Standard Disclaimers Apply

Setting/Background: Takes place before Sakura and Sasuke move in together. Inspired by the adorable picture of Sasuke and the kitty cat included in the Sasuke Shinden.

Now Sasuke doesn't return to Konoha very often, but when he does he expects to find everything, and everyone, exactly where he left them.

In Kakashi's case, this would be either one of three places: his home, the bookstore, or the library (more specifically the rated 18+ aisle, a recent addition thanks to the reign of both himself and his former student). In Naruto's case, at least for the main body, this would be the Hokage tower. His clones would be all over town running errands, checking up on the villagers, and frequenting that same section in the library. In Sakura's case, this would be the hospital or her parent's house.

So Sasuke followed his usual routine of reporting his findings to the Hokage first and catching up with Naruto second, which has been made easier now that his friend had become the Hokage. His next task was finding Kakashi, but he made a vow that if he couldn't find his former sensei at home, then he would not dare venture any further. Sasuke was not about to get caught entering the mature section in the bookstore or the library.

Whether he deliberately made his visit to Sakura last or if it just happened that way was a mystery to him, but regardless he would always save their meeting until the end. (The best for last, she had once commented. He didn't confirm it, but neither did he deny it.)

So here he was, standing in front of her office door, staring at the sign hanging neatly off a small nail.

Off, it read. She wasn't in today, it seemed. There was only one more place to check then. To be truthful, he wanted to avoid her parents' place the most. They weren't exactly happy with him (well, not many people were), and they protested against their relationship very strongly at first, but their reactions have tapered down to a mere click of the tongue and a distasteful glare or two. It was a start.

After much hesitation, he breathed out a sigh and brought his hand to the door to knock. Before his knuckles even reached the wood, the door was thrown open.

"Saku- …oh, tsk." There was that distasteful glare and click of the tongue again. "It's just you."

He nodded once. "Hello, is…Sakura home?"

"No, she left over an hour ago."

"Oh."

He stood in an uncomfortable silence, contemplating on what to say next. He wasn't much of a talker after all.

"Do you…know where she was headed?"

Sakura's father ruffled his hair, yet it did not break loose from its distinctly shaped spikes. He was envious of it, though he'd never admit it. His own spikes had lost their shape many years ago as his hair grew out. Somehow, her father's hair managed to maintain their shape naturally despite the length.

"Oh?" The older man's smirk was mocking. "You don't know? That's strange, considering how she was yelling about moving in with her boyfriend."

What.

He's never heard about this.

"She's…moving in with her boyfriend," Sasuke repeated, a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

"Yes, oh don't tell me you haven't heard about it now? She must be talking about someone else then, since she clearly-"

Sasuke didn't wait for the man to finish before sprinting off. He didn't know where he was being led, but he did know that this spike of chakra could only belong to one person. She can bet that he will be demanding a good explanation from her when he finds her.

As he approached her chakra signature, he found himself surrounded by familiar landscapes.

This is in the direction of my place.

What was she doing by his new house? It did very well answer one thing, however. He could pretty much rule out any suspicions of her cheating on him. He was confident enough to believe that, especially considering how she was near his place, and that she had mentioned moving in with her boyfriend (a position no one dared take from him). His ego didn't let hm think otherwise.

What he saw in front of his house nearly made him, the Uchiha Sasuke, trip.

An opened cardboard box rested beside his main entrance with the words "kittens" and "take me home" written on them. With his keen senses, he could hear the quiet mewing even from his position a distance away.

But what really made him stop in his tracks was the girl fitted snugly inside the box.

Sakura.

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

He approached cautiously, but though he knew she noticed, she did not raise her head to acknowledge him. She had her face pressed against her arms as they rested on top of her knees. Beside her, a couple of kittens were napping sweetly while a few were pawing at the box.

He stared at the scene for a moment.

He couldn't help but admit that it was actually kind of cute.

After he engraved the image into his mind, he knelt down to eye level. "Sakura," he called out tenderly.

She flinched but did not give any other indications of hearing him.

He leaned in a little closer, resting his warm hand on her shoulder. "Sakura, what's wrong?"

This time, she did react. Looking up with those sparkling jade eyes, she finally greeted back.

"Sasuke-kun…Welcome back."

She let a small smile grace her lips.

He nodded his thanks, but she was changing the subject and he did not appreciate that. "What's wrong?" he persisted.

His eyes were immediately directed to her lips when she started biting them, a habit she seemed to have adopted during the times he was away. "I was just…"

"Just what?" he urged when she paused.

She shook her head. "Never mind, it's not impor-"

"Tell me," Sasuke pushed on, though his voice never strayed from its hushed hue.

Her eyes were searching for something else to look at, which oddly made him feel insulted seeing how she had always made all kinds of excuses to look at him. Her attention was supposed to be on him, god damn it.

Without further thinking, he brought two fingers and tapped lightly on her forehead, right above her seal. That seemed to do the trick as her eyes were instantly back on him.

Works like a charm.

"Answer me," he said, almost pleadingly.

She must have detected something in his tone, because she finally relented. "I just…I wanted to move in with you."

See? That boyfriend was him after all. Her dad didn't know what the hell he was talking about.

"Sasuke-kun?" she called, eyes slightly wide.

"What?"

"Oh, it's just…you're smiling."

He immediately slapped his hand over his mouth. "Shut up."

When he moved to stand up, her hand shot out and grabbed onto his pant leg, hindering his escape. This would have earned a violent reaction from the Sasuke in the past. Even now, he could easily shake her off, but he didn't. Instead, he let his curiosity take its toll. He eyed her, observing how her eyebrows were scrunched up in uncertainty, how her eyes appeared downcast, how her soft lips curved into a scowl. He took it all in, memorizing each detail. After all, he never stays home for long, and he didn't know when he'd be coming back to Konoha again. He would take any chance he can get.

When he was done absorbing all the little things he could, he asked again. "Now what?"

"I-…nothing."

She released him, but made no move to get up or follow him.

It seemed like she didn't get his message. He couldn't blame her; he was overly subtle at times.

"I don't have enough room to take all the cats in, especially if there's an extra person living here. Pick your favourites. We'll give the rest to Naruto and Kakashi."

See? Subtle.

"Oh…okay, I'll ask them later th- wait. What? An extra...person?" Sasuke lived alone. There was no extra person, unless...

"You heard me. Now get your ass in here or I'm closing the door on you."

The excitement on her face was rather rewarding, and if that wasn't enough of a reason to smile, her adorable "Meow!" certainly was.