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“No. Fucking. Way.”
He stood on the other end of the aisle, seemingly thinking over which brand of tomato sauce was best. Taking one of the jars from the shelf, he rotated it in his hand, thinking it over for a minute, before placing it back on the shelf.
Last time Sakura had seen him was in high school, and that was nearly a decade ago. He had been rather good-looking then, as a teenage boy, but now he took on a more mature look, appearing even more handsome than before. He was no longer the scrawny boy she remembered, his shoulders now broad and arms filled out as he took on muscle over the years. He stood quite a bit taller, and his face had only gotten increasingly more attractive, which was saying a lot.
She wondered if he’d noticed her, and just decided not to say anything. Perhaps he was hesitant to do so? She did remember he wasn’t one to bring any unnecessary attention to himself, and that he was a bit quieter when they hung out. Well, unless Naruto was added to the mix, then he’d end up getting a little rowdy, but that was only because the blond tended to annoy him.
Sakura found herself rolling her eyes at the thought of Naruto. He had always been able to get quite a rise out of Sasuke.
Should she say something? Running into him at the grocery store she frequented meant he had to live in the area, right? So, it’s not like she might not ever get to see him again. Maybe she’ll rekindle something between them, so it couldn’t hurt to say something.
You only live once, right?
Eagerly taking a place at his side, she reached out to tap his shoulder, but it seemed he’d already noticed her. Only slightly startled by her presence, he took a half step back, turning to face her.
“Sakura?”
“So you remember me?” she inquired, smiling, “I couldn’t help but notice you from the other end of the aisle, and I just thought I might as well say hi. Anyway, how have you been?”
He still appeared to be catching up with the situation, but he cleared his throat anyway, slipping his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants.
“Oh, um… I’ve been good.”
“That’s good! Can’t believe the last time we saw each other was high school, but you look great! I see you’re no longer the scrawny little boy I used to know,” she laughed, perhaps to ease his anxiousness.
He chuckled, although it was awkward, and obviously forced, “Right.”
She glanced down at his hands, searching for anything that resembled a wedding ring, but they were hidden inside his pockets. Oh well, she’ll just have to ask and gauge his reaction.
“Anything interesting happen since we’ve lost touch? Perhaps a special someone that was able to break through that rough exterior of yours?” she teased, plastering a sweet smile on her face, “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d found yourself a woman at this point in your life. You were quite the heartthrob in high school.”
“Uh…” he glanced away, peering over his left shoulder outside the aisle where they stood, “I’m not exactly…” he trailed off, eyes meeting hers and appearing almost panicked.
She furrowed her brows, “Are you looking for someone?”
“Well,” Sasuke’s hand slipped out from his sweatpants’ pocket, coming up to rub the back of his neck out of nerves, “I’m waiting for someone.”
“Ah,” Sakura frowned, “Perhaps you’re wife, then?”
“Not… exactly.”
Sakura saw just a sliver of hope from that response, but what did he mean by… “What do you mean by—”
“Sasuke!”
Sakura was interrupted, and when she found that Sasuke’s gaze was brought over his right shoulder, outside their aisle, she took a few steps out to figure out what had caught his attention. There, in all his glory, running full speed at the pair, was Naruto Uzumaki.
“Wait—” Sakura stood dumbstruck, the pieces suddenly falling into place. She gaped up at Sasuke, who only glanced her way, his expression softening as Naruto stopped abruptly in front of them, “You— You’re married to—”
“Did you find it?” Sasuke asked, regarding Naruto with a wide smile.
“Yes, actually. I don’t get why the necessary spaghetti ingredients are so far from each other in the store. Did you finally decide on a sauce?” Naruto asked, a teasing lilt to his tone.
Sasuke huffed, “No. Most of what I looked at had tomato paste, but none had real tomatoes.”
“You do realize that tomato paste is made from tomatoes, right?”
“Yes, of course I do. I’m not an idiot, unlike you, but I’d appreciate legitimate tomatoes instead of a substitute, thank you very much.”
“Babe, it’s literally the same thing.”
“Um, no it’s literally not.”
Naruto laughed, then his eyes met Sakura’s, giving her an acknowledging smile, “Dinner can be quite the hassle when spaghetti’s on the menu; he’s quite picky with his tomato sauce. Anyways! Sakura! How have you been?”
Sakura’s jaw hung open, very obviously shocked with the knowledge that it was Naruto Sasuke had ended up with after high school. Out of all of the people—
“But—” she stuttered over her words, “You— But you guys hated each other in high school?! Wha— What happened?!”
“Yeah…” Naruto let out a nervous laugh, glancing at Sasuke, “That’s kind of a long story.”
Sakura snapped her mouth shut, crossing her arms as she narrowed her eyes at the two, “I’m not buying it.”
“Excuse me—” Sasuke’s eyes fell on Sakura, clearly annoyed with her comment as his hand slipped out of his pocket, and there it was, clear as day, a band wrapped around Sasuke’s ring finger, “That’s quite a bold statement for someone—”
“Hey! Hey, not at the grocery store, alright? There’s no need to get hostile,” Naruto interrupted the man, placing a hand on his chest as if to calm him down, and it was then that Sakura spotted a ring identical to Sasuke’s, worn on Naruto’s ring finger.
Naruto wasn’t as… broad as Sasuke was, per se, but he faired quite well compared to the other man. He was leaner, and maybe an inch or two shorter than Sasuke, but still just as fit, from what Sakura could tell. Although he’s matured, just as Sasuke had, he still had his childlike charm, and strangely, that brought Sakura a sense of nostalgia.
Clearly a lot of things have changed since she saw them last, because it seems Naruto is able to calm Sasuke down more than rile him up. Well, that probably depended on the context, but otherwise, that appeared to be the case.
“Anyways,” Naruto said, “I get that this is… surprising, but it just kind of happened,” his eyebrows furrowed, “We don’t really need to explain ourselves to you. We just realized things about each other that weren’t clear when we were younger… and yeah, that’s it.”
“I…” Sakura pinched her lips together into a smile, “I’m happy for you two,” then she laughed, reaching out to lightly punch Naruto’s arm, “How come I wasn’t invited to the wedding?”
Naruto smiled, “Sorry,” he laughed as well, “We hadn’t really kept in touch after school, huh?”
“Yeah, well,” Sakura shrugged, “We could get back in contact, if you want?”
“That sounds great!” Then Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously, “We don’t have our phones on us, since we only planned to pick up a few groceries, but if you gave me yours, I promise I’ll text you.”
“Uh, yeah,” Sakura took her phone out of her back pocket, going to her information in her contacts while Naruto got a pen from Sasuke, then she recited her number for Naruto, the blond writing it down on his wrist.
“Alright, I got it,” he handed the pen back to Sasuke, as well as the spaghetti, who put the contents in their basket.
“Funny how things came full circle,” Sakura said, “I used to have the biggest crush on you, Sasuke,” she laughed, “And Naruto used to have one on me, if I’m not mistaken?”
Naruto nodded, then directed a smirk at Sasuke, “And Sasuke had a crush on me.”
“Wait, really?!” Sakura’s gaze fell on Sasuke, finding that the man was looking away from the two of them, his cheeks flushed a bright pink, “No way,” she giggled.
“Believe it!” Naruto confirmed, “I found out after we started dating; we had a love triangle going on—the three of us—without even knowing it.”
“How ironic that is,” Sakura continued, “Sasuke had a plethora of girls to choose from, but it was a little, blond, idiotic boy who had all his attention. If only we had known.” she giggled.
“Plethora…?” Naruto’s head tilted inquisitively, not much unlike a dog.
“Right, well,” Sasuke took Naruto by the hand, tugging him out of the aisle and effectively startling Sakura with his sudden abrasive behavior, “It’s getting late, and we really should be on our way.”
“Wait! The tomato sauce—” Naruto stopped the two of them in their tracks, clearly missing the obvious signs that Sasuke did not want to be there.
“I’ll just make some from scratch when we get home; Mom’s secret recipe. I know you like her tomato sauce, does that sound good?”
“I do love her tomato sauce, but it takes so long to make! That’s why we always pick some up from the grocery store.”
Sasuke let out a heavy sigh, “Well. It’s been a while since we had it, so I think it’s about time we make it again, how about you?”
“I— well—” Sasuke was admittedly a lot stronger than Naruto, so fighting him off was nearly pointless. Quickly turning back to Sakura, he gave her a wide grin, “It was nice seeing you again! Maybe we can meet up again some time, yeah?”
“Of course! Text me!”
Naruto gave a nod in agreement, and it wasn’t long until they’d disappeared behind the corner of another aisle. If Sakura knew anything about those two, it was that arguing was their favorite thing to do when they were in high school, so she didn’t doubt that was probably exactly what was happening just a few aisles down from her.
And now that she’s thinking about it, didn’t they accidentally share their first kiss with one another back in middle school?
If only their graduating class could see them now.