “I have a left-over chocolate chip waffle, I’ll bring it to you.”
“Great! You’re the best!”
“I know,” the teenage girl hung up her phone and rolled her eyes once again, but the smile on her face made it evident that it wasn’t out of malice. Kawaki said nothing while Sarada flagged the waitress down for a to-go box.
-----
Kawaki had been silent when they got the bill and to-go box. Sarada had reached into her pocked to pay for her meal but looked up to see that Kawaki had already put enough money on the table for the both of them. Before she could protest, he was nodding his head and gestured to follow him while he walked out.
They both got into the car and Sarada was just about to crank the engine, when she stopped and turned to face him.
“You didn’t have to pay for me you know.”
He refused to meet her eyes and turned his head forward. “It’s no big deal.”
“But I could have paid for myself!” She objected. He exhaled before continuing, “You didn’t even finish your food. Besides, you’re bringing half of it back to Boruto so don’t feel weird about paying for it.”
“I don’t feel weird, I just-“ She stopped herself. She tilted her head and looked at him for a moment. What he did was sweet, and she really wasn’t even sure why she was arguing about it.
“Thank you.” She said sweetly, before finally turning the keys.
They pulled out of the parking lot and headed in route to the Uzumaki house. Sarada turned on the radio and began humming along to the song that was playing. Lost in the lyrics, Sarada missed Kawaki’s question.
She quickly turned the volume down. “What did you say?”
“I said, do you like him?” His tone of voice was barely audible, and she had a hard time hearing him even with the volume turned down.
“Who, Boruto?” She asked incredulously.
Kawaki didn’t respond and Sarada couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping her lips. “As if.”
“I’m just asking. You do a lot for him.” His question wasn’t malicious or accusing, he was genuinely curious. “Yeah,” Sarada stated, a sense of pride in her voice, “I do a lot for him and him, for me. We’ve known each other our entire lives. It’s just nice to know you always have someone you can count on.”
“Hmm,” he nodded. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of his response.
The conversation died out there, and Sarada turned the volume back up. They listened to the radio the rest of the ride back and then pulled into Boruto’s driveway. She had her hand on the door, just about to open it, when Kawaki called her name.
She turned towards him, noting that he still hadn’t unbuckled his seatbelt.
“Yes?”
“I think what I really want to do is help kids who grew up like me.”
Sarada’s heart clenched. She could hear the vulnerability in his voice. Her arm automatically reached out to him and she rested her hand against his shoulder. “I think you would be amazing at that,” she said softly. He dipped his head in acknowledgement, then brought his eyes up to meet hers.
The way he stared at her had her heart thrumming through her chest. The only light outside was hanging above the garage, but despite it being so dim, she was close enough to see the grey in his eyes clearly. In a brief moment of courage, Sarada spoke. “Kawaki, I really liked that place. I’d like to go back again..” She was hesitant with her words, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Okay.” He responded, a small smile gracing his features. His smiles were few and far in-between, and Sarada felt the butterflies in her stomach at full speed. She wanted to say something else, to lean even closer, to do something-
“Who’s out there!?”
Boruto yelled, flinging the front door open. Sarada jumped back in her seat at the noise. She let out a a sigh of frustration before getting out of the car and heading towards the loudmouth blonde.
“Oh, it’s just Sarada! Hey, Mitsuki! Sarada’s back!” He yelled excitedly, hastily grabbing the to-go box out of her hands. Mitsuki met the pair by the door and smiled. “Did you have fun, Sarada?” He asked. Although his question was framed innocently, Sarada didn’t miss the glint in her friend’s eyes. While debating on calling him out, Kawaki walked past them.
“Hey bastard, where are you going?” Boruto called out, mouth already half full of waffle.
“Bed. It’s late.” He answered, closing the door behind him. Boruto shrugged and continued to eat while Sarada deflated. She hated to admit it to herself, but she really wanted Kawaki to hang out with her for just a little while longer.
“Whas wrong whichu?” Boruto asked.
She glared at him. “You’re gonna choke, moron.” Boruto rolled his eyes, ignoring his friend’s concern.
Sarada laced her fingers together, then pushed her arms out to stretch. “It’s late!” She announced. “I should head home. The SAT’s are tomorrow after all,” she said casually and headed for her vehicle.
“The SAT’s?” She heard Boruto question behind her.
‘1..2..’ She slowly counted to herself.
“Oh, fuck!” There it is. She thought with a chuckle.