[modern AU, fluff]

Uchiha Sasuke, the young CEO of Uchiha Enterprises Holdings Inc. at the age of twenty-eight, wasn't always serious and professional. With a sigh, he remembered the first person other than his family who cared for him because he was Sasuke and not Uchiha Sasuke. His first love who had been stuck in his mind ever since that day eleven years ago.

_____ Flashback_____

She was the top student of their grade and exams were to begin within a three weeks for them, the seniors. She was popular because of her surname and she had friends. He too had a surname, good grades and was praised by the teachers. Most of the girls in his class and the other classes paid him more attention than necessary.

But, due to this unwanted attention, the boys of their class started giving him scornful looks since high school began and finally, two weeks before the exams, one of them picked a fight with him. He didn't know why, but Sasuke beat him up very badly.

The next day, he was called to the school earlier than usual for a meeting between his teacher and his mother. He reached the class very early and saw that girl sitting on her seat looking towards the open window. She looked at him when he entered and had immediately ran over to him.

"Are you okay?" Her face held an expression which he didn't want to see. It reminded him of his mother when she saw him beaten up for the first time.

"Hmph! I'm fine. Why are you so concerned about me?"

"You weren't like this before." Her voice was sad and he decided that he didn't like that.

"It's not as if I had a choice." He huffed and went to his own seat. She walked towards her own seat and kept on glancing at him occasionally. She stole a few glances at him during the entire day.

The next day, Sasuke came into the class even more injured than before. She gave him a worried look which caught a lot of attention. That day Sasuke heard a conversation when he was just about to open the door of his class.

"Sakura, do you like Sasuke-kun?" A few other voices, started asking the same question. He didn't really understand because he didn't remember the names of the girls of his class, therefore he didn't know who was Sakura.

"What? No!" Was her immediate reply. That voice was a bit familiar.

"Don't lie to us. You looked worried about him." He remembered that high-pitched voice. Some blonde girl named pig.

"Isn't it natural to get worried? He was injured." It was that pink-haired girl who had asked him if he was okay. That sudden recognition of that voice and those words warmed him.

"Don't lie. You like him!" This time, that girl was accusing her. A few other voices had joined the girl and started accusing her. He frowned.

He could hear some more voices. The girl, whom he now knew as Sakura, defended herself from those claims. But, it was in vain.

"How would Sasuke-kun like a freak like you?" Nobody had ever called her a freak. Then, why now? Weren't they her friends?

"Yeah, your hair and eyes are weird and you have a large forehead." So did he. His bangs hung on the sides of his forehead, just like his mother, but his forehead was just as visible as hers.

"You don't have any family. Why would anyone like you?" A girl yelled. What? She was alone all along?

"Hey, knock it off! Don't talk to her like that." A male voice yelled. Sasuke knew this guy. He was only one who hated him because he was good in academics and sports and one of the only ones who didn't pick fights with him. Uzumaki Naruto, the class clown who had a crush on Sakura.

"Shut up, Naruto. You don't need to interfere." Another voice retorted.

"Stop this. The teacher will come and give us extra homework because you guys couldn't stop screaming." A lazy voice, Nara Shikamaru, spoke.

A loud cry sent shivers down their spines. The girl was on the ground clutching her hair. One of them had gone as far as cutting her hair. A paper cutter was in the hands of that girl and she seemed to regret her deed.

"Get lost! All of you!" Naruto yelled. That voice terrified everyone. Pure rage and hatred filled that voice.

"We didn't know..." The girls were trembling with fear. Naruto might've been the class clown, but he was also known to be very dangerous if someone got on his bad side.

"Go and sit on your seats." Another cold voice added. Akimichi Chouji. A few voices and the shuffling of chairs had confirmed that the girls had rushed to their seats.

Sasuke opened the door and shut it. He searched for the pink-haired girl and found her sitting on the floor next to her seat, as she leaned on the wall. Her long hair that reached till her waist was now short. The rest of them were splattered on the ground.

He walked towards her and stood there, unsure of what to do. He wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't even see if she was crying. Her hair had shielded her face. She stood up and finally saw him standing a few couple of feet away from her. He immediately bowed.

"I'M SORRY!" He yelled. "It's my fault. She hurt you because of me." Gasps and whispers began.

"Raise your head." She spoke emotionlessly. Her voice had intimidated him, the boy who beat up one of the most feared bullies in the school. "Please." She whispered. Her voice held so much emotion. He finally raised his head and looked at her. She was trying to get her hair away from her eyes. Her cheeks were tear-stained.

"You don't have to apologize. It's her fault, not yours." She spoke as she tried to adjust her hair.

"But..."

"How would you feel if the teacher and the girls apologized to you because of the fact that you get into fights because of their praises and attention?" He looked at her.

"But... I..."

"If it helps you, then I forgive you." She spoke with a small smile.

"Thank you for helping me. Naruto, Choji, Shikamaru."

"But Sakura-chan, we were late." The blonde boy whispered.

"You tried." She spoke and walked past them. She exited the classroom and no one knew where she went that day. When their teacher, Iruka, came in, he saw everything and the boys explained everything to him. The girls were suspended till and Sakura didn't come to school till the exams began. Some blonde came to take her report card and went away after berating the teacher and the families of the girls.

____________________

After high school, he searched about Haruno Sakura on the internet. The daughter of the late Haruno Kizashi and Mebuki. The goddaughter of Senju Tsunade, the fifth President of Konoha. The sole heiress to the Haruno hospital, the largest hospital in the world and coincidentally where his mother had been admitted after having a heart attack after his father's death. After higher studies in some other country, she inherited the position as the director of the hospital and became one of the few people who had political influence despite being a businesswoman.

Uchiha Sasuke threw the disposable cup once he had finished his coffee. No one ever saw that girl again. He walked towards his mahogany table and picked up a file as he sat on his chair. He knew for a fact that he had almost started developing warm feelings for that girl ever since she asked him if he was okay. Nobody had asked that other than his parents and his brother. Nowadays, his sister-in-law would ask that, but he knew it was all familial love.

When the day ended, he went back to his penthouse and started thinking about her. Today, he was crazy enough to search for Haruno Sakura on the internet. Her Instagram account was a private one and she didn't have any other accounts in social media. But the news reported that she had made a groundbreaking success for developing a cure for some disease with a weird name.

He was a fool for clicking the follow button on her Instagram account. He wanted to delete that request, but his hands were frozen. Sasuke sighed in defeat and went to sleep.

The next morning, he saw notifications from Instagram. She had accepted his request and sent him one. A smile formed on his lips as he accepted it and saw a few photos. Photos from their high school with a girl holding a badminton racquet, Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji on the day she won some international Science Olympiad. Naruto was in his baseball uniform and Choji was in an apron and wore a chef's hat.

She wrote a few lines underneath the photo.

"Uzumaki Naruto – Vice-captain of the baseball team who won the semifinals of the Students' Baseball League 2010. (This doesn't change the fact that he's a dork.)

Nara Shikamaru – Winner of the Math Olympiad held in China. (Try to stay awake in class so people actually believe you accomplished this)

Akimichi Choji – Runner-up in the State Level Cooking Competition (Please start washing the dishes)"

Sasuke suddenly had the urge to send her a message. To renew a brief acquaintance. To say something else than sorry and stutter around. Sasuke tapped the message icon and typed a message. Suddenly, pressing the send button felt like as if he would screw up and would be eaten up by a monster. Why should he feel nervous? He was an Uchiha.

uchihasasuke: Can we talk?

He accidentally pressed the send button. When Sasuke realized that, he slapped his head and let out a string of colorful words. He then looked at the phone again with the intent to delete the message, but she had already seen it.

harunosakura: I'm sorry, but Idk you. I just accepted your request coz Naruto follows you.

uchihasasuke: A former classmate. Should I send an old pic?

harunosakura: If you want.

uchihasasuke just sent you a picture.

uchihasasuke: Do you remember?

harunosakura: Yeah. What's up?

uchihasasuke: Can we meet up?

harunosakura: Is this urgent?

uchihasasuke: Yes.

harunosakura: I can arrange an appointment. Can you come over to the hospital?

uchihasasuke: Sure. When?

harunosakura: Today at 2:00 pm? Lunch's on me.

uchihasasuke: Thanks. I'll be over.

harunosakura: Gotta go. Ttyl.

uchihasasuke: Bye.

Could this be considered as a date? Nope. They were meeting at her office. That's not a date. That's a meeting. But that didn't stop Sasuke from being excited.

He quickly dashed off to get ready. Within twenty minutes, he had showered and gotten dressed in one of his finest suits. Not that he ever had a shabby suit. Sasuke quickly left for his office and was more than determined to get his work done. The paperwork would haunt him every day, but today it was merely a tool to pass time so that he could meet up with her.

____________________

It wasn't every day when Konoha's top bachelor went to the hospital to meet someone other than his mother, who was coincidentally a patient in that very hospital. This was the first time he had demanded to meet the director. His mother and her doctor had been surprised by that demand. When the doctor left, he had revealed everything to his mother after her questioning glance.

His mother had been overjoyed and immediately encouraged him and so, Sasuke was waiting at the hospital for the secretary to say yes and let him go into Sakura's office with a bouquet of flowers (upon his mother's insistence). The secretary had shown signs of suspicion after seeing the flowers and told him that the director won't accept if he was here to propose to her. He immediately glared at her and that silenced her before she told him that the director would see him now.

When he entered the large room behind those metal doors, he expected to find a luxurious room with a good view of the city and Sakura to be waiting for him in a red dress and...

Sasuke was flabbergasted to see that a particular part of the office was full of files and papers and the other part had a living room cum kitchen like arrangement. He shouldn't have been taken by surprise. His own office room was like that. But since this woman was his first love, he expected it to be romantic only to realize the fact that Sakura didn't know about his feelings. Even if she did, would she accept him? Even if she accepted him, would she make an effort to make their "meetings" romantic?

"Umm... hello?" He finally called out. A tuft of pink hair immediately popped out of the pile of files and papers.

"Oh! Hello. Just a minute... I just have to.. HA!!! Finally!" A beep sound was heard and a few murmuring voices later, a pink-haired woman in a pair of black pants and white formal shirt emerged with a phone and a file.

"Oh! Hey! I had a few files to sign. Go ahead and sit. I hope you don't mind takeout. I had them order burgers, French fries and shakes." Sasuke dumbly nodded and proceeded to sit.

"These are for you." He handed her the bouquet of flowers he had bought in a hurry. He finally noticed her short hair and frowned, but straightened his face before Sakura could notice.

"Thanks." At that moment, her secretary entered the room. "Karin, take this file and can you get a vase for these?"

"Yes ma'am." She replied, slightly shocked that her boss had actually accepted flowers from a man.

"Thanks again for the flowers. How's life?"

"It's good. I can relate to having a lot of paperwork." Sasuke motioned towards the large pile of papers which made it almost impossible to see the table on which it was kept.

"I know." She laughed. "How's your family?"

"Dad died a few years ago. Mom's in the hospital. My brother, Itachi, got married." He causally replied.

"Sakura, I..." She turned to look at him with a questioning glance.

"I'm sorry." Sakura's face suddenly became blank. "Why?" She curiously asked.

"The hair.. and.." Sasuke's stutters made her sigh.

"You don't expect me to be hung up on such incidents, do you?" She inquired with an amused smirk.

"But..." Sasuke was drowning in guilt and when Sakura finally realized that...

"I'm hung up on such incidents only becaues I'm not interested in having any sort of relationships with such people. I have a job to do and I'd rather do that than be bothered by all those. But seriously, that was never your fault. You weren't even there, then how come you blame yourself?" Amusement was visible in her eyes.

"They said you liked me and did that." He didn't look her eye. He didn't dare. He just couldn't.

"Sasuke, they thought I had a crush on you all of a sudden when I didn't even bother with such trivial things in the first place. If I had, then the old hag who is my godmother would've thrown away all this to charity."

"But you left without any notice." He almost whispered, but Sakura had caught it.

"My godmother didn't think it was necessary for me to directly meet everyone to inform when I could've messaged everyone. If you're worried about why I didn't tell you, then that's because I didn't even know you that well and I still don't." Sasuke finally managed to lift his head and look at her to see her lips curl into a beautiful smile which widened as their gazes collided.

"Can we just start eating? The food will cool down." She chuckled slightly at his sudden shyness before handing him a plate with his burger and his share of French fries.

"Do you always eat this?" Sasuke motioned to his plate. Sakura shook her head and swallowed her food before replying.

"There's always something else. Chinese, Thai, Indian and so on. The restaurants are down there somewhere and I order them."

"You used to get good scores in culinary classes. What happened?"

"It's lonely at home. So, no cooking nowadays. I probably don't remember how to light a stove."

"Still a KPop fan?" Sasuke remembered that Sakura and most of the other girls in their school were huge fans of bands.

"Are you going to tease me?" Sakura's perfectly shaped eyebrows rose.

"Hell no. I've already received my sister's wrath."

"Sister?"

"Sister-in-law."

"Oh yeah. Sorry, I forget a lot of things."

"It's alright. They're Uchiha Izumi and Itachi."

"Formerly Saginomiya Izumi?"

"Yeah."

"I've met Izumi-san once, during a book-signing event. She's really sweet."

"That's good."

"Tell me about your life. What did you do when you were abroad?"

"Me? Well... Other than my boring studies, I met a few people including Suna's current president. He's really sweet and took care of me when I was there. His sister, Temari is also pretty cool. Then there's their brother, Kankuro. He reminded me of Naruto.

Then I met Karui, although our first meeting wasn't the best. When Naruto came to visit me, he accidentally fell on me and we kissed. Karui thought he was harassing me and came and beat him up." Sakura burst out laughing just as she finished the last sentence. Sasuke was desperately trying not to burst out laughing after having imagined that scene, but eventually failed and joined her.

"Okay..." Sakura panted slightly. "He was beaten up very badly." They burst into laughter again. Sakura's secretary entered once again and was surprised to see both of them laughing. She quickly snuck out to give them their privacy.

"Then I met Chojuro, a transfer student from Kiri and Kurotsuchi from Iwa. They were pretty funny people. Kurotsuchi was sometimes blamed for jinxing things, but she was a good girl. And then there is Karin, my secretary. She was my junior and my roommate since my third year and..." A knock interrupted Sakura's rants.

"Ma'am, it's time for that conference with the representatives from Suna." The secretary, Karin, reminded her.

"Two minutes." Sakura replied and proceeded to pick her blazer from her nearly invisible office chair.

"Sasuke, I have to go. Maybe we can catch up later." Sakura gave him a smile. Sasuke had already stood up and was adjusting his blazer.

"Yeah. Lunch on Saturday?" Sasuke hoped she wouldn't refuse because he had just started falling in love.

"Definitely. And this time, I want to hear some stories from you." They stepped out of the office together, although they weren't holding hands like Sasuke wanted them to.

"Well Sasuke, see you later." She turned to him as soon as they reached the elevator.

"See you soon." Sasuke replied once the elevator had opened. Just as he was about to enter the elevator, Sakura had quickly kissed his cheek and fled. He looked at her direction to see her walking away with her secretary, her heels clicking all the way. A rare smile came formed on his lips as he entered the elevator and pressed the button.

When he reached the ground floor, a notification beep came from his phone. He checked it and saw that it was a message from Sakura.

harunosakura: I'm glad we reconnected.

uchihasasuke: Me too.

-- by NaTsuMe_SenJu
Heyy guys, this is the first one-shot of the day. A big round of applause for Sasuke for being so perfect and handsome despite being thirty-three or something years old. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my first anime crush. WHOOO!!! I'm having a party of my own since it's his birthday. Stay tuned cause there's another one-shot coming up within a few minutes.