Disclaimer: I sadly do not own anything from Naruto

Hugs

Sparks flew into the inky black of the night sky, mingling with the stars before fading away The firelight reflected in Sai's eyes as he looked at his teammate.

Sakura was sitting on a fallen log, arms looped around a raised leg, head resting on her knee. Emerald eyes were fixed on the crackling flames and she hadn't moved since they had set up camp an hour ago. She had only spoken to say that she would take the watch after Sai. That watch would start in a few hours, so he had expected her to retire to the tent with the rest of the team, but she had stayed put. Sai was meant to be on watch right now, but an attack was unlikely. They were returning from a mission that hadn't even taken them out of Fire country and had only decided to camp for the night when it had gotten cold.

"Hey, Hag," he called, using the familiar nickname. Sakura looked up, and he expected to see irritation, but she just stared blankly. She almost looked like she was in Root. It was a little unsettling, if Sai was being honest. She had been this way since the mission ended. Although she was never as loud as Dickless, she had been unusually quiet. Her being so silent left him feeling odd, like something wasn't right. He missed her usual friendly chatter.

"Yes, Sai?" she asked, expression still blank. Sai wracked his mind for something that would make her talk to him before alighting on an idea. She always liked to teach him more about how people interacted and he did have a few questions.

"Earlier today, what was that couple doing, after we told them?"

Sakura's brow furrowed. Finally, a reaction.

It took her a moment to think of what Sai was talking about. "They were hugging," she said flatly, remembering how the man had held his wife as she buried her face in his chest, moments after Sakura had spoken. The words had tasted like ash in her mouth, and to her horror, the taste still lingered, no matter how many times she took a drink from the canteen.

"Why? What purpose does that serve?" Sai asked. It was usually about now that Sakura would look at him in disbelief before realizing he really didn't understand something, and then begin patiently explaining.

"It's for comfort. She was upset, so he hugged her. It's a way to help people feel better."

Sai considered this, sitting beside her. She put her leg down and turned towards him, and he took that as a good sign. "Was he not also upset?"

Sakura nodded. "A hug can be comforting for both people."

Sai was silent for a long time, thinking it over. Sakura hadn't been right since they had completed the mission. It hadn't technically been a failure, but he knew Sakura wasn't happy with the result. They had been sent to a village on the outskirts of Fire to investigate a rash of missing children. It hadn't taken long for them to locate the group of thugs kidnapping children to sell on the black market. After capturing the ringleader, Kakashi and Sakura had found their base. Most of the children were bruised and weak, but alive. Only one, a young boy with soft blond hair, had been killed. Apparently he had died of blunt force trauma when he had been smacked into a wall by the kidnappers. Naruto had commented that he wished he knew who had done it, so he could punch his lights out. Sakura had been silent, but her eyes seemed unusually shiny. Sai's grasp on emotions in other people was not the best, but he thought she was upset.

He had once asked Sakura if they were friends. She had smiled and then assured him that they were. According to his book, friends comforted each other when they were upset. He didn't always have the best luck with taking advice from his books, but this seemed like a good idea. He wasn't sure he could take this new, sullen and silent Sakura much longer.

Sakura started when she felt Sai's arms wrap around her, pulling her against him. "Sai, what are you doing?" she asked, voice soft.

"I am hugging you," he said simply in that way of his that made it seem like it should be obvious. Sakura supposed it should have been, seeing as his arms were around her, holding her close, and his chin rested on her shoulder.

"Oh, why?" she asked, tentatively returning his hug.

"You are upset, so I am trying to comfort you." He paused. "Is this acceptable?"

Sakura nodded. Sai's posture was a little too stiff, and the angle wasn't quite right, but the effort was appreciated. Carefully, Sai raised a hand and began stroking Sakura's hair, fingers gliding over the soft, pink locks. He wasn't sure if that was a component in all hugs, but the man had stroked his wife's hair when he held her. It appeared to have a soothing effect, seeing as the woman's sobs had quieted down to soft crying.

Relaxing into the embrace, Sakura sighed. Somehow Sai, socially inept and emotionally oblivious ex-Root ninja that he was, had figured out exactly what she had needed.

After a while, Sai pulled away, meeting her gaze and trying to gauge if she was still upset. "Did that help at all?"

The corners of her lips lifted up into a soft smile, one that somehow managed to convey both lingering sadness as well as the promise that she was going to be better soon. "Yeah, I think it did."

AN: More sad, sweet fluff. I will be doing another chapter of this story. It will continue with this whole friendship with a hint of romance. Other characters will make an appearance. Its written in my notebook, but I need to type it up and edit it. Hopefully it'll be up by next week. If it is not, well, life has kidnapped me and I'll try to get it up as soon as possible. I can't promise reviews will make me upload it faster, but it does serve as a very good motivator as well as making me very happy