Work Text:
“yo. idiot.” sasuke yoinks naruto by the collar, nearly leaving the blonde -
“fucking fuck! shit! WHAT -”
– discombobulated.
impatient, and through gritted teeth, sasuke grits:
“help me talk to her.”
because the dobe didn't hear him the first time, apparently.
(also see: a nearly headless dobe. he keep playin’...)
“why’re you askin’ me?? don’t you have google?” and at first, his irritation towards sasuke for said beheading attempt overcomes everything else.
and then? sasuke's words settle.
truly settle.
sasuke uchiha…
was asking naruto uzumaki…
for help.
naruto's winning grin widens as sasuke's face grows more sullen. instant regret. too late now. “didn't you study?”
sasuke scowls deeper.
but then he sobers a little.
“I…don’t know how to not be creepy.”
it’s real. it’s honest.
it’s sasuke.
he never does this - approaching a girl.
scratch that - a woman.
as a matter of fact, his track record shows that he would do anything to avoid being in this very position.
putting himself into a potentially uncomfortable situation.
where he would be coerced into doing just that.
human interaction.
specifically…
with someone who he's attracted to.
which brings us to point B:
sasuke isn't a robot.
while he opposes going out 99.9% of the time – you know…when you go out in public, and the public is there? disgusting. – if it's by his own choice, it's not terrible. he loves to travel.
anything to get out of his home country for a while.
it gets suffocating.
(family gets suffocating.)
visiting different countries comes with its different experiences.
which means he's - unintentionally - inviting unwanted attention from foreign women anytime he finds himself in a public space.
and sometimes, against his better judgement, he entertains it.
sometimes.
sasuke never really had to put much effort into anything when it came to pursuing the opposite sex.
they always want him.
they seek out him.
which makes it easy.
“you are creepy.”
until it's not.
when he actually has eyes for someone.
(and just his luck? it would be a random woman in hongdae.)
but this just wasn't any random woman in hongdae.
she stands out against the crowd, easy. with her strange blue hair and golden complexion, a stark contrast to the sea of pale faces and array of your standard, dull hair colors — a mix of black and browns for the majority, the occasional foreigners like him and naruto, all drawn to the hypnotic night life of one of the most popular hot spots in south korea. she wears a backless white dress with strappy heels, showing off the curve of her spine. the center line ran deep. her exotic facial features stood out among the pale faces. her skin was a rich, deep gold. full rosy lips. perfect smile. and that body was divine. perfectly crafted. sculpted by whatever gods, if they exist.
he’ll believe in them, now.
“...”
his throat feels dry. palms thinly coated with a nervous sweat.
he didn't study enough korean.
well.
he could be worse.
he’s not completely fucked here. he's choppy at it. he can read eighty percent of hangul, and can order off a menu at most restaurants. he can say hello, goodbye, I'm fine-thank-you-and-you. he knows enough to get him by.
but since he has naruto, he can eliminate the last step. close the gaps that come with learning sentence structure in a new language.
“but hey, who knows, it may work for her!” naruto rambles on. he made sure he studied korean. of all subjects. for what reason exactly? to best him? “works for the chicks back home, anyway.”
help.
naruto, for the first time in probably years, actually out-bested him. his knack for social interaction and charisma led him down a road of learning (now four) languages when he started traveling with sasuke, fueled by his own eagerness to make new connections in new places, all over the world. this skill, out of the two, is nine times out of ten where sasuke lacks.
just the thought threatens to drop sasuke's remaining social battery all the way down to zero.
sasuke makes a face at naruto's comment.
naruto stares back pointedly. mocking sasuke’s exasperation.
“whaddaya want me to say?”
“just…forget it.”
“no, NO, you nearly dislocated my shoulder over this girl. you must really like her or somethin’! ahahaha!”
sasuke pinches the bridge of his nose. “are you helping me or not?”
“yeah, yeah, yeah. which one is it? is she hot? please let her be hot.”
“blue hair. six o'clock. don't be obvious.”
naruto's head swivels immediately — directly landing on the new object of sasuke's eye. a rare occurrence! a moment in history that should be recorded, even! this never happens, ‘ttebayo!
naruto stares.
hard!
sasuke grabs him again, with more force. “I said, don't be obvious!” he hisses through gritted teeth.
“she is so out of your league.” naruto shakes his head with a laugh that shakes him.
the uchiha already has his snarky remark at the ready, weaponizing naruto's soft spot for someone waiting for him back home.
“hinata is out of your league. and she deals with you.”
naruto squints. he was still figuring things out with the hyuga heiress, but it was clear that he had eyes for no one else. he was only out tonight to have fun with his best friend. and that asshole needed his help.
“...touché.”
“excuse me!”
naruto suddenly appears out of nowhere - literally. the man looked like he dropped out of the fucking sky - and startles Blue Hair, who until then had been chatting it up with whoever walked past her table, and danced with whoever asked for her hand - which had initially grabbed sasuke’s attention in the first place.
she places her hand over her heart, but the playfulness in her amber eyes never left - like she and naruto were two old friends finding each other in a karaoke club. naruto matches her dance, a nice little two-step in time with the beat.
sasuke covers his face with his free hand. fucking christ, dobe —
“ha, sorry! my name is naruto.” naruto easily slips into the country's native language to make Blue Hair comfortable. she immediately visibly relaxes. looks like she spoke it, too. “I’m sorry if this is kinda forward and completely random and - you know what? my friend over here thinks you’re beautiful!”
“waah? thank you so much, sir!”
she peers behind naruto when he gestures towards sasuke, who swallows and tightens his grip around his solo cup.
eye contact.
direct eye contact.
he tries to smile. hopes it comes off as a genuine expression, rather than an awkward grimace, which is probably what it looks like.
but then…something kind of amazing happens.
Blue Hair blushes faintly under the blue and purple lights, taken aback from the sudden interest from a stranger who was very easy on the eyes.
sasuke’s hair had gotten long. he keeps half of it up usually, and tonight was no exception. every item of clothing he owned was tailored, down to the last detail. he squared his shoulders, tried to keep up with his own farce.
she gives sasuke a onceover, her gaze dropping the eyeline. she takes her time, her eyes roaming over his frame as if she was trying to memorize every detail. the grey button-up, showing off just a taste of chest. the expensive fabric clung to his shoulders and pectoral muscles deliciously, enough that she could easily tell he was in some pretty decent shape under there. black slacks, matching shoes. the subtle curve of his lips that blossomed the longer she stared, the longer she admired him. onyx eyes, dark and mysterious, and black as night. sharp jawline.
sasuke’s spine goes rigid under her scrutiny. his skin feels hot.
naruto clears his throat.
“uhh, so! is it okay if he talks to you, miss..?”
Blue Hair perks up, returning her attention to naruto. sasuke can’t tell if the pink in her cheeks was makeup or not. she grins and nods her consent. “yes!”
“what’s your name?”
“ah, my name? my name is fuu!”
“fuu?” naruto repeats.
“mm!” fuu nods again.
“that's pretty! nice to meet’cha! I’m naruto, and that awkward one over there is sasuke. he doesn’t talk very much. actually, he’s kinda emotionally constipated, so this is a step!”
fuu giggles. “really?”
“if it's okay for me to ask, how old are you?”
“not a problem! I'm twenty-four.”
“ahh.” naruto pats his chest. “same-age!”
“really?”
“yeah! so it's okay if we speak informally with each other!”
“we can speak freely?”
“hell yeah!”
fuu laughs again. “you know what? you guys are cool. wanna hang then? let's be friends!”
her gaze flickers to sasuke again. hopeful.
sasuke continues to stand there, his mind only able to translate half of what was being said.
but when he catches her gaze, his lips curve naturally.
and Blue Hair - fuu - smiles wider.
naruto feels the energy shift. time to make his exit.
his work here was done.
the blonde chuckles, “actually…"
and this is how sasuke ends up in fuu’s booth, trading his phone back and forth, while someone drunkenly yodels And I Will Always Love You off-key. she would speak into the translator on his app, and then he would type out his response back to her after reading what she had said. rinse, and repeat.
she sits close to him, mostly to listen to him talk. whenever he did. just to hear his voice. to hear what he sounded like, his tone, his cadence. every word melted her like butter.
are you shy? the transcript reads after she gets done speaking into the bottom of his phone. sasuke reads the message, then looks up at her, and nods.
I am.
fuu’s entire facial expression changes, becoming soft.
before lighting up.
she presses her hands together, and squeals, what sasuke actually knows, and says, “aww, cute! sasuke-oppa is so cute!”
...you think I’m cute?
she gives him a look. her lips press together. she’s trying not to smile.
she holds out her hand, palm up.
of course I do, dummy.
the exchange continues.
what do you do for a living?
what brings you here tonight?
what’s good to eat around here? do you have any recommendations?
oh, you like to travel, too?have you ever been to japan?
they get to know each other, little by little, in their own bubble of mixed languages, knee touches, and timid glances. fuu was smiling. good. he was able to understand her. very good. and she was able to understand him.
even better.
are you…open minded?
the question makes sasuke nearly choke on his beer. naruto told him that this was a phrase that guys around here would ask foreign women when they…wanted something.
aka, the one question you are not supposed to ask if you're trying to be a gentleman.
but the question did not come out of sasuke's mouth.
it came from her.
and fuu looked like she was ready to burst with laughter. barely contained, enjoying the bewildered look on his face. watching his brain short circuit in real time.
she gestures for him to hand his phone back, so he does. his brain actually short circuits. did she get that from men around here? has she ever…?
just kidding! I’m kidding! why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost?
well played. you caught me off guard.
he pauses. then, before he hands it back, he asks while maintaining eye contact, and a playful arch of his eyebrow,
are you…open minded?
when he asks this, his voice takes a husky turn.
he doesn’t mean to.
it just…comes out that way.
but his gut tells him that maybe that was the right tone to use.
because she blushes.
sasuke can tell the difference this time.
fuu stares back, eyes wide. she gapes at him like a fish.
she knew what he was asking before she got her hands on the translation. she picked up on the tone. the look. the way he leans closer. the wicked arch of his left eyebrow.
then, he adds, straight into the speaker,
I’m kidding.
faces his phone to her face, so she could read it.
I actually know a bit of english. I studied abroad in switzerland.
his response?
“my english is terrible.”
in perfect english.
“really?”
“yeah.”
“I don't believe you...” something clicks. fuu perks up as his smirk spreads further. “oh my gosh! you're messing with me, aren't you?”
“I am —”
“— so happy you speak english. my japanese is very…” what's the word, what's the word…she’s searching. “cho-ppy!” she finishes, putting fist to palm. “very choppy.” chop, chop. “it could use some work…”
“I like your…accent.” he, too, blanks.
but it's the right thing to say to her.
because she says,
“I like you.”
and giggles.
“and your accent. how ‘bout that?”
and brushes her shoulder against his before leaning back, hands over one knee, leg folded delicately over the other.
“I suppose I had that one coming…” sasuke muses. his smile never left. it lingers with her. subtle, and flirtatious. their knees still touch.
his phone lies forgotten on the table.
“what all languages do you know?”
“well, my mother language is thai, so thai, korean, english…” fuu ticks off her fingers, pinching the last two together as she adds cutely, “and a little japanese!”
she gets a chuckle out of him. “ah.”
“but I've been in korea since I was twelve.”
“you moved here when you were twelve?”
“yes. that's also why I know korean very well,” she adds with a point to her button nose. blush dusts across the bridge and her cheeks with freckles dotted on, creating an ethereal look. all she needs are elf ears and a pair of fairy wings and -
“oppa.”
he's still getting used to that. “hm?”
she's handing him something.
it's her phone.
and she's trying not to laugh.
“put your number in my iphone 16 pro max.”
“I don't want to say goodbye.”
his eyes are almost too intense, his response almost coming too quickly. “this isn't goodbye.”
and his heart? lurched.
“really?” her eyes, big and innocent, lull him deeper under her spell. pulling him even closer to her side. “you're not gonna ghost me?”
he's done for. “no. why would I ghost you?”
“I just…” she rocks forward on her heels, and back. “I don't know,” she answers quietly. “it's happened before…I get too excited. I get too attached, and then…I'm either left with a fake number or a dead end.”
sasuke gazes back at her evenly. searching.
“call me.”
fuu blinks. “call you?” she parrots.
“just do it.”
fuu blinks. “right now?”
sasuke is unusually patient. “right now.”
confused, but compliant, fuu fishes her phone out of her bag. she scrolls through her contacts, taps on his name, and presses the call button.
sasuke's phone buzzes in his pocket.
he proceeds to take it out and face the screen in her direction — so she could see her own number coming through the other line. so she can know he didn't fake a number. that he wanted to stay connected.
“does this,” he enunciates, “look like I'm gonna ghost you?”
fuu smiles, clutching her phone to her chest. “I guess not.”
and then she giggles.
and decides to put her phone to her ear.
“you gonna pick up?”
sasuke sighs. what is with this one…
he swipes his thumb.
and puts his phone up to his ear, too.
“hello.”
“hi, sasuke-oppa!”
“fuu-chan.”
they continue to stare at each other. lingering and soft.
and something…else…
“I’m hanging up.”
something sasuke is still trying to identify.
“nope, me first!”
she ends the call with a tap of her thumb. sasuke slips his phone back into his pocket.
“I shouldn't…keep you from your friend,” she says hesitantly. “he seems really cool. I like him.”
“he's fine.” short, and to the point. and then,
“I'd rather spend time with you.”
fuu makes a sound. a mix between a squeak and a gasp.
“too forward?” he asks quieter, when she remains gaping at him, pink in the cheeks.
fuu shakes her head. “no…” reaching for him when he had begun to pull away, mistaking her silence for discomfort. “what do we do?”
her hand catches his sleeve. he looks at the gentle action, then back up into her eyes.
“what is it about you…”
his mouth is a direct pathway to his thoughts as they spill out of him, unbound. unfiltered.
“I can't leave you here.”
she tugs him closer, gaze playful. but her words carried weight. “then don't.”
“is naruto back yet?”
“no.” a pause. “not yet.”
which means at some point, he will.
“so we're alone?”
and sasuke will have to face the consequences.
“yeah.”
consequence one: naruto's barking, because he will call sasuke twenty times. even if sasuke had his phone on DND the whole night. naruto is that friend who notifies you anyway.
consequence two: see fuu. alone, with sasuke. in their hotel room.
and cue the twenty questions that will follow after that.
fuu appraises the room. there are two beds. one is made, and the closest to the door, facing the room's left. the other is unkempt, with a man's belongings tossed everywhere in the pursuit of finding a shirt earlier, positioned by the window.
her eyes twinkle with mischief.
“which one is yours?”
sasuke smirks.
“guess.”
she thinks about it.
“hmm…”
she inches closer to the one near where they stood, cutely trailing sideways, with one foot crossing behind the other.
“this one looks comfy…”
sasuke’s expression doesn’t change. bingo.
she sits on the edge of it, spreading her hands over the luxurious, creamy white fabric.
“wow. it even smells like you.”
when he doesn't join her, she tilts her head at him in question.
“I don't want you to get the wrong idea.” sasuke's voice comes out softer than he expected it to, yet he remains low, and careful. “I just…I didn't know what else to do.”
also, see:
I've never done this before.
I've never felt this way before.
also also see:
you confuse me like no one else.
a cute little frown begins to form on her forehead, misinterpreting. “your hotel was closer. I didn't mind the walk -?”
sasuke shakes his head. “not what I meant.”
she swings her legs a little, unable to stay still. a soft smile spreads across her glossy lips. “don't worry. I feel safe with you, sasuke-oppa. I wouldn't have come if you made me feel uncomfortable. also? I have mace.”
smart girl.
his lips twitch. another ghost of a smile.
she's too good for this world.
“don't you wanna come closer, oppa? come hang out with me.” she stretches, leaning to her left, creating new angles for him to stare at. elongating every curve of her body, lengthening her torso. “we can just talk. whatever you’re comfortable with…”
he clears his throat. flexes his fingers.
define comfortable, exactly…
he walks over to his bed. closer to her.
because she can probably talk him into being comfortable alright…
he pivots his waist. turns around and sits, joining her at the foot.
he leans forward and lets his elbows use the tops of his legs to rest. his hands interlock.
fuu remains giddy next to him, still buzzing from her own naturally high energy. she giggles quietly. hums in content.
his arm brushes hers. it's not intentional. but it's safe. close. kind.
alright, it's kind of intentional.
fuu nudges him back, thigh to thigh. “see? it's better, right?” barely above a whisper. “not so scary after all.”
he grunts his reply.
but then he gives her more.
he offers her his hand. open palm. not a first. and hopefully? not the last.
fuu smiles down at it.
and she eagerly accepts.
fuu folds her hand over his, letting her fingers naturally slip through the gaps inbetween. soft and warm.
“I'm gonna miss this when you go back to japan...who else am I gonna hold hands with in expensive hotels?”
no one, he dared to hope. too cowardly to say to her out loud.
“we can still talk,” he says lamely.
she tuts and shakes her head.
“it won't be the same.”
sighing. melodramatic.
unapologetically her.
they end up moving further up the bed, until they were close enough to spoon.
which…as sasuke scooted closer,
and fuu wiggled back,
that’s exactly what ended up happening.
his pelvis would move to cradle hers, as if they were two missing puzzle pieces sliding together in place. fuu continues to scroll aimlessly through her social media algorithm, letting each reel play until she grows bored. before, he had been admiring her backside. all of her, really. the curve of her spine, the subtle slope of her muscles. he had begun to wonder, if she would have minded if he took the back of his index finger and traced every dip, and curve…follow the path down her spine…listen to her sounds…what would they sound like?
would she shudder?
would she get goosebumps?
would she…
encourage him further?
no.
no.
dangerous thoughts lead to dangerous waters.
he should tread this carefully.
before he makes a fool of himself and —
she wiggles again. more subtle. a gentle rock of her hips as she curls her legs, presses her toes to his shins.
kami.
and then she makes it worse.
fuu peers over her shoulder at him. their eyes meet first.
then, her gaze drops to his arm.
which, up until this point, had remained glued to his side. unmoving. safe, and respectful.
“it's okay,” she answers the unspoken question in his deep black eyes. their eye contact, she doesn't break it.
she reaches back for his hand.
sasuke feels himself lean into it, into her.
allowing himself to sink into her, to let her drape his arm over her hip. her belly.
they do that thing where fuu sighs a little too happily, quiet, intimate; where his legs move with hers, folding, snuggling even closer.
“you feel warm,” she murmurs.
she doesn’t see him blush.
he clears his throat quietly. “yeah...you, too.”
“you can kiss me, you know.”
he nearly chokes.
now laying face to face, snuggling pillows. staring at each other.
until fuu singlehandedly wrecks sasuke with those seven
little
words.
sasuke's gaze, already lapsing in his own self control, drops to her mouth.
this close? fuu can't miss a thing.
even when he wanted to hide.
every thought in his mind comes to a screeching halt.
all…he can think about is…
“kiss you?” he echoes weakly.
“was…that not your plan?” she blinks, slow and innocent, and doelike.
he stares back at her. “you thought I had a plan,” he states slowly.
“I was hoping. you seemed like the type.”
he hums.
“I do prefer to have a plan.”
his gaze drops to her lips again. he subconsciously wets his own. watches the hypnotic way her lips part when her breath catches in her throat.
“but I've been going off-book all night.”
she nods slow. blinks slow. “and how does that make you feel?”
sasuke closes in.
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
lifting his hand from her arm - the same arm he had been idly stroking without thinking, the same arm sprouting goosebumps from his touch - to touch her face instead. to open his palm until her cheek cradles in. to watch her sigh and lean into him.
“fuu…” he breathes her name. strained. barely contained.
“yes?” fuu breathes. waits. she’s not very good with patience. she would fidget if she could.
“I want you to know…” closer. he could count every drawn-on freckle. there were seven of them. “I've been wanting to kiss you all night.”
“full disclosure?” she nods slightly against his palm. “same.”
he chuckles.
“...oppa —?”
“— no. just sasuke.” lifting his index from brushing her bottom lip. “we're friends, aren't we?”
she parts, almost obediently. “right…sasuke.” she whispers his name. real, and raw.
he swallows once.
and he finally goes for it.
the first is soft. gentle. unrushed.
the kind of kiss that gives you butterflies. leaves you guessing what comes next. mentally giggling and kicking your feet at the same time.
it is chaste. sweet. lingering.
the kind of kiss that leaves them both blushing, like two teenagers sneaking the moment when a parent wasn't looking, or decided to go into another room for something they may have needed.
for a couple of mid-twenty-somethings who just met…
“wow.”
“mmm…”
“that was…”
“yeah.”
his hand hovers over her jawline. hers hover between them.
the silence that follows isn't awkward.
it's the furthest from it.
“did you feel that, too?” fuu asks softly, after a beat.
his brain malfunctions. “think so.”
“can we…do it again, ya think?”
sasuke barely tilts his head down to nod when she leans in this time, to kiss him.
she gets closer. his hand slips naturally into her hair. her hands still remain between them, until the rise of his chest brushes against her left palm, and she lets that hand relax against it.
their heads naturally move as they continue. they become more comfortable, and loosen up a bit.
sasuke tilts his head further, gently guiding the kiss into a deeper direction. the pace is slow. building, and moving into a dangerous direction.
fuu feels all the happy tingles. the butterflies. if sasuke wasn't holding her face, she would have melted right through his mattress.
her next intake of breath is sharper.
he shapes his mouth over hers to swallow it.
sasuke takes a deep breath. his elbow shifts to support his weight as he shifts up. the hand that remains lost in her hair balls into a loose cusp around the back of her neck. she shivers. she's sensitive.
he's addicted.
the two sway in place, as if both were teasing the idea of mounting the other. fuu's knee brushes further up his thigh. if he pushed a little, she pushed a little. if he pulled a little, she pulled back.
he was completely content with either option.
sasuke feels something wet. a gentle sweep over his bottom lip.
he stills.
fuu stares back at him, her chest lightly heaving as she catches her breath. her eyes are apologetic - but dilated.
“I…I'm so -”
and her apology was sincere.
too bad he doesn't give her time to get it out.
before he knew it, he was on top of her. tongue in her mouth. hands moving slowly, but with intention.
fuu encourages it. leaning into his kiss, gripping his shoulders. letting her legs naturally curl inwards, her knees resting against each hip.
sasuke pins an arm by her head. uses this position to support his weight as he pulls away and looks down at her, into her eyes.
giving her a chance to breathe.
giving himself a second.
fuu speaks first.
“what is it?” she asks, blinking slow. gaze soft, and lidded. her curls fan out behind her in romantic waves. her cheeks are still the prettiest shade of pink. her lips are swollen from his kiss. everything about her just screamed —
…mine.
“you're beautiful,” he blurts.
the blush deepens when she sees his, now seeing her affect on him is just as powerful. potent. her gaze averts out of her own nerves. “you're just sayin’ that…you got me all…”
he catches her chin with his thumb, tilting up until their eyes catch.
“I mean it.”
the doorknob twists, hard and abrupt.
sasuke and fuu look at each other, panicked. fuu opens her mouth, frantic and flushed.
sasuke, with the speed of someone who might have been a powerful ninja in a past life, rips himself away from her as if she had burned him.
the person on the other side throws it open with a loud bang.
and by then, sasuke had thrown himself at the foot of the bed, leaving a panting fuu at the headboard to get herself together. she smooths down her hair, angling her legs away from sasuke. flustered. wishes she was anywhere else right now!
sasuke becomes a mirror of his previous position, before any of this started.
he leans forward.
lets his elbows use the tops of his legs to rest.
and his hands interlock.
all before naruto barges into the room.
“sasuke, you better be in here!”