Everything is white when he opens his eyes.
Sasuke Uchiha is a lot of things―the only surviving Uchiha, the prodigy, that one war criminal, maybe―but a hospital patient is not one he was expecting to be when he wakes up in Konoha for the first time in years. He tries to sit up, his arm supporting him, and it is then that he realizes that his other arm is, as he remembered, really gone.
"Sasuke-kun…"
His eyes shoot to his legs and sees Sakura on it, resting her arm on his leg, and her head is on said arm; her eyes were closed, and it seems she's been asleep for a while now. She must have been sleep talking, and from the view he has, he can see dark circles below her eyes.
(He still doesn't understand why Sakura is this kind to him, and he realizes he's found himself in this situation before―waking up in a hospital and seeing Sakura with him.
She really is a kind girl.)
Without thinking, his hand reaches towards her, and settles on her hair. He brushes his fingers in it. (It's still so short.)
Her eyes slowly open, and Sasuke pulls his hand back. She takes a look at him, wondering what happened, but she decides that she won't touch on the subject. (She can embarrass the Uchiha another day; when he's fully recovered.)
"You're awake!" She puts her arms around him, hugging him. (Everything is so, so familiar. He feels as if he's back to being twelve years old, back to being so young, so naïve, so restless.)
He decides to remain composed, and he gives a nod. His eyes remain on hers. "How long have you been here?"
Her eyes trail to the window. "A few days, give or take. I've been the doctor assigned to you." You're on hospital arrest, too, considering the things you've done, but I don't think that would be good to tell you right now; you probably even know that already. She bit her lower lip.
He looks at her, really looks at her. (She doesn't know when was the last time this happened; she used to be just the fangirl who fawned over him, the one who had no clan name to be proud of, the one who had to be protected all the time. But here she was, becoming a strong fighter and possibly the best medic ninja. She knows she doesn't want to chase other people's approval anymore, but she hopes he sees who she's become.)
The only thing he manages to say is, "Why?"
She looks as if he grew a second head, (After everything that has happened, she doubts it's impossible), but compassion is in her eyes, with a mix of kindness. (And when he looks really closely, he can see her battle-worn soul; nostalgia, tiredness, sorrow.)
He wants to apologize once more―for everything. (For leaving her that night, for being consumed by his hatred and yearn for revenge, for hurting them.)
"Because there's no way I'm leaving you now. I've seen you die way too many times in genjutsu."
"…What?"
"Especially when we were genin. I even thought that your head was severed during the bell test!"
"But it wasn't."
"I know, I'm not stupid."
He realizes Sakura Haruno really isn't the person he knew before; she's fiercer now; bolder, stronger. (Though he knows of this way before this moment; she did try to kill him before, and even though he couldn't feel her intent at that time, the fact that she was charging at him brought him back to the reality that this was Sakura, the girl he cherished, the girl he protected before, trying to kill him.)
He doesn't know what to make of it. (He did try to kill her, too.)
And unconsciously, the side of his lips turned slightly upwards.
She takes notice of this.
"I'll have you know I'm great at detecting genjutsu now," she says, puffing out her cheeks in fake annoyance.
(He remembers the time before the Chuunin Exams started, when the proctors confused them with the floors of the building with genjutsu. He remembers how off the girl had before they entered the building. He remembers the smile she had when he complimented her and told her she was the best at genjutsu know-how and that she could easily detect something like what the proctors pulled off.)
"I know," he responds. "I'm not stupid."
A small laugh comes from her. It becomes louder, and soon enough, he joins in.
For a moment, she forgets the pain he caused her, the pain he caused all of them; and for a moment, he forgets his faults, he forgets his shortcomings, he forgets his regret.
Here they are, laughing, as if they were back to being twelve-years-old, back to being genin, back to being at peace. There is no war in their hearts, only the thoughts of them being on the same team, even after all this time.