31 Days 4/?

[AngelOfDeath]

So, I rushed things a bit I know, but I decided I didn?t want this to be so epic. I think that seven or eight chapters will suit me just fine as opposed to thirteen or fourteen. Partly, I also need to rush to get to the lemon that I have to write by a deadline for some lovely people I respect very much. That was somewhat the point of writing this story. The lemon will be the last Variety Pack chapter as well. Pretty cheap, I know, but hey it's still SasuSaku so be cheery!

Disclaimer: (See Ch. 1)

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Chapter 4

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Sasuke didn?t throw his computer against the wall, but he had been picturing doing that for a healthy portion of the afternoon. Watching the plastic fly, the screen crack with a sharp electric crack, and the keys fly out of the board like shrapnel sounded immensely appealing, but as usual these impulses were relegated to the realm of fantasy. If that were the only thing he had been fantasizing about, then he might have been in a better mood.

For the third time that morning Sasuke stood up from his desk and wandered over to the drawn blinds blocking the glass panes that under other circumstances would have allowed people to see inside his office. Why Tsunade had thought that installing so many offices with indoor windows was a good idea, he didn?t know. When he had first moved into this office he had felt exposed, as if at any moment someone was staring at him when he wasn?t paying attention. The lack of light had been soothing, too, and covering up the window to avoid all distraction was the next logical step.

The blinds which isolated him also today provided him with the perfect cover, and so the only person who was noting his uncharacteristically curious habits was himself. That was bad enough. Carefully, so as not to attract attention through any quick motions, Sasuke used his index and middle finger to push the blinds slightly in and apart. The slit he made was small, but he could see through it well enough to note the location and activity of the object of interest.

Sakura was reading some sort of thick reference book. From here he could see that it was a text on anatomy. No romance novels or trashy magazines. He couldn?t fault her on reading a textbook, and he knew that she wasn?t slacking off but rather had not yet been subjected to Kakashi for the day so citing her as lazy would be inaccurate. Sakura?s expression was serious, back straight and brows slightly drawn together, as she studied the book in front of her. While he watched, she traced her finger over something on the page she was looking at before turning to the back of the book and keeping her place with a captured thumb in between the sheets.

What made her different from the other women in the building, than the other women he had ever met? Sasuke wish he knew, because he had a feeling Gaara knew and that thought alone was enough to drive him to distraction. Naruto seemed to know it too, but getting any sense out of Naruto would be impossible. He wanted to avoid speaking of Sakura around Naruto at any rate because once Naruto got on the subject of her he tended to stay there long past the point of exhaustion for his listener.

It was at their tennis game last weekend, the day after in the infamous ?date?, when Sasuke got to hear his fill about the beautiful pink haired woman. Naruto was barely bothering to play, which was fine because Sasuke was so distracted by the topic of conversation in between sets that they stayed neck and neck instead of Sasuke?s usual moderately easy domination.

Sasuke wasn?t about to say a thing to Naruto about the encounter with Gaara. The blond idiot would only overreact and the last thing Sasuke wanted was to get in a real fight with his boss? current lawyer. Oh how satisfying it would be to get into a fight with Gaara, like they did early in middle school, and to smash his fist into that smug green eyed bastard?s? face again. That day at lunch had been one of the worst of his life. Middle school as a whole had been some of the worst days of his life. Even after Kakashi came along things never gotten good in his life, merely more stable.

The calendar on the wall drew his eyes away from the engrossing sight of Sakura reading and he noted that it was the 15th. In ten days it would be Christmas, and Christmas meant the usual holiday visit. He was swept away from work, from Gaara or Sakura, and found himself in a world of sterile smells and scrubbed walls, beeping monitors and his own deep sense of responsibility. Rage and helplessness were soon to follow, and Sasuke disliked the feeling of them even more than his confusion over Kakashi?s pretty assistant.

He was about to sit down again and attempt to review those pages he had read but not really read before he started his ambulation about his office when there was a commotion outside. Back to the window he went, but his vision was blocked by a person. This commotion had drawn a crowd it seemed. This could only mean one thing: Kakashi had returned and Gai was visiting.

?Kakashi! Come out and face me, as men ought, straightforwardly and with a mind prepared for the challenge!?

The man was ridiculous, but his over the top tendencies had served him well as head of advertising. Big personalities seemed to gravitate there, which is why Sasuke was glad to be in accounting surrounded by, mostly, sane and quiet people. Well, quiet people. The person blocking his view refused to move so Sasuke had to find another spot to peak out of. By the time he had an unobstructed view Sakura was trying to speak to Gai. It was useless, of course.

?Sir, can you keep your voice down please?? When she wanted to she could sound very stern. ?Mr. Hatake is a busy man. Do you have an appointment?? Sasuke knew Sakura never kept an actual appointment book because that would be useless for Kakashi. She was trying to tactfully get Gai to go away.

?You might say, my young lady, that we have an ongoing appointment.? Gai?s eyes flashed as he thought of their past ?battles?. ?If you shall not get him, then I?m afraid I must go in anyway without your permission.?

At that moment, as Sakura considered her options, Kakashi stepped out of his office and walked by them both, his eyes glued to the paper her was holding. Gai, who had locked onto Kakashi expectantly as soon as he had emerged, looked crushed when Kakashi completely ignored him. Sasuke knew there was no way his foster father had not heard the commotion, but he had been trying to curtail Gai?s little competitions for years.

?Kakashi, this year I have victory within my grasp. Turn and face your defeat!?

Kakashi paused and looked up from his piece of paper with a cheerful but vague smile. ?Oh, when did you get here Gai??

?None of that. I know my influence stretches far and wide, and this year the deciding proof is that which I grasp in my hand!? Gai held it aloft, a small bag of cookies as if they were a trophy; they looked like they were butter cookies with green and red frosting. ?Behold! The first batch of cookies, gifted to me by a kind secretary of the department. You cannot deny me my obvious superior popularity. HA HA HA HA!?

There was no falter in Kakashi?s smile. ?You?ve got me there Gai. Now if you?ll excuse me, I need to make a photocopy of this.? He waved with his back turned and Gai almost began to cry under the powerful influence of his happiness.

?The first victory of the holiday season goes to me. My powerful charisma has finally climbed up to match that of my great rival. The next victory shall tip the scales in my favor. We shall see who is gifted the most presents this year, oh yes we shall, and then this year?s trials shall be finished!? Gai laughed himself all the way over to the elevator while Sakura stood there with her mouth opened in shock.

She only unfroze herself when Kakashi rounded the corner out of the copy room and handed something to her to file. ?Mr. Hatake. . .?

?How many times must I tell you to call me Kakashi??

?. . . you got that basket of brownies two days ago from the lady at the reception desk downstairs. Didn?t you receive it? I made sure to put it someplace you would see it. . .?

Kakashi placed a comforting hand on Sakura?s shoulder and Sasuke shifted uncomfortably at the sight. Was it appropriate, to be so familiar with an assistant like that. . .?

?I got the brownies.?

?Then. . .?

?Think of it as an early Christmas present.? Don?t act all noble, Sasuke mentally berated Kakashi, you didn?t want to deal with the situation so you ran away. What did Kakashi have to prove, doing that? Was he making himself look good for Sakura?

He must be going crazy. Everything did not revolve around Sakura Haruno. The world had been the same place before he knew she existed and now that she was everywhere in his life he should be looking forward to the day when she made her exit. With Sakura or Gaara interchangeably on his mind, his productivity had fallen at a rate which had earned him a questioning email from Neji. Sasuke replied to the email that no, he was not recovering from some major surgery and that there was nothing to be concerned about. It hadn?t been a warning from the infamous human resources efficiency expert, but an honest confusion over this aberration in Sasuke?s work. It was too much to deal with: Sakura, Gaara, and the usual holiday mess of family and memories.

No, he told himself, this was not an emotional problem, it was a mental one. He had been spending too many late nights in the office, and he was still getting used to the glasses he now needed for reading (temporarily, from working too hard and staring at text on and off a computer for hours without a break). There were lots of reasons that he could be distracted, but his body would adjust and then everything would stabilize.

Calmly, he stationed himself before the computer screen. It was craziness, thinking that this could be anything except a mechanical period of adjustment for his body. Emotions had never rocked him before, not since that one day a few years ago when the investigator had come so close to finding. . .

Now his hands were shaking. Numbers. Beautiful and clean numbers would solve everything, and for two hours Sasuke fell into a world without people. It was pure, it was cold, it was everything he wanted out of life.

The door opened, there was no knock. Sasuke had thought about locking his door, but the inconvenience of having to respond whenever someone was delivering a memo or a report to him had become so troublesome that he had stopped bothering. They entered with hunted looks, the peons deposited their memos, and then they left without a sound (sometimes without a breath?one person had passed out when they fumbled with the door too long). But few had the audacity to intrude upon him in such a manner, door banging against its stop. The glare he gave to the offending party was fearsome enough to have driven past interns to tears.

To Gaara, it was par for the course in their association with one another.

Sasuke didn?t stop glaring and instead turned back to his computer with the same intense look. ?Get out and don?t come back.?

?That?s no way to treat an old friend.?

?I?d rather bite my tongue off then let people think I?m your friend.?

Gaara smirked. ?Tactful as always.?

?I save it just for you.? Sasuke finally gave way and faced Gaara again. ?Why are you still here?? He glanced at the time. ?Lunch started a long time ago. You?re too late to harass Kakashi?s assistant.?

That wiped the smile off Gaara?s face. ?Speaking of Sakura. . .? Sasuke tried not to let the discomfort he felt at Gaara using her name show. They weren?t that close in Sakura?s mind, based on what she had told him, so why did Gaara throw around the implication that they were? ?I came to give you a friendly warning.?

?Oh really??

?Sakura Haruno is a project I?ve been monitoring for some time and if you mess this up for me, I?ll destroy you and your petty little career.? Gaara?s face cracked in that smile he tended to sport before he went in for the kill. ?Even though I know your bosses are somewhat aware of your father. . . I don?t think they understand the full implications of what it means to be an Uchiha. . .?

Sasuke was somewhere past livid and hovering in the space just before homicidal rage. ?Get the fuck out of my office. Assault and battery notwithstanding, I have no reason to hold back.? How he managed to stay at his desk and not leap over it to strangle the other man was pure rock solid control.

Gaara picked up a pen from the holder at the corner of Sasuke?s desk. Great, Sasuke thought, now he?d have to throw it away. ?No need to be so vehement. I told you, it?s a friendly warning. I find it extremely interesting, though, that you finally decide to move in on a girl and it happens to be my girl.?

?She doesn?t. . .? Sasuke found the words he had wanted to say, a full denial of interest in her, dying in his throat. ?She can make her own choices. I don?t have anything to do with what she thinks. Coming here was a mistake on your part. I?m not the one doing the chasing.? It was true, however, since this whole misunderstanding was due to her forwardness.

?I?m not a fool, even if all those women who fall over themselves to get to you are.? Gaara was taking apart the pen and snapping each piece. If Sasuke were not so economical as to buy cheap pens, then it might have bothered him more. As it was, Gaara was doing it and therefore it had to bother him. ?And while you may not initiate it, if you understand the sensitivity of your situation then you?ll make sure you don?t encourage it.?

Sasuke solidly stared at Gaara, baleful, amused. ?You really want this don?t you, you want her.? There was a note of wonder in his voice. Gaara didn?t need anyone because, to Sasuke?s understanding, the both of them had been placed in this world to serve themselves. Other people entering into the picture was almost unthinkable. Sasuke was not as good at this as Gaara, having never been able to shut out Kakashi or Naruto as completely as Gaara had cut off even his blood relations.

At once Gaara realized he had already given too much away. Sasuke was too smart to let a weak spot like this go without jabbing something nasty and sharp into it. ?She?s convenient. A girl like her, she can do anything. She?s perfect in every way she needs to be. I can?t find a better partner to ease my rise to the top.? Gaara looked to the side of the room, flicking his eyes away in a manner that suggested to Sasuke that there was more going on in this situation than Gaara?s simple desire for a competent companion.

?What is it you see in her?? Gaara, Naruto, Ino, Kakashi, Hinata, even Shino. . . they all were a step away from worshipping the ground she walked on for various reasons. What could they all perceive that Sasuke was missing?

Gaara relaxed. ?If you can?t see it, Sasuke, then I?ve already won.? He tossed the remains of the pen on Sasuke?s desk in a splash of ink. Why did he always have to be so messy when he did things? It must be a stylistic thing, to savage his surroundings and leave chaos as a reminder of his existence.

They exchanged no more words and Gaara left. Sasuke released the tension from his knotting muscles as best he could; he had not noticed that his body was so tightly wound until his leg started to cramp.

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Unable to restart the work that had been difficult enough to get into before Gaara?s interruption, Sasuke sought out the only other person who he could think of as an ally in this building. On the way there he took the liberty of cracking his knuckles and stretching out his muscles. What a shame they lived in a ?civilized? world where they couldn?t take their problems to a more physical level without repercussions. Instead of a solid punch all Sasuke could do was draw someone up a bad performance report or refer them to the very man he was about to visit. Neji had made even more women cry when in meetings with him than Sasuke had. A few men too.

Neji and Sasuke got along, or, that is, they were similar and shared an understanding of respect. Neji craved power, as a bastard son who was only later adopted back into his blue blooded family, so he could shove proof of his worth back down their throats. Sasuke craved powerful positions only for the money they gave him. Sasuke needed money more than he needed friendship or affection. Those other things got in the way of his ambition. He didn?t discount that there might be room for them later on, but he couldn?t pencil them in at the moment. Neji also respected Sasuke because Sasuke performed better than nearly any other employee in the rest of the company and tended to bring others up with him with his high expectations rather then other people thinking they could relax because he took on the bulk of the work in any project. Sasuke?s rising tide lifted all boats in his department, and compared to Shino who did little to encourage or motivate his inferiors Sasuke was more likely to advance in the next year. Anything that brought higher productivity at no cost made Neji happy. That is, it made Neji feel an emotion that did not displease him. Putting things in positive terms had been difficult for the efficiency expert ever since he was a small child.

Instinctively, Sasuke swept the room, inspecting hallways and open doorways for people he did not want to encounter. Hinata was out to lunch with Sakura, as she had taken to doing. The person Sasuke was trying to avoid in particular was not the shy department director but the irrepressible Lee, expert at positive reinforcement. It was as if someone had looked around for the person most unlike Neji and then planted him in the department in a position with the same amount of power and an office next to Neji?s to see what would happen. Lee was no doubt not taking a lunch either, so Sasuke was extra cautious to avoid him. While Neji did not take a lunch because it wasted time, Lee did not take one because he loved to do his job.

The danger zone behind him, Sasuke knocked on Neji?s office door.

?What.? The demand came from inside the room instead of an invitation to enter, but Sasuke knew that it was as good a signal as any. Neji?s scowl softened into a blank look as he beheld the star of the accounting department. ?Why are you here?? As usual, he wasted no time.

?Is there any way for security to bar entrance to certain people entering the accounting offices? I have been subjected to disruptions recently that are adversely affecting my work.?

Neji twirled a ball point pen in his fingers and leaned back in his chair. ?It isn?t like you. You know this is a ridiculous request, and yet you are still here speaking to me, wasting both of our valuable seconds.?

?I think it?s reasonable to request tighter security. Kakashi never even allowed the cameras to be installed on our floor.?

?And yet your floor has the lowest net total of supplies stolen each year. It would be a waste of money to argue with him again.? Neji scratched something off on the paper he had been referencing before Sasuke entered. ?I think you should take your mind off Kakashi, and particularly off his assistant, and then your motivation to work might miraculously return.?

Why did everyone think that Sasuke and Sakura were an item?! It was exactly the same interference as what had happened when Naruto appeared. Open up a little bit and suddenly someone will wedge themselves into your life so tightly you can?t comprehend how to start getting them out. Playing the hero for a damsel in distress was costing him more than he had ever imagined it could. That will teach him. Sasuke would have to go and nip this thing at the source before it got out of hand. If it weren?t for the fact that Gaara had gotten her fired before, Sasuke might have requested Neji to do the same for him. But there was no way in hell that Sasuke was going to sink to Gaara?s level.

As Sasuke was leaving, feeling resentful towards Neji for buying into the office rumor mill, he got him back. It was a good thing there was a convenient corner next to Lee?s office, because it gave Sasuke something to hide behind after he knocked on Lee?s door. With every sensible person at lunch, the enthusiastic young man would have no one to accuse of the attentions except for Neji. Sasuke smiled as he disappeared onto the stairs to get back to his own floor. Let?s see how productive Neji could be with Lee hounding him for the rest of lunch.

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?Happy Wednesday!? Sakura said as she gathered her things together in her standard end of day order. There was the coat, the scarf, the piece of hard candy to hold her until she got home and made dinner, the application of chapstick to guard against the cold, the neatening of her hair before she braved the weather again, the gloves, and then finally the purse. It was like getting armored for war, but rush hour did feel like war. She was working on her road rage, but she couldn?t help a scream now and again when she was delayed beyond reason. Big cities were glorious for nearly everything except their poor transportation situations, she thought.

Shino cocked his head to the side, confused. ?Why happy?? The coat he wore enveloped him up to the nose, and she had to imagine the slight frown that he was giving her behind it.

?Well, it?s over isn?t it? That?s good enough for me.? Shino nodded solemnly, and Sakura wished that any of her frivolity would get through to him. He seemed like the kind of guy who needed a good laugh at least once in his adult life. It gave her something to do. The office work was getting down to routine these days and all the free time was driving her crazy. If things continued like this, she would be well prepared for her first year of med school, having read through and nearly memorized all the facts she needed. Maybe she would send off those applications she had prepared on a whim last year for graduate school. This time next year, she could be back in school. It was a heady thought, and she glowed with it. It was either happiness or sweat, since she had all her winter gear on and hadn?t gone outside yet.

She was on her way, swinging her purse and thinking about what she was going to make for dinner, when a hand grabbed her and pulled her inside an office. Sakura had the mace halfway out of her purse before she recognized an unhappy looking Sasuke in front of her. What had she done now? Here was another person who desperately needed to smile before his petrified that way. It was a common childhood threat from parents, but since he hadn?t had parents maybe he didn?t know of the dangers.

?Yes, Mr. Uchiha? Is there something you wished to speak to me about??

Sasuke had his special glare on, the one he saved for people who had made obvious mathematical errors, and shook a finger in her direction. ?Fix it.?

?Pardon?? She had no idea what he was talking about.

He swept a hand through his hair. ?The whole building thinks we?re dating!?

?Really?? She cracked a smile, but then coughed and looked down when that seemed to make Sasuke?s mood even darker. There was no way she could be happy about this news. . . right?

?Our special association ended when you stepped out of my car that night, Ms. Haruno, you understand that don?t you? Now make our non-involvement clear to everyone else.?

Sakura didn?t appreciate being ordered about. ?So the great Sasuke Uchiha isn?t powerful enough to stop a little rumor? I?m sure people will forget about it soon enough.?

Other people be damned. He wanted Gaara to stop breathing down his neck. ?The rumors are spread by women, and women never listen to what I say.? Sakura looked at him dubiously. ?They look at me with simpering eyes and don?t hear a word.?

?That is so much sexist bull. Men are just as bad as women when it comes to rumors. And if the women simper then the men cower. You aren?t a people person, you know.?

Her cheeks were flushed from the heat of being in her coat and she was wafting the smell of mint in his direction from whatever she had been eating before he abducted her into his office. With a challenging look lighting her eyes, Sasuke felt unreasonable urges jolt his system. This had been an upsetting day. Everything was confused and he couldn?t seem to win in any of the discussions he had had, even this one.

Sakura was the cause. She was everywhere, infesting his brain, drowning him in pink and green. He still couldn?t figure out why, but being in her exclusive presence after days of going over every detail of their time together was filling him with a warm feeling not unlike anger.

?Gaara came to see me today.? He struck out at her, knowing she still had difficulty facing this topic. Sasuke struggled with Gaara as well, but he had had years of practice to look like he didn?t. ?I?m your only line of defense and it would do you good to keep me happy.?

Sakura had gone pale and the caged look she offered made Sasuke feel like the jerk he was being. Doing this, berating a subordinate, had never made him feel so personally awful before. Maybe they could come to some sort of agreement instead. It was a strange thought, since he was not the sort to negotiate?Sasuke demanded, and things happened.

?You?re going to get me fired, aren?t you?? Her words cut him deeper than he wanted to admit. Sasuke knew her words were perceptive, but he didn?t want them to be.

?Be reasonable, Ms. Haruno, I?m not your enemy.? Sasuke moved over to put a hand on her shoulder. When Kakashi had done it, she had seemed to grow more at ease. It was imperative he touch her, it seemed, and what had started out meaning to be a companionable hand altered suddenly. His palm broke out into a sweat at his side. ?Understand that I am merely guarding. . . my. . .? She wasn?t listening and he had talked more than he wanted to today already.

She looked sad, withdrawn. It wasn?t typical for her. Only Sasuke seemed to be the one making her miserable whenever she was around. She laughed for others, maybe that was part of that missing element in her character he could not pinpoint. Up close he had never noticed how beautiful she was. Warm and colorful as he was frigid and washed out.

The hand on her shoulder tightened and Sakura began to twist away when all at once she had to deal with another problem trickier than his strong fingers digging into the red wool of her coat.

Sasuke was kissing her, and hell must have frozen over, as she told Ino once it would have to, because she was liking it.

[Pikachu]

Sasuke had his special glare on, the one he saved for people who had made obvious mathematical errors, and shook a finger in her direction. ?Fix it.?

?Pardon?? She had no idea what he was talking about.

He swept a hand through his hair. ?The whole building thinks we?re dating!?

I found that line very funny. I can't awit to read more of this fic. XDDD man you have to end the chapter at such an evul line. XDD;;; Rawr

[Splintered]

I'm in love with you. You're writing style is wonderful, you got me hooked., I love how you add all the other characters. *bows*

[Oyuki]

that whole neji thing was hilarious. and wow, he finally gave in to his... urges. heehee.