Chapter 1
It had been about 4 months since the incident with Kido and it had been 4 months since Sasuke had apparently shown up to the village concerned for her? He simply left after that and he even dealt with a few enemies they couldn’t reach in time. Sakura’s mind always wondered if this wasn't working. Her and Ino had just arrived back from a short trip to Sunagakure to help establish a children’s clinic per Gaara’s request. As much as she enjoyed Ino’s company it was sometimes too much. This time she had to deal with hearing all about her new relationship with Sai. Sakura was happy for her friend, however it still made her feel very single. All of her close friends were in a relationship and it felt awkward sometimes during hangouts with the usual group. She would always leave early saying she had work, which was mostly true, but it was also so she didn’t have to deal with it. Sakura would try to get herself drunk, but it was incredibly hard for her to get drunk. She supposed it was a perk to being Tsunade’s apprentice.
Throughout the years under Tsunade she thought of her as her mother figure and even asked her for love advice before the events with Kido. As much as she loved her parents once she started under Tsunade and had Shizune around as well, it made her realize that she did not have a very healthy relationship with them at all. Kakashi was also more of her father figure as well. He practically was for all of team 7. Her parents never really physically abused her, but it was more mental abuse. She started thinking back when she was younger. They didn’t seem to notice or care that she was being bullied. She would come back with cuts and bruises, but they didn’t seem bothered by it. If she also recalled correctly they were surprised she even made a friend, which was Ino. Sakura still has her inferiority complex til this day, but it has gotten better. She learned to not compare herself to Naruto and Sasuke. The average man tends to be considerably stronger than the average woman. Sakura was still very remarkable; she was one of the more important people of the village and even surpassed her master.
The torment of her parents became worse when she graduated from the academy. They kept making her double-check herself on this lifestyle and insult her ability in general. They even had the audacity to do it in front of everyone once, which lead to everyone laughing besides Naruto and Hinata. Still didn’t stop the embarrassment. Sakura knew if anything were to happen with her and Sasuke her parents would not approve even though they indirectly sent her to the academy to find a loved. She was just thankful she moved out as soon as she could to an apartment closer to the hospital. Let’s just say they weren’t happy when they found out about Sakura’s training with the 5th Hokage, but she could care less.
At this moment Sakura was in her office going over new research that had been posted recently to the Shinobi world on brain function and hearing. She had a highlighter in her hand and her hair tied in a typical ponytail as she read through this research.
The brain begins to mature even before birth. Although it continues to mature throughout most of life, the brain does not mature at the same rate in each individual. The research paper began with a few do’s and don’ts before going into before birth to death. It even included myths she could ponder about. At this point with how intelligent and hard working at what she did she could include if it was a myth or not. It was finally solved officially that adult women have a larger corpus callosum, a bundle of myelinated fibers connecting the two hemispheres, then men. Normal people would not find this stuff interesting, but to Sakura it was her life and she felt at home. Too homey one would think.
Her office practically was her second home. She had a change of clothes here, a couch she could nap on, and toiletries. She had paperwork all over the place, but it was all kept very neat even if there was a lot. There were times she would have to do Hokage paperwork when Tsunade was Hokage and she wasn’t going to be surprised if she had to due some for Kakashi-sensei. If some of her friends knew of this they would probably look at her with such a sad face. Currently she was on her 18th hour of working at the hospital without a break. Sure she was in her office, but it didn’t stop her from what she was doing now. She was such a workaholic. She would pop a soldier pill into her mouth and call it a day. When she had her days off she would train and even teach some academy classes with Naruto. Sakura wanted to start bringing medical ninjutsu into the academy for people to start learning. She believed it was important to get that skill early on to help increase team survivability. At the current time it was late at night. It only took a few more hours until her body just couldn’t take it anymore and simply gave out on her desk. Her face lying on paperwork and her highlighter still in her hand. She wasn’t going to be happy when she woke up and it was dried out. Simple things like that annoyed her, but to be honest, a lot of things annoyed her.
———
Sasuke found himself at the gateway to Konoha. He was last here when he heard of Sakura’s kidnapping. It didn’t feel right that she was being punished for knowing him. She shouldn’t have to deal with that. He had already put her in a lot of pain. He left shortly after when he dealt with the last bit of enemies. Sasuke didn’t get to see the full fight, but it seemed Sakura was able to handle it on her own. That simply left a smirk on his face. Sasuke was planning to return to Konoha shortly after that since he still believed he had sins to still handle. It had been a little bit over 2 years since he officially left on his mission to atone for his sins.
Sasuke was now officially back and he felt that he would be here for a while. He believed he owed it to Naruto and Sakura, mostly Sakura. He didn’t have anything noteworthy to report to Kakashi. He had only run into missing nin from other regions and wild animals. Not anything too big. It was expected. Nothing was going to be as dangerous as the last war. Even with new peace there still was going to be bad people in this world. He had to accept that, being one formally. He still was going to hold himself accountable. When he entered the gates it was around 2am. Sasuke still needed to visit Kakashi to report his arrival home officially. If it was up to him he would settle everything tonight with finding a place to live, but it was too late for that and he was also trying to be a better person.
He landed on the Hokage building. He said his hellos to the Anbu perched outside with a simple nod. He knew Kakashi would be up, probably reading his stupid books like he usually did. Sasuke lightly knocked on the door before entering.
“Kakashi.”
“Ah, Sasuke. Pleasure to see you. What are you here for?”
“I’m home for a while.”
“Wonderful! Naruto and Sakura will love this. I’ll tell Naruto of your return tomorrow to spare you from this energetic behavior. It has been getting better due to Hinata. Newly weds.”
“Hn.”
“As for Sakura I would go visit her now. I’ll give you her address, but I would check the hospital first. She never seems to leave.”
Kakashi winked at Sasuke, slipping him a piece of paper that was Sakura’s address. He took the paper off of the desk and shortly after walked off to leave. He studied the address on the paper before putting it into a pocket of his pants. He took Kakashi’s advice to go to the hospital first. From the hint Kakashi was throwing at him he could tell he wasn’t happy with Sakura overworking herself. In reality, he wasn’t either since it wasn’t healthy. Who would have thought a doctor couldn’t take care of herself. Sakura was always selfless as they came. It was one of the things he liked about her, but also annoyed him. She should have more of a backbone and care about herself for once.
There wasn’t anyone out on the streets due to how late it was. People should be coming out of bars around this time so he opted for the ninja route to the hospital. Currently he was on the roof of the building next to the hospital as he searched for Sakura’s chakra signature. It didn’t take him long to find it in a state of peace. Sigh. She probably fell asleep. He located her office and jumped to her window. His theory was right. She was sound asleep on her desk. Who knows how long she has been like that. It seems people don’t check up on her this late. Sasuke kept himself up with his chakra so he could open the window and slip in. He closed the window behind him slowly, carefully not to wake Sakura. An abrupt noise like that would probably wake her up and send her punching the intruder out in an instant.
Approaching Sakura’s desk he noticed a few things. She was reading something about the brain and was highlighting key points. He took the highlight out of her hand slowly and put the cap on it. She was always so annoying when it came to simple things like that. She was also drooling onto her research paper without even realizing it. With another sigh. He shut off the lights in the office and then picked her up, setting her over his shoulder. If he still had his other arm he would have opted for a more comfortable position, but it seemed it didn’t bother Sakura.
With the memorization of her address he quickly made his way there. Sakura was pretty close to stirring awake, but she still seemed pretty out of it. She must have worked herself too much. When they arrived he searched through her lab coat pocket for her keys. He felt like he was intruding on her personal space this way, but he had no choice. He closed her door behind her. From what he could see was that she had a pretty nice apartment. His body led him to her bedroom where he set her down on the bed.
“Am I dreaming or is that you, Sasuke-kun?”
He heard her say in her tired state. Sasuke took the opportunity to take off her lab coat so she would be more comfortable and get her underneath her blankets.
“I’m home, Sakura.”
“Don’t leave, please.”
“Hn.”
Sasuke got her all settled and left her in her room. He closed the door behind him to give her more respect and privacy. Taking off his cloak, he folded it and set it on the chair next to the couch. He wasn’t planning on leaving, but he certainly was not going to be sleeping in the same room as her. Sasuke was not ready for that and was not comfortable with it at all.
So he opted to take the couch for the night and leave to find a place to stay sometime tomorrow.
——
When Sakura woke up hours later in her bed she grew confused until she realized the events of last night. A blush had rested on her face thinking about it. She was also embarrassed that Sasuke had to see her in that state. Looking around the room she saw her coat folded neatly near her bed. She pushed herself off of her bed and to her bathroom to clean herself up. She certainly did look like a wreck and she really needed to take a shower. Technically speaking, she still was supposed to be at work, but Sasuke took care of that.
Sakura took time cleaning herself up in the shower. Her hair really needed it. She wrapped herself in a towel once she was done and left the bathroom to go to her closet. Sakura took out one of her usual outfits to wear and what she usually wore under her doctor's coat. Her forehead protector slipped over her head shortly after. At this point it just felt right to always have it on or at least something on her head. She did hope one day she could pass it on to her child.
Sakura threw her dirty clothing and towel into her hamper as she passed by it to leave her room. She didn’t know if Sasuke was still here or not, but either way it was alright. Him taking her home was enough as it was.
She was surprised to see Sasuke on her couch asleep. He must have been very tired from his journey back. His paranoia probably also made it hard to sleep for long periods of time, but he was safe here. She couldn’t keep him away from the harsh comments people still say about him. His cloak was folded neatly near him. If Sasuke was going to be here for a little bit longer to sleep she wanted to make it completely comfortable for him. The extra blanket laying on the couch was left untouched. She used her other hand to pull it down and cover him with it. Sakura also kept extra clothing here just in case he ever showed up and needed to stay here in an emergency. It was packed into a drawer in her room that she was about to grab.
Sakura threw the cloak into the washer along with other clothing that was sitting in her hamper. The drawer with the clothing for Sasuke was pulled out and left out in the living room for Sasuke to see. She had men’s shampoo and conditioner in her house as well. Her apartment was one of the more hangout spots for team 7 so she had a few things for them to shower with. Sai enjoyed her more flower-smelling shampoo and conditioner, but Naruto always complained and that led to her buying things just for them in her house. Their hangout was coming up soon and she was excited since the full team would be back together.
It was still early in the morning and she woke up later than she usually did. Sakura always woke up early and went to bed late.
With Sasuke still asleep, Sakura began to prepare them breakfast. Sasuke most likely hasn’t eaten a good meal in quite some time and she has certainly gotten better at cooking. She wanted to make a breakfast skillet with tomato, ginger, and miso dressing. Sakura already had some of the sauce made in her fridge. She was lucky this time since if she had to make the sauce from scratch she would have to use her blender and that would definitely wake Sasuke up. The ingredients of the meal consisted of onions, sweet potatoes, chestnut mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, curly kale, and 3 eggs. The meal was ready to serve 20 minutes later.
Approaching Sasuke in a slow manner, she set her hand on his shoulder. It looked so peaceful in this state. He was also a little too big for this couch. Since when did he get so tall? Pushing the hair out of his face and giving his shoulder slow rubs to wake him up she called out his name.
“Sasuke-kun, I made breakfast. Are you hungry?”
Sasuke’s eyes fluttered open to pink hair and green eyes. Blinking a few times he simply nodded and lifted himself off of the couch. His hair was getting a little bit longer and it needed to be cut soon. He typically did it himself, but with one arm it was difficult.
“Do you want me to cut your hair after we eat? I don’t mind unless that’s too much.”
Sasuke replied with a “Hn.” As he sat down at her table. Sakura had taken that as a yes. Over the years she has gotten better at deciphering his speech.
“So, I made breakfast stir-fry and it does have tomatoes in it just for you.”
Sakura set the plate of food in front of Sasuke and she took the seat across from him. They sat in silence as they ate. She didn’t mind it, but she was thrown off guard when Sasuke soon began to speak.
“You shouldn’t overwork yourself.”
“Huh? Where’s this coming from Sasuke-kun?”
“You’re a doctor you should know.”
He was very blunt with his answers, but Sakura knew he meant well. A smile creeped up onto her lips and a light blush did as well. He was concerned for her.
“I’ll try.”
Sakura finished up her plate after Sasuke did. She gave the rest of the meal to Sasuke since she could tell he needed it more than her. She was planning to clean up before cutting his hair.
“I left a change of clothes near the couch for you and I also have shampoo and conditioner for you to use in my bathroom. Your cloak is also currently being washed and I’ll wash the clothes you’re wearing once you’re out of them.”
Sasuke didn’t say anything, but she did get a glimpse of a small smile before it disappeared into its usual non-expressive demeanor.
“I’ll cut your hair while it’s wet since it’ll make it easier.”
Sasuke nodded once again, standing up to make his way to take a shower. He grabbed the clothes on the way. He was very grateful. With a blush creeping on his face he closed the door behind him. Sasuke never really called anywhere home, but during his travels he finally figured it out. Home was where Sakura was.
The dishes and everything that Sakura used to prepare breakfast was put away by the time Sasuke joined her again. She told him to settle with sitting at the table while she went to go get her brush and scissors. There were a few knots she had to comb out first before she started cutting.
“Please keep the hair that is covering my rinnegan how it is. You can trim it, but I still want it to cover it.”
She hummed in response. She had a few ideas on why he did this. Some people most likely found it disturbing while it was better for his sake so people didn’t attack him as much. Personally she found the rinnegan very cool and beautiful. It matched him well in her mind. She finished his hair after a few minutes.
“Alright, I’m done, Sasuke-kun.”
“Thank you, Sakura.”
Silence filled the room for a few minutes. Sakura was cleaning up the hair and cleaning the scissors. Sasuke got up from the chair. Her eyes diverted up to his.
“Do you need to go? That’s okay if you do. I wasn’t expecting you to stay.”
“No. I’m not going.”
There was a long pause. Sasuke looked like he was going to say something, but something was stopping him.
“What’s wrong, Sasuke-kun?”
“I want to tell you something, but I don’t know how.”
A curious gaze landed upon Sakura’s face. What did he want to say.
“Take your time.”
It was a few minutes of just staring at each other before Sasuke could finally say it.
“I’m not good with this type of stuff, but when I was away it paid off and it made me see another side of my feelings that I kept shut away.”
There was another pause before he continued.
“Thinking back to when we were genin I pushed you away and you always fought against it. I masked it with annoyance, but this trip made me realize that it was feelings for you that were surfacing. My mind wasn’t in a good state and I wasn’t able to handle it. Now it made the regret I felt when leaving make more sense. It made me realize I want to be with you, but I don’t know how and how far I can go right now. No one has loved me the way you do. Not for a long time. I’m nervous and I don’t want to lose it.”
Sasuke let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. As for Sakura, she was still taking it in. Tears were streaming down her face and a huge blush ran across it.
“I don’t even even know what to say, but I’m open to a relationship with you too. We can take it slow and you can tell me what you need.”
Sakura pulled him into a hug. It took him a moment to relax. He rested his head on her shoulder and gripped her tightly. A hug like this felt like it was a goodbye, but it was just the beginning. They pulled away from each other. Sakura was still collecting herself and Sasuke was trying to play it cool, but in reality he was freaking out.
“So how far do you want to start our relationship? I know pda is off the board plus I want our relationship to not be defined on how people see it. Our relationship is only between us. We’ll let our friends know when you’re ready too. Is hand holding and cuddling okay to start off or is it still too much?”
Sakura asked, looking up at her now boyfriend.
“That’s fine and thank you for being patient with me.”
“Of course, Sasuke-kun. Anything for you. Are you supposed to go anywhere yet?”
He shook his head as an answer.
“Do you just want to relax on my couch for now? I know you just came from a long trip and I want to accommodate for that.”
“Hn.”
Sakura smiled, taking his hand and leading him to the couch. They adjusted to make each other comfortable. She had her head on his chest and he had his arm wrapped around her. Both of their hearts were rapidly beating, but slowed down once they calmed down and got used to it. The tv was on in the background, but they seemed only fixated on each other.
Their comfortable and private moment was interrupted by loud banging. It was easy to decipher who it was when he shouted,
“Sakura-chan! I know teme is there. Let me in. I want to see him! I can’t believe you came home last night and didn’t even visit me!”
A sigh escaped her mouth as she got off of the couch to open the door. She was greeted with her loudmouth best friend and she was surprised to see Hinata had tagged along too. She gave Sakura a wave and apologized with her eyes, but Sakura shrugged it off.
“He got home late last night and last time I checked you’re a married man now. If I was Sasuke I wouldn’t want to show up there. Plus Kakashi-sensei sent him after me since I was working.”
“Well it’s a good thing he did. You overwork yourself too much. Soooo why is he still here?”
Naruto dragged it out and he seemed to be implying something that made her face heat up.
“No! Nothing like that. Where do you expect him to stay? On the street? I offered him to stay the night, and until he found a place to stay.”
Sakura looked back at Sasuke and received a nod to confirm the statement. That seemed to satisfy Naruto. She didn’t expect the next events to transpire. Naruto ended up tackling Sasuke over her couch and onto her coffee table, which ended up breaking it. Shock formed on both Hinata and Sakura’s face. Soon anger fell onto Sakura’s face.
“Naruto! Goddamnit! Not in my apartment and look at that you broke my coffee table and might even hurt Sasuke-kun. Hinata, I’m very sorry you have to deal with this.”
Sakura pulled him off of Sasuke and threw him to the other side of the room. Naruto was able to land quickly enough and it left room for him not to get injured. She helped Sasuke up and dusted the glass off of his back and any wood chips. He didn’t seem to have any injuries.
“I’ll clean this up later. So, what do you want, Naruto? Are you just here to annoy me or did you need Sasuke-kun for something?”
“I want him to fight me! It’s been forever and I know he’s up to a spar! He can’t stay in one place.”
Sakura was about to say something, but she was cut off by Sasuke.
“Fine, let’s go dobe.”
He picked up his sword and set it on his side.
“Hell ya teme!”
Naruto practically dragged Sasuke out of her apartment completely leaving Hinata behind. Another sigh escaping her lips she bent down to start cleaning up the now broken coffee table.
“I’m sorry about Naruto-kun.”
“Hinata it’s fine. Very typical behavior from him though you have mellowed him out slightly. Which is good.”
Hinata helped Sakura clean up the mess Naruto made as well. A new garbage bag was now full with her coffee table. She’ll have to look for one sometime soon. It looked wrong without one.
“Do you want to stay until they come back? It would feel wrong to send you home or away. Plus we haven’t talked in a while.”
“Oh, yeah that’s fine.”
“I’ll prepare some tea for us.”
Hinata took a seat at the end of the couch while she waited. Sakura joined her shortly after with a cup of tea in each hand. Hinata quietly thanked her.
“I do apologize you don’t have anywhere to put it since your husband decided to break my coffee table again. Feel free to put it on the ground if it makes you comfortable.”
Sakura chuckled while taking a sip of her tea.
“Sakura. You are happier than usual. I’m glad to see that. I don’t think anyone has picked it up that you’ve mostly been avoiding group hangouts by working.”
“Oh. Well, you are kinda right. It is just not enjoyable being a third wheel. Lately our hangouts just seem to feel like a huge date night. You see how I’m feeling. It’s kinda hard to hang out with people that are just in their own world.”
Sadness appeared across Hinata’s face as she listened to Sakura’s confession. Looking back she could see where she was coming from.
“I’m sorry, Sakura. At least you won’t be alone now that Sasuke is back. How are you doing? He basically slept over and walked you home last night.”
Sakura was thrown off guard with Hinata’s question. A blush covered her face again. She expected this from Ino, but Hinata of all people? Naruto really changed her.
“It’s nothing like that! He didn’t actually walk me home. He carried me home. I didn’t even realize he was here until he got me situated on my bed and I remember briefly asking him to stay the night and he ended up doing that. I don’t know how long he’ll be staying here since he doesn’t have a place yet and it didn’t feel right having him sleep outside. He also basically has given me a lecture in his own way about not overworking myself.”
Sakura was caught off guard by Hinata’s laughing and it completely threw her off.
“It sounds like you’re practically dating him, Sakura. He’s not like this with other people.”
“What! No, that's absurd.”
She hid her face in her hands as she laughed off this moment. She was dating him, but they only started dating like almost two hours ago. While over to the other side Hinata was trying hard not to laugh.
“All I’m going to say is maybe you do have a chance with him. He seems like he’s changed a lot and I can tell that you are still so incredibly in love with him.”
“Thank god you’re not Ino. She would be even worse than this. I didn’t know you had it in you, Hinata.”
“I guess being married to Naruto-kun changed me a lot.”
“Ooo speaking of you and Naruto how’s it going. How’s the sex?”
“Sakura!”
“Hey, you get to ask me questions about Sasuke and I so I can ask you about you and Naruto.”
“This is so unfair.”
“You did this to yourself.”
“…..He lasts longer than I thought he would.”
“Well that’s expected since he’s full of energy. The real question is can you keep up with it.”
“Right now you’re acting too much like Ino, Sakura.”
“What do you expect? She has been my best friend for a while. You’re my best friend too, but it’s different. Let’s just move on and talk about something else.”
“Yeah.”
Sakura usually has to lead conversations with Sasuke and Hinata. They are a lot more alike than they realize.
“So, you’ve officially retired from your kunoichi career?”
“Yes, a war and a lot of very dangerous missions after I have made my decision.”
“It does make sense really. War and all of your missions can lead to terrible trauma. As a doctor, you’re taking it pretty well and as your friend you deserve a carefree life. After all, you were chasing Naruto, like I was chasing Sasuke. I’m happy for you and it will be easier once you have kids.”
“What about you? What is your plan for the rest of your life?”
“Me? Well, I will be staying at the hospital and soon enough, I’ll be taking the head of the hospital. My children’s clinic is doing good along with the orphanages I’m currently helping get set up. More countries have been asking Kakashi-sensei for my help setting things up for them in their respective countries. I plan on continuing going on missions when it’s needed. Once I eventually become a mother I will still be doing these things. If I have a daughter I want her to have a strong female in her life to look up to. Eventually when Naruto becomes Hokage, if he needs me to fulfill any role I’ll gladly do it.”
“Wow, Sakura, that’s really amazing. You’re going to stress yourself out so please take care of yourself Naruto is always worried about you. A lot of us are.”
“I’ll try my best, but I know my limits more than anyone. If it makes you feel any better I’ll come to more hangouts. I don’t work until the day after tomorrow since Sasuke pulled me out of my 48 hour long shift.”
“And I’m glad he did.”
“I didn’t really have a choice. I think I fell asleep at work again.”
“I’ll keep worrying to myself.”
“I know they’ll be gone for a while and they’ll be hungry. Knowing them they’ll fight until they can’t move. If we don’t hear from them in the next couple hours we’ll have to go check.”
“Agreed. Let’s make something together. We can also go to the market if needed.”
“I restocked it recently so it should be fine.”
Turns out it was not fine. She did not have any salmon and that led them to the market. They needed a lot of salmon because there were going to be four of them and Naruto always ate a lot. They came back with about 4 pounds of fish. She wasn’t going to mind leftovers if she even had any. While Hinata prepared the fish Sakura ended up on side dishes, which she didn’t mind.
By the time they were almost done cooking both Naruto and Sasuke came barging through her door. It caught Sakura off guard, dropping what she was doing on the counter and Hinata let out a gasp. Turning around Sakura was greeted with her teammates looking like they just came out of another war.
“I’m not surprised. Who is worse off? Actually I shouldn’t ask because Naruto has faster regeneration so he’s currently in a better state than Sasuke-kun.”
She approached both of them and she began to work on Sasuke. Now due to their relationship status this was a lot more intimate. Sakura could see Sasuke could feel it too. Naruto kind of caught on and he winked at Sakura. That led to Sakura lightly kicking him. When she was done she moved over to Naruto and quickly finished him off.
“Hinata and I are making lunch and we’re almost done. Feel free to sit at the table or the couch while you’re waiting.”
“You got it, Sakura-Chan!”
“Hn.”
The boys took a seat at the table while the girls finished cooking. When the meal was done they brought the plates to the table along with the food. Hinata ended up making Yakizakana with some salt and pepper on it. The side dishes Sakura made were broccoli blanched with sesame oil on it, white rice, and squash. She then set bottles of sake down for each of them to enjoy their meal with.
“This looks so good guys! Oh teme! That reminds me you should see Sakura’s alcohol stash there’s so much. She has such a high tolerance. Ino and I are still trying to get her drunk quicker.”
Sasuke didn't say anything, but he was listening.
“Oh, yeah. Sasuke-kun. Your clothes and cloak are done washing. I just have to fold them for you then you’ll be all set.”
“Thank you.”
Dinner conversation continued on like she thought it would. Naruto and her carried on the conversations. Hinata sometimes added to it and Sasuke was worse at this. He only nodded and added his typical one word statements. Naruto could handle his liquor well, but he was still a bit of a lightweight. Hinata didn’t drink much in general. As for Sasuke she had no idea. She did pick up that he was a slow drinker.
Naruto looked like he was going to pass out any minute. He finished his food, but he was still drinking. Hinata sent her a look that made her look apologetic. She sent her a nod and with that Hinata helped Naruto up from this chair.
“Thank you, Sakura, for your hospitality. Also, welcome home, Sasuke.”
Hinata led a very drunk Naruto out of her apartment.
“I’ll help you clean up.”
Sasuke said, standing up taking as many empty plates as he could while Sakura took the rest. They worked quietly and efficiently. He would wash off the plates while she would dry them and put them away. He helped her pack the leftovers into food containers for them to have later.
“Sakura.”
“Yes?”
“Can I build you a new coffee table?”
“Oh! Sure? Where did this come from?”
“So you don’t have to spend money and so it can help with my physical therapy.”
Sakura couldn’t say no to that.
“You’re doing really well with being a good boyfriend so far.”
“I have someone around me that makes me a better person.”
He always says his compliments and potential flirting in such a blunt manner. It still always caught her off guard and her heart to skip a beat.
Sakura moved to her dryer to get out Sasuke’s laundry and folded it on the way to the couch, where he was currently sitting. He took the clothing shortly after.
“You’re free to take a shower again if you want. For now this place is practically your home. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I have an extra room that is my little office and storage. If you’re planning to stay longer I can make it your official room.”
Sakura is his home. Sasuke began to think about it. He was already staying with Sakura. He didn’t want to burden her with having him stay here, but maybe that wasn’t a bad idea. There were people who needed their own apartment over him. If he felt uncomfortable he could always leave.
“Okay. I’ll try.”
Sakura only responded with a smile.
She curled up on the couch under a blanket to read a book that Ino recommended to her. Sasuke ended up taking another shower and got dressed into the clothes he was wearing before. He deposited the sweaty clothes into her hamper. He joined her in the living room shortly after that.
“I’m going to go see Kakashi and settle everything.”
“Okay, see you soon, Sasuke-kun.”
Sakura stated not looking up from her book. She seemed quite intrigued. He wrapped his cloak around him and left shortly after that. He walked through the village to get the feel of the layout. There were new buildings and buildings still being built. People gave him looks that mixed with both disgust, happiness, and ended with a surprised look. He was doing just fine until his name was yelled out by someone he knew. No it wasn’t Naruto it was Ino. Turning around he was greeted by the blonde.
“Oh my god you’re finally home! When did you get back? Have you seen Sakura?”
“Last night.”
“Well what about the other questions?”
He ended up repeating the same thing and he saw her surprised look on her face. That could mean anything. He did not understand this girl at all.
“I’m going to have to ask her about this as soon as possible. How dare she not tell me.”
“Hn.”
Sasuke turned the other direction to the Hokage office once more. He could hear Ino screaming her goodbyes to him and saying something about Sai. He still didn’t know how to feel about Sai. He didn’t hold a grudge. He left and they needed a teammate. Plus he was a better person. When he entered Kakashi’s office it was the same as before, but this time he was actually working. He approached his desk after that.
“Sasuke, welcome back. Hope you enjoyed your first night back. Hopefully Sakura is all good now. So, what brings you here?”
“I want to go on missions when needed.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll set you up with that. Do you need an apartment too?”
“No, I’m staying with Sakura.”
“Oooh so we’re already that far into the relationship. At this point I should expect you two to be married and have children.”
As much as Sasuke wanted to not react, his body didn’t stop the heat from forming on his face. Kakashi laughed, handing him the paperwork to sign and to put down Sakura’s address.
“I’m guessing Sakura will do your physical. Just have these papers back to me by the end of the week. Hope to see you at the team 7 hangouts.”
Sasuke replied how he usually did. He slipped the paperwork into his pocket after that. He then took his leave. He didn’t have any else planned for today. He didn’t mind just having a lazy day with Sakura. That also meant she wouldn’t work herself to death. He took a quicker way back to her or well it was now their apartment.
Sasuke ended up knocking before he entered. Sakura was still in the same position as last time.
“Welcome back, Sasuke-kun. How did it go?”
“I can start missions here again, but I need a physical.”
“I can do that for you! We can add it to the list of things we have to do. I have to start cleaning out your room, help you get new clothes, and now get your physical done. Lucky you, your girlfriend is a good doctor.”
She didn’t think she would ever get over having Sasuke as her boyfriend.
“Ah, yeah.”
Sasuke took a seat next to her. She asked permission with her eyes to snuggle up next to him. He replied with a nod. In one single motion she laid her head on his chest once again. Sasuke didn’t know where to really put his hand so he just laid it over her body. She didn’t seem to react in a weird way. So that was good.
So the rest of the day went exactly like this until they grew tired. Sasuke took the couch while she took her own bed. She felt bad that he had to sleep on the couch, but he didn’t seem to mind at all.