Chapter 2
The next day started off like it did yesterday. Sakura took a quick shower and then went to make breakfast shortly after. This time Sasuke was up to help her. They decided on having leftovers to clean out the fridge so nothing would go bad. They opted for simple cups of water with their meals. Sakura added extra tomatoes on his plate since he enjoyed them a lot. They had a lot to do, but it was going to be worth it. Sakura had been pondering the best way to go through with their plans today. Ultimately, she decided they would clean out the room that would be Sasuke’s room. They would have to transfer it into a different closet or even throw some of it out. They would head to the hospital after that since it was on their way and then they would drop his paperwork off to Kakashi. That would lead them to their clothing shopping and getting a few pieces of furniture for Sasuke’s room. She knew she had a desk and chair in there since it was mixed with an office. If anything he just needed a lamp and a drawer.
It suddenly hit her thinking about them walking around in public together. There was a chance her parents would see them together and if rumors were already starting she would hear a handful. She definitely was going to have to warn Sasuke before they left today. She didn’t think this conversation was going to come so early.
“Sasuke-kun, once you’re ready, I have something to talk to you about. It’s kind of important. Actually it’s really important and it revolves around my parents. If you’re uncomfortable with this conversation, just tell me to stop. I don’t want to throw my problems at you if it does make you uncomfortable. I just think I have to warn you and tell you a few things before you see it yourself. It’s only ones that really know the extent of it are Naruto, Ino, Tsunade, and Kakashi. I’m just warning you as well that it is very emotional.”
“I am ready whenever you are. I’ll be fine.”
He reassured her by gripping her hand from under the table. With that Sakura took a deep breath and began,
“My parents aren’t the biggest fans of what I do, the people I hang out with, and just the lifestyle in general. If I’m gonna be honest, I really think they sent me to the academy just so I can find someone to be in a relationship with. Instead of treating me like a normal parent should say always downplayed everything I did and try to form me into a suitable person to marry and to only be a housewife. They didn’t seem to care that I was being bullied when I was younger. I would come home with a lot of injuries and they shook it off. They were even surprised that I was able to make a friend. It was easy to deal with in the academy, but once I graduated it got worse. They never hit me. They just made me feel terrible for choosing this lifestyle and made me feel inadequate to do anything. When I finally started training with Lady Tsunade they couldn’t look at me the same. To quote their words ‘A lady shouldn’t be fighting that way, they should only be looking for a man and trying to get better at being a woman.’ They were getting on my last nerves. I finally was sick of it when they decided to humiliate me and insult me in front of everyone. ‘It would be a mistake to promote someone like me to jounin. I wouldn’t trust her with my life.’ Everyone laughed at me besides Naruto and Hinata. I haven’t really talked to them since and I moved out shortly after that.”
Sakura choked on a few of her last words. Tears started forming in her eyes as she gripped the table. She didn’t even want to look up at Sasuke, but from his posture he could tell that he was pissed off. She heard his chair move and footsteps approach her. In one swift motion he pulled her into a tight hug. She took a second to respond to it before gripping onto him with the same amount of strength. Her tears became worse and she apologized, but it came out as a muffle since her face was hidden in his chest.
“Don’t apologize.”
As Sakura quieted down and pulled away after a few minutes. She took a deep breath before putting on a weak smile.
“I’ll be okay. I can’t help not love my parents even if they treat me like that. They mean well and are trying to protect me. At least, that’s what I want to believe. They just have a very toxic way of showing it.”
“If it makes you feel better. I always tried to chase approval from my father. He spent more time trying to make us good Shinobi than being an actual father. I never lived up to Itachi in his eyes. My mother is where I got all of my unconditional love from.”
“You don’t have to continue this if you don’t want to. I don’t want you to bring this up because of my grievances.”
“I’ve moved on past the point where I can talk about it to you. Don’t downplay your own trauma just because it’s not worse than Naruto and I’s. As a doctor you should know this.”
“You’re right. They always say doctors are terrible patients. I need to get better at that.”
“You’re a selfless person.”
“Is this another way of you telling me to take better care of myself?”
“Hn.”
“I always take those as a yes.”
“Good. I hate to ruin the moment, but we have a full day ahead of us that I have planned out accordingly. I would perform the checkup for your paperwork at the hospital after we clean out what will be your new room. For the record, I do not know what’s in there so that’ll be something for both of us. Once we deliver the paperwork to Kakashi-sensei we head to do your clothes and furniture shopping. For your own comfort, which one would you prefer first?”
“Clothing.”
“Alright and if we’re going to do it all in one trip I’ll be taking the furniture while you carry your clothing. Don’t argue with me. It’s better since I have the arm space to do so. I can expect you to carry parts of your bed and whatever else you’ll be needing, which might just be a drawer. Unless you want more, I don’t mind paying for it since wel-“
“You’re starting to mutter.”
“Right, sorry. I do that a lot. Actually we’ll need to make more than one trip for this.”
Only a small chuckle escaped Sasuke’s throat. He remembered all of her rambling when they were in their genin era. It simply gave him quite the déjà vu. With that emotional moment they finished their meals and went to clean up. Sasuke tensed a little bit when he had a sudden burst of pain in where his other arm used to be. He covered it up with a grunt and continued washing the dish he was currently working on. Sakura caught this from the corner of her eye. She stopped herself from working and she faced Sasuke with both worry and irritation.
“Don’t worry, it’s been like this for a while. I’ll be fine.”
“No you won’t. Let me at least check it. Residual limb pain may be caused by problems in the bone or soft tissue, infection, poor blood supply, or even worse a tumor. Either way I know it’s phantom limb pain. I just want to check if it’s okay in general.”
“Fine.”
Sakura had Sasuke face her as her hand went over to his stump. She took a minute, biting her lip before Sasuke felt the soothing sensation of her healing ninjutsu.
“I was right about one thing. There was an infection. Luckily I was able to get it on time. If I didn’t I would have had to cut more of your arm off. Stop being stupid when it comes to stuff like this. If anything feels weird just come to me. I don’t care if it doesn’t end up being anything, I just want you safe. There’s no reason for me to prescribe you any pills when I can soothe your pain by simply massaging it. I don’t want to prescribe you pills because having you on pills with stuff I can do in general without them would be stupid.”
Sasuke just stood there with no reaction on his face, but she was able to pick him up murmuring an apology.
“The pain will get better with time, Sasuke-kun. It won’t affect you for the rest of your life. You’re in the later stages of it currently. Now, this makes me want to check up on Naruto or at least inform Hinata to look out for it. I’ll have to send her a message about it later or if I run into her later.”
Sakura began massaging his stump and it already felt really nice. He let go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding and closed his eyes to just relax into it. After a few minutes it stopped and with that Sasuke’s eyes fluttered open. He just looked down at Sakura, staring at him with a happier expression. It seemed that their day could finally start. It was going to be a long day and he certainly couldn’t wait for it to be over. Yes, he enjoyed this time with Sakura, but this was still a very annoying task. He never liked stuff like this when he was younger. Well, to be fair he didn’t have Sakura with him and no one to do it with. Maybe it will be different this time.
When Sakura led him to her office she had here he didn’t expect it to be this messy. At least it was boxes, but knowing Sakura they would have to go through them all. Some of them were already marked, which was very helpful. A trashcan was already brought over to the front of the room so they could throw stuff out. Sakura still went through some of the marked boxes since they were outdated and needed to be thrown away.
“Old patient records. I usually have a copy at my office and I rarely use them here surprisingly. Plus they’re outdated. I can’t have these here or in general since it would be a breach of privacy if someone were to break into my apartment and steal them. We also have them on the computers already so having 3 copies of these is not the best thing to do. I’ll use the shredder to purge these files then throw them out.”
Sakura said to herself out loud as she began to shred them. Sasuke could easily just burn them for her, but he got tasked to do his own thing with the boxes. He did find some of Sakura’s old stuff clothing wise for when she was younger. He set those to the side since he didn’t feel like he had the right to mess with them.
“Are you planning to give those clothes away?”
He asks and with that gets Sakura out of her mindset to simply look over at him replying,
“I’m not so sure. My younger self always said to save them for when I have a daughter one day, but thinking about it wouldn’t be the best. My newer clothes in that box are better off, but the clothes from my genin time are not. Those dresses are not suitable for ninja-like activities. Sigh, I wish someone would've told me that by then. To be fair I didn’t really care as much as I did now. I think in my genin years I really only became a ninja for attention, but when I slowly became the person I am today I can’t fathom myself doing it for attention other than doing it because I love it and can’t live without it. Ugh, I did it again. Sorry. I have to stop myself there or else I’ll go on for hours on this subject.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
They continued working after that. Both were silent with the exception of Sakura’s comments as she worked even though they were in mumbles. It could have also been a nervous way to get through what they were doing today or even just to get through in her head about what she said earlier. It was only natural for people at this age or even younger to think about their own children. Sasuke has been thinking about rebuilding his clan since he was a genin and he wasn’t sure about Sakura, but she could tell she has been thinking about it for a while. Perhaps as she became a doctor it became more common in her mind to think that way. In his mind he didn’t really think any of the females he met in his life was suitable for the clan or just had caught his attention in general unless you were Sakura. He needs to stop thinking like this or else he is going to put himself in a difficult position, mentally. He’s not ready for these things at all. With a deep breath, he just went back to working. They were already half way done with the room.
“Sakura.”
“What?”
“Where are we putting the things you plan on keeping?”
“Oh, I was planning to put them in scrolls and organize them into an area in my room. Probably into the drawer I had set aside for you just for when you came home.”
She fumbled with the last sentence going to a blushing mess that led to her covering her face in embarrassment. After collecting herself and relaxing her arms to her side she continued her statement,
“I should have done something with the scrolls already, but I’m a very busy person. That reminds me, we have parties to go to with all of our friends even if you don’t consider them your friends. At least with you there I won’t be alone when it shortly turns into every couple doing couple-like things and only focusing on each other. I don’t know how people can do that. It’s rude to everyone else and I don’t think I could do it myself. Even if pda seems nice to have. I want my relationship well, our relationship just for us, but I still want you there. Oh, I did it again. Sorry.”
“It’s fine and I’ll be there. It’s nice when you ramble on things you’re fixated on. For someone who doesn’t talk a lot I like to listen.”
“Well, you are getting better at it for the record, Sasuke-kun. It makes me really happy that you’ve grown from how I’ve met you to who you are now. From a doctor standpoint it makes me thrilled and from a girlfriend standpoint it makes me really happy.”
“Heh.”
Sakura was never going to let that down. She was actually his girlfriend. It was still a very new thing, but it made her so happy. At this point when she goes to hang out with Ino she is going to find out about them so quickly and then spread it to everyone. She was going to have to apologize in advance to Sasuke if that ends up happening.
The room was currently separated into things that Sakura was going to put into the scrolls and the other side was the stuff she needed to still go through. She already threw out a good portion of junk and old patient files. Sasuke agreed to keep the desk and chair since it added to the emptiness of the room. He also liked the style of it a lot and the wood carvings in it, which he learned were made by Sakura. He didn’t know she was quite an artist, but that question was soon shot down when Sai came into his mind. He must've taught her a few things when it came to art. From books he was reading on his journey of redemption he did learn art was a way to express your emotions in a different way and it was also calming. Sasuke didn’t believe art was for him in that way.
A couple months back he ended up in a village where the woodcarver needed assistance, in which Sasuke offered. At first he used it as a way to get more physical therapy on his arm, but he soon learned it was something that he ended up enjoying. That was the reason he asked if he could make Sakura a coffee table. It might take some time, but with Sakura’s hospital shift tomorrow he’ll be able to spend quite some time working on it. Sasuke was also going to need to find a good enough tree to use for this project. Finding trees won’t be that hard along with them already knocked over. If Sakura still trains quite a lot he is sure that he’ll find trees that he can use. Yamato was also an option he could use, but that would take the purpose away. He isn’t the best at it yet, but he has been able to make something like a coffee table with time.
By the time a few hours go back they were finally completed with everything and now the room was empty besides the desk and chair. It was one of the nicer office chairs too.
“Sorry that took so long, Sasuke-kun. I just needed to make sure each file was discarded properly for the sake of the patient. At least your physical won’t take as long as this did.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
The items she was keeping were already in scrolls. Currently she was writing little notes on them to indicate what was in them.
“Your handwriting is the exact same as it was when we were genin.”
“Huh. Wait-. Does that mean you used to just stare at my hands or just when I was writing?”
Turning his face away in embarrassment, Sasuke’s cheeks turned a small shade of red. Sakura’s laugh took him out of his headspace and helped him return to his usual state.
“Now let’s go get that physical done! Shannaro!”
Sakura excitedly punched her fist in the air as she jumped up to her feet from the place she was on the floor. Sasuke joined her in a more relaxed manner. He hasn’t had a physical done on himself in a long time. The last time was probably with Orochimaru. That simply sent shivers down his spine. Those times were not fun times.
They grabbed the trash bags that were laid around the room on the way out. Swapping all the bags in her hand to one side, Sakura used her empty hand to lock her door. They threw the trash into the garbage that was on the side of the building before heading to the hospital. She had an extra lab coat in her office since the one she wore the other day went into the wash this morning. The both of them took the quickest route to the hospital and entered through the main entrance. Many eyes turned to them. They went to Sasuke, but turned to Sakura shortly after giving her waves and smiles. Unluckily for them, Ino was working at this time. All she could see on her best friend’s face was a smirk and her mouthing ‘I need to talk to you about that.’ In which she was pointing at Sasuke. Reacting with embarrassment she mouthed back a violent ‘Shut up.’ Sakura and Sasuke went into a private room close to her office that was empty.
“I’ll be back, I have to get everything. Make yourself comfortable.”
Sakura closed the door behind her. She collected the following instruments she needed onto a cart. Leaving it in front of her office, she slipped in to grab her extra lab coat. Leaving shortly with it on, she rolled the cart over to Sasuke’s room. Lightly knocking and opening the door Sakura brought everything in, closing the door behind her with her foot.
“The only thing that I don’t need to worry about is checking your balance, but we’ll have to do everything else. Let me check your weight and height.”
Sasuke stood near the wall as Sakura took his height. She spit out the number 182 cm while she marked it down along with his weight. He sat down again once he was told to. She wrapped a cuff around his arm to check his blood pressure and pulse. His heart rate was higher than it should be, but that could be fixed easily and it was normal for shinobi. Getting permission beforehand, Sakura used a flashlight to look at his eyes. She did notice some damage, but she easily fixed that with her medical ninjutsu once she set down the flashlight. It was able to fix the damage done to his eyes quickly and brought no pain to him.
“When I tell you to breathe in and out, do so.”
She held the instrument to his back. She repeated what she said to him to begin the procedure. After checking 3 spots on his back she moved to his chest to check spots up there. With the same repetition, she checked a few spots on his chest. After giving him a quick nod she sat down across from him in a chair. Sakura did a quick viewing of his muscles, bones, and joints with her medical ninjutsu. If anything was in the wrong place it snapped back into place. Sasuke didn’t show any sign of being in pain so it seemed nothing needed to be fixed or he was good at hiding it.
“From the physical I just finished up there’s nothing to really worry about. Your heart rate is higher than a usual person but that can be fixed if needed, but due to your shinobi career it is fine. I will have to put your missing arm into my statement for your physical, but it won't change much for you, mission wise. You’re on Hokage level along with Naruto, so you’ll get good missions either way along with Kakashi-sensei being the Hokage. Your muscles are fine along with your bones and joints. Your eyes are also as good as new since I fixed them. If you need me to fix them when you overuse them please ask. Your heart and lungs are also fine. Overall you’re healthy and ready for missions again.”
She fist bumped the air after she finished writing everything that was needed. Sasuke nodded to Sakura’s statement. She at least made it easy for him to follow along. Sakura left the room with the cart to go put everything back, leaving Sasuke in the room by himself. He took a moment to collect himself before leaving to catch up with Sakura. He closed the door behind him. He did notice that the cart was already put away and that her office was slightly open. He looked inside to see Sakura looking through her drawers for something. She did notice Sasuke immediately.
“Give me a second, Sasuke-kun. A nurse asked for something while I was putting those instruments away. I’m just looking for it and I’ve found it.”
She pulled out a flash drive that was most likely filled with files only Sakura had access to. He wasn’t going to push it too much. He left room for Sakura to leave and he followed after her. She gave the flash drive to the nurse and told her once she was done to give it to Ino. She wasn’t the one to let people just walk into her office so she had only people close go into there without her in it or without knocking. They walked the halls of the hospital in the typical silence they were used to. The bigger part of their day was about to start. Everyone’s eyes always go to Sakura. He just chose to ignore it while they walked.
They stopped by the hokage’s office to drop off the paperwork. They didn’t stay long since it seemed Kakashi was busy, but it didn’t stop him from making comments about them. Sakura could tell he just wanted the both of them to be happy. He certainly was going to be thrilled when they announced their relationship.
The clothing store they were choosing to go to, well the store Sakura chose to go to, was downtown. He knew that she knew him really well so he expected that he would be fine with the outfits they chose together. He hasn’t been good with fashion for a long time. He remembered Naruto making a comment about it during their sparring that his outfits were terrible once he left the village the first time. At least at this moment he feels like his clothes are better. He estimated in his head that he should buy around 15 outfits to help him sustain life better. 5 sets of casual clothing, 4 sets of training gear, 2 sets that are formal, 2 for colder weather, and then the last set is for a swimsuit. It’s better to have one just in case they went to the springs. He knew he didn’t need to buy clothing he would wear for missions since he had about 4 sets of them on him from his travels. Sasuke was planning on paying for it since he still had quite a lot of money left from his family. Sakura was probably going to be stubborn and ask to help pay for some of it.
It turns out he was correct.
They haven’t picked out any clothing yet. She had her arms folded, looking up at him with a serious face.
“Sasuke-kun. Let me pay or pay a little bit. This can be your welcome gift home.”
“Why.”
“I just told you why. Let me, please.”
“You won’t give up on this will you?”
Sakura looked at him like she was a toddler. Was their first actual couples fight going to be over who pays for clothing. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke agreed to let her pay.
“I’m paying for my furniture.”
“That’s fine! Thank you, Sasuke-kun.”
Sakura surely could be a handful, but he didn’t find that bad. He actually found it kind of cute.
“I’m not a fan of shopping.”
“I figured. You seem like that type. I don't really like to shop either, but when you have a friend that loves shopping you get used to it.”
Sakura decided it would be easier to get his athletic clothes out of the way. She explained to him that wearing compression clothes will help you recover faster from a tough workout. She then continued on this by saying the elasticity of the compression wear helps to relieve pain by increasing blood circulation and that it also helps speed up the process of rebuilding muscle tissues after exercising, which is really useful to heal broken muscles. That’ll help if he’s in a predicament and he can’t get any healing for a while. Sasuke found these 2-in-1 black drawstring waist sport tights that he thought were interesting so he opted for 1 of them. He got two regular athletic shorts, and then some sweatpants. For the tops he got one long-sleeve compression shirt, a tank top, a track jacket, and a short-sleeve compression shirt. They were all mixes of black, blue, white, red, and gray. Sakura wanted to keep him in this comfort zone with colors he liked and also ones that had to do with his Uchiha crest.
Their next stop was his casual clothes for when he would hang out with friends or go around town. His first outfit that was decided was black pants with a white shirt. Sakura already made the comment on how she was going to sew the Uchiha crest into all of them for him. The next outfit was a black turtleneck with gray pants. The third outfit was black shorts that were more dressy with a black shirt. It had a white trim on the edges of the outfit. His fourth outfit was a dark blue vest with a black long sleeve shirt to go under it with another set of black pants. Sasuke’s final casual outfit was another set of black pants and then a gray long sleeved shirt. He wasn’t sure when he would wear the outfit he helped pick out with shorts, but he’ll most likely need them one day. He can also mix and match these clothing. Sasuke will most likely wear his cloak over these clothes.
For Sasuke’s formal wear he picked out a black and gray suit that he could use for any upcoming events he needed to attend. The second formal attire he picked out was almost the exact same thing besides it didn’t have a suit jacket. For the colder climates he picked out a black and gray jacket that could go with all of these outfits. For his swim suit it was just a simple gray and white swim shorts.
They almost completely forgot about what he was going to sleep in when it crossed Sakura’s mind and also getting him other things he needed. He didn’t sleep with a shirt on usually, but just in case he needed to they grabbed a package of dark blue shirts and then two packages of boxers in his own size.
Sasuke thought it was going to cost a lot more than it did, but he certainly was surprised. Sakura was very good at shopping and she also got a discount since she apparently saved the shopkeeper’s son from dying about a month or so ago.
Seeing how many clothes and bags they had to carry they did decide on going home first to put the bags into the living room. Sasuke was going to have to decide on where he wanted the clothes. He did have a small closet in the room, but it wasn’t going to be enough to put all of his clothes in there. It won’t be an issue since they were going to pick out a dresser for him. The desk inside the room already was dark brown so the furniture they will buy will be dark brown. Sakura mentioned about the mattress he could choose from as they walked to the store they needed to go to. A firm mattress keeps your lower back from collapsing, which could allow for more oxygen intake while sleeping. However, soft mattresses usually feature superior pressure relief. Ultimately, it was going to be up to him. He was used to sleeping on the floor of the forest and in caves so he could go with anything. Even though he knew Sakura could carry this all the problem was there was no way for her to carry all of it without there being a potential of her breaking it. It was going to have to be done in either two or three trips. He was certain that Sakura could do it in two. He would try to help, but there’s only much he could do without tapping into his power. He didn’t feel like freaking people out today.
They could afford building a bed together, but definitely not a dresser/drawer. It was over 300 pieces. With Sakura’s anger issues that would not happen. It would be very broken. Sasuke did suspect that Sakura’s anger issues would come out when they would build the bed frame. Sakura had sheets and a comforter for a queen bed already at the apartment so that made it easier for them. Eventually they’ll have to buy more, but not right now.
It turned out that Sasuke would be able to carry the bed frame with just his one arm. He used his body as support. Sakura would be carrying the dresser he picked out that went with the desk. She would have to come back to retrieve the mattress. For the time being it was in the back waiting for her return. It was a slow process for them to make it back to the apartment. Sakura had a huge dresser in her arms just to balance it. She didn’t want to break it and she was being very careful with it. This also made it harder to get through the crowd. Sasuke had to direct her on where to go just so she wouldn’t run into anyone. Sakura did always apologize as they went by. This dresser was basically bigger than her.
They didn’t think they would have any other problem, but when they arrived at their apartment complex it wasn’t something they expected. Sasuke was only able to catch it when they were about to enter the apartment.
“Sakura, do you hear that?”
“Huh. Give me a sec to put this down and then I’ll try to listen.”
She set the dresser down in an open spot and she also took the bed frame from Sasuke. She set that down near the dresser. When she turned around Sasuke wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
“Sasuke-kun?”
This brought Sakura nerves. Did someone break into the village? Did someone kidnap Sasuke? No, that last one wouldn’t be possible. You can’t kidnap him so easily. She closed her eyes and tried to listen to what Sasuke was talking about. Instead she heard him trying to calm someone down and there wasn’t an answer. Was someone hurt? She jumped off of the railing of the apartment complex. She lived on the third floor so it didn’t hurt. She fell into a comfortable fall and rolled into it. She then took off to where she heard Sasuke. When she turned the corner this was not what she was expecting.
“Sakura, be careful with your steps. You’ll scare it off.”
She was confused for a second until she came closer and saw a black cat that was staring at Sasuke. It looked like it could barely be a year old. She could tell that it was malnourished and cold from how it was shivering. It also looked like it had been in a fight.
“Sasuke-kun, we can’t leave this cat here. We have to bring it inside and help it. Can you pick them up and once you do I’ll use my healing ninjutsu to help it.”
Sasuke only nodded. He reached his hand out to the cat to gain its trust. It began to sniff his hand. It took a few minutes until it gave Sasuke some trust. It would have been easier if they had food on them. Sakura didn’t want to risk it since if she took off now that would possibly scare the cat away. Sasuke took it into his arm under his cloak. The warmth of Sasuke already helped the shivering cat. It tried its hardest to press itself into Sasuke for more warmth.
When the cat was brought in she had Sasuke bring it over to the sink. He set it on the counter and Sakura began to work her magic on the cat. She whispered encouraging words to the cat and he saw that it made the cat calm down. She was able to heal all of its injuries. She wasn’t able to heal the left ear fully since it seemed that a part of it was bitten off.
“I’m going to have to wash the cat off. I don’t want it to lick off the dirt and blood. Could you light the fireplace so it has a place to warm up after.”
It turned out washing the cat wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be. She did get scratched a few times, but she would be fine. Sakura ended up handing the cat over to Sasuke once she was done drying it off. She also learned that it was a boy. She set a few bowls next to him as she passed by to go to the door.
“Sasuke-kun, I have to go get the rest of the stuff. Would you mind watching the cat? I also left out water, milk, and some food he can eat. I’ll be back soon.”
“See you soon.”
He adjusted the shivering cat in his arms near the fire. Sasuke set the cat down near the bowls. He watched as he drank as much water as he could in a quick manner until the cat realized subconsciously it wasn’t going to be going away. He took a few bites of salmon that Sakura left out for him.
Were they planning to keep this cat? At this point he had no idea, but being who Sakura was she wasn’t going to let this cat live another day outside. She was always that type of person. He remembered in their genin years how she kept a baby bird for a while so it could get used to flying again. Her medical ninjutsu wasn’t as good as it is now.
When the cat seemed to be done with eating and drinking he returned back to Sasuke’s lap. He always had a soft spot for animals when he was younger and he still does. If they were planning to keep this cat it would bring Sasuke comfort and emotional support. Sakura would definitely agree to have this cat if we were helping it and also if it was helping him.
Their relationship was speeding up quicker in a different way. They already lived together and they already had an animal together, but all they’ve done is cuddle and hold hands. Sasuke did really want to kiss her, but they haven’t even really been on a date. Unless you count today as a date. Maybe he should ask her on a date and then their relationship could go on from there. Sasuke was definitely going to have to ask for advice. It’s embarrassing that he was going to ask Naruto of all people. When they next spar is when he’ll ask for advice. Where would there even be a good place to take her on a first date? He might have to ask a certain blonde female about that because he already knew Naruto’s suggestion and he was not taking her there. Maybe he could decide on a quiet place for a date. Something too fancy could be too much for her for their first date. While this went through his mind, the cat on his lap was sound asleep. He gave it a few head scratches as he was still in his thoughts.
Sakura returned to the apartment about an hour later. She had the mattress in her hand along with a few other bags in her hand. The door shutting is what brought him out of his thoughts.
“Sorry it took so long I went to the pet store to pick stuff up for the cat or our cat if we’re planning to keep it. Which I assume is a yes due to the fact that he already seems attached to you. Also happy to see that he also ate.”
“Let’s name him Daku.”
“Daku? What an interesting name.”
“It matches him.”
“I agree. I’m going to set everything up for the cat. I’m going to put the food bowls and litter box into the small bathroom that’s in the hall.”
“Okay.”
Sasuke hasn’t really explored the apartment much, but from what she told him was that it had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. However, the bathroom in the hall did not have a bathtub or a shower and now the room he was going to call his bedroom wasn’t as big as hers. He was going to be able to fit everything he bought in a comfortable manner. It would be best if he helped by putting his clothes away. He set out the formal clothing and his mission gear onto the side so it could be hung up. While for the rest he folded them up and opened the dresser drawers. He had separated them all into categories; shirts, pants, shorts, pajamas, and then his underwear and socks. He had one more drawer available so he decided that he would use it to store scrolls, and any other ninja items of his own.
Daku still was curled up by the fire at this point asleep. He could hear faint purring. Sasuke threw out the bags from the clothing store into the trash since Sakura said she didn’t need them. She also left some toys out that she bought for Daku. They didn’t know how old he was, but Sakura guessed around 16 months. He was fairly small for that age.
“Okay! I set everything up in the guest bathroom for Daku. Let’s set up the bed frame so we can put the mattress on so you don’t have to sleep on the couch. Also let’s take your clothing that isn’t in drawers already so it can go in the closet. Knowing your luck you’ll come back and Daku will be laying on it.”
Sasuke silently agreed, picking up the clothes with his arm. Sakura went to her room to grab extra hangers for him to hang them on. She returned with those hangers also bringing extra just in case he needed it. He was going to use at least the two extra ones to hang up his cloak and his bag. Sakura always seemed to think one step ahead when it came to these things for him. He hung up his clothes as Sakura got everything out of the bed frame box. The necessary tools were already in there so she didn’t have to grab any. They would think the genin D-rank missions would prepare them for this, but it certainly didn’t.
“You need to hold it there while I screw in this screw. Just keep it steady or this will definitely piss me off. This is nothing like surgery and it is annoying me.”
On paper it seemed very routine to her like a surgery, but this was way different. The pace also made her a bit mad. They would have to place the bar in place, place a bolt over the screw they screw in, and then do it again about 10 more times. The repetition annoyed her. She tried to keep it to herself, but her face was not giving her justice. Sasuke chose not to question because it would only start an argument. There were 8 bars in the middle that had to connect to the sides. They had to build the sides first before starting in the middle. Her fingers would sometimes fail her by not screwing into the bar and she would end up taking a break for a deep breath. Sasuke was just there to hold everything still for her since having one arm made this process more difficult. Even though he’s learned to deal with it, things are still complicated for him.
They were able to finish up the frame after a mental break and persistence. At least Sakura didn’t get as mad as he thought she would. He knew for sure if Naruto was here to help them it would be a screaming fest between those two. His best friend and girlfriend were something else when together. They were best friends too after all. She inspected the frame to make sure that it was sturdy enough for the bed, mattress, and for someone to lay on it. Once she approved it to be safe, she set the bed skirt onto the bed first before placing the mattress on the bed.
“I can make the bed up if you want to go check up on Daku. You have that look on your face.”
Sasuke nodded at her, taking his leave to check on the cat. Daku wasn’t asleep; he was currently smelling out the living room. Sasuke was going to have to show him where everything was. He was also going to have to figure out where everything was himself. While he took that time, Sakura was making the bed. The spare comforter she had was light blue, but Sasuke didn’t seem to mind. It reminded him of his old apartment here in the village. The pillow cases were light gray and along with the sheets. The light blue and gray mixed well together.
Sakura picked up the dresser that was still in the living room of all of Sasuke’s stuff and brought it into the room. She set it in the middle of the empty wall that faced the bed and desk. Thinking about it, she could invest in getting Sasuke a nightstand if he absolutely wanted it. She could also move the dresser so it could act like a nightstand, but she would have to put the bed in the corner. She’ll talk about it with him later.
She dragged herself to the couch where Sasuke already was. Daku was on the floor playing with the toys she got him. She laid down next to him and laid her head on his lap. It caught him by surprise, but he quickly got used to it. She was able to say something, which he assumed she was going to ask if this was okay. He stopped her by using his fingers to play with his hair.
“Long day, right, Sasuke-kun.”
“Hn.”
“I’ll make something for us to eat later. I just want to relax. I didn’t know this would take me out and not my very long hospital shifts. I guess it’s one of those days.”
“Don’t worry about it. Relax.”
He continued to play with her hair. With a deep breath she took his advice to simply relax. She swore she felt a cat jump onto her stomach, but she chose to ignore it.
Today was full of surprises. She was also happy that they didn’t run into a few certain people that were called her parents.