Chapter Text
Three days passed since she last talked to him alone, for the band had rehearsals almost everyday after they said their goodnights. No one noticed the change between them, especially the change in her. Maybe they saw it as a good thing, that she hasn’t picked up a drink and opted for water and soda every practice and dinner. She was quieter than usual without her social liquid, and she definitely wanted to fix that.
But every time she tried to pick up a glass, just to have one small drink, the memories of that night replayed in her mind like a harsh ripple. She thought this was a sign that she should drink less, learn to have fun without it, but the feeling of exclusion was slowly overwhelming her when everyone would clink their glasses and cheer at the end of every practice creeping up to the big day.
There was one person who noticed, and it was Sasuke. He noticed how every time she would reach to pick up her glass, her hands would tremble yet her face would be blank with such a peaceful expression. His eyes marked the level of her drink in her glass, noting down that she wasn’t even sipping it. And every time he wanted to look her in her eyes, hers were always locked on to her glass, keeping watch like a hawk.
Sure, she was a heavy drinker so this should be a good thing, but they were both young and in their twenties, and that was the normal age to get fucked up and party. And seeing her so tense was making him uneasy. So tense and afraid, even around them, around him. And he knew why and that it wasn’t his fault, but it sure felt like shit when it felt like she couldn’t trust them enough to drink again. Trust him.
She seemed dry, nearly drained in her interactions, her laughter falling short and ending with a sigh right at the very end like it took so much energy to laugh. He didn’t know that the only time she could drink in peace was when she lounged around in her hotel room with his shirt she borrowed that night. It stopped smelling like him long ago, her scent mixed in with the sea salt air has overtaken his scent, but it gave her a strong sense of safety, enough to wind down with white wine when they get home from rehearsal.
Time flew by fast and it was already the day of the concert. The stage was set up on the beach, where the audience can see the sunset forming with the ocean with palm trees swaying. It had the vibe of an outdoor music festival, lively and tropical, and those who were lucky to get front row had a chance of getting splashed with water or foam. The venue was simple, having only the stage, a couple bars and food trucks lining the perimeter, and the entrance with security and staff all set up on the sand.
(Y/N) was hoping she’d get over herself to be able to have a fun time with her best friend, living in the moment instead of in her head. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a special section they could sit at, she was hoping there was so she wouldn’t be so anxious. They were going to be standing with the fans who bought VIPs, right in front of the stage.
Currently, she was backstage less than two hours before ‘doors’ opened. Due to the show being held outdoors in a hot, humid climate, the crew was busy making sure wires and electronics were safe, and instruments were tuned perfectly. Her and Megan were alone sharing a drink that mostly Megan sipped on, hovering near the equipment cases.
“Aren’t you hot in that?” Megan asked, raising a brow at her friend as she glanced up and down at her outfit.
“Not really, I’ll take it off when it gets hot. I just don’t want to hold my jacket all day,” (Y/N) assured. No, she was lying out of her teeth. There was sweat dripping down her back, and her clothes were disgustingly already soaked from it. She was holding back everything to not fan herself. When she got dressed for the concert, she wore her pre-planned outfit—a bikini top and low-rise jean shorts with some jewelry for the hot weather. Something she was confident in, unafraid of being judged. But she felt the need to cover herself with a light jacket for tonight, unable to reclaim herself from before.
“If you say so,” Megan dragged, suspicious of her friend, but didn’t feel right in prying. “Wait, be right back, I’m going to use the bathroom backstage before the show starts and then we won’t be able to. You should too!”
“Mhm, I’ll go in a bit.”
Her eyes followed Megan’s figure until it disappeared around the corner. Finally, she let out a long sigh, leaning against the cases, zipping down her jacket a few inches and fanning herself with her hand.
“The fuck are you wearing?” A baritone voice rang behind her, causing her to flinch and whip her head around. Sasuke stood casually, leaning slightly on one leg with a hand in his back pocket, his other holding a glass of some kind of dark liquor. He tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at the sight of her and his eyebrows drawn together.
She turned her head back, unsure of what to say. His tone sounded more critical than he thought and he hoped she took it as amused. She folded her arms across her chest, hiding herself more. “Clothes.”
“For what, a blizzard?” He scoffed, walking in front of her. She couldn’t avoid him now.
“Sun protection,” she muttered another excuse, tugging down her sleeves.
“Bullshit.” He flicked the zipper of her jacket. “You’ll be under palm trees. You’re suffocating.”
She groaned in annoyance and embarrassment. “I’m not. I just… I just don’t want to be–”
“A target?”
She pursed her lips, realizing she wasn’t as slick as she thought the past couple of days. The one thing she liked about Sasuke was that he never held back what he wanted to say, but she wished he did now.
He took her silence as a yes, and sighed. “Take it off.”
Her head pulled back slightly as she recoiled from his words that struck her skin. She blinked once, twice, her eyebrows twitched upwards, then pulled together, staring at him in surprise. Her mouth was slightly agape as she processed what he asked—no—demanded of her.
“Did you hear me?” He pinched her zipper between his thumb and index, and with every slow second, purposefully pulled it down. “I said, take this off.”
Her breath caught in her throat. She felt the teeth made up of metal unfastening above her skin, every inch his hand was traveling down exposing more of her chest. She swallowed to calm herself when she felt his knuckles brushing over her sternum, thoughts racing too fast to determine whether or not it was deliberate.
He stopped halfway. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to zip it back up, suddenly shy from his eyes, or remove it completely and show off. Still, her fingers automatically finished his job, the jacket falling off her shoulders, letting the breeze kiss her collarbones.
His eyes didn’t drop to her chest like most guys would, they were stilled on her face, scanning her expression. He took another good sip of his whiskey, then held it out to her.
She shook her head. “I’m not drinking.”
“Not drinking alone,” he corrected, not lowering his hand. “Finish it.”
She stared at it, then at him.
“God, you’re so pushy,” she groaned, hand reaching for the glass. She gulped it as fast as she could, the bitter smokiness filling her taste buds. The burn hit in the depth of her stomach.
“That’s it, you got it.” He smirked while watching her chug a whiskey neat on the rocks. With a deep, satisfied sigh, she handed back the cup roughly, the ice clinking against the glass like a victory bell.
“Shut up,” she murmured.
He smirked, hiding a smile. “There she is.”
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, the burn still in her throat, yet it reignited something in her. The breeze shifted again, hitting her sweat and cooling her down, yet she didn’t feel unsafe anymore.
Finally, she tilted her chin up at him, facing him head-on. “If I pass out in the crowd, I’m blaming you.”
“If you pass out, I’ll come get you.”
“You wanna come save me again?” Her mouth curled as she rolled her eyes.
He gazed at her, enjoying seeing her spark again. “Count on it. Make sure you give me something worth staring at so I can’t take my eyes off you.”
“Oh, I will.” She chuckled, her voice raspy. Maybe she drank it too fast, but she had never been more excited to see him on stage again.
(Y/N) and Megan were at the front center of the barricades. She was holding a sweet mixed drink with a small black straw. There was no paranoia surrounding her mind, she was clear-headed like the whiskey he gave her burned the fog away.
This was her fifth time seeing them perform, but it never got boring. The audience murmured amongst themselves before screaming the moment the lights dropped. They cheered only from hearing the band tune their instruments, unable to see the guys in the dark.
The stage finally erupted in blue and indigo lights, a beautiful combination with the dusk sky and the ocean. She could see him, standing right next to Naruto.
Always on his right was Sasuke with his guitar slung low, head down just enough so she couldn’t see his eyes under his bangs. She watched as the same fan pendant he always wore on his chest rose up and down, taking a deep breath in and out.
The music hit like a grenade. The bass filled her body. Maybe it had been so long since the last show that now she was in a daze from the energy. Or maybe it was because she couldn’t keep her eyes off him in his element as he dominated the stage, how he bit his bottom lip while his fingers danced along the fretboard of his guitar, and dripping sweat down his throat by the second chorus.
As Sasuke gained momentum being on stage again, his eyes scanned the front row, searching for her. Mid-verse, he found her eyes already locked on to him, satisfied at her expression. He smirked at her, signaling her that he saw her.
Her heart beat, but she wasn’t going to back down. She had to play back.
He looked over again, and she lifted her drink and took a sip with that mouth, dragging the straw between her lips, slow and sensual. His grip on the guitar slipped and he fumbled a chord. It wasn’t noticeable, luckily.
But she noticed. And so did Shikamaru who would never miss shit. He glanced over to SK who was already side-eyeing him and mouthed, “The hell?” Sasuke? Messing up? That was rare.
The next song was slower, dirtier. By now, she memorized their setlist after hearing it a million times during rehearsals. She mouthed each lyric word for word, pointed at him. He tried not to stare and making it obvious, but the way she was taunting him was making it difficult.
He shouldn’t have looked at her again when the bridge of the song came up. The sultry and raw melody fit so well when she lifted her hair off her neck to cool off, her skin supple and golden under the lights. Then he saw it, his reminder.
The mark he left on her. It was a ghost of a bruise right below the curve of her neck, almost invisible to everyone else but him because he knew exactly where his mouth lingered. The foundation she used to cover it was smudging off from her sweat. His throat tightened up while he unwillingly imagined what she felt like again.
His focus was cut when Naruto elbowed him right before his solo. He didn’t realize how long he was staring until he looked up at Naruto who had a wide grin because he was caught red-handed.
Sasuke didn’t smile back, nor move. He did not care. He strummed and plucked every note rougher, unrestrained, changing up the riff on accident to be too wild for the song. Because that was exactly how she made him feel.
She kept her word. His eyes never left her, from her face to her body. A temptation he fell victim to.