Sad Frog for his Friends

AN: For a Sasusaku month.

Prompt: Matchmaker

Rating: K

Sasuke wasn't sure why Naruto had asked him and Sakura to meet him at a restaurant, especially since he asked them to dress nicely because it was a special occasion. Sasuke usually wasn't one to go along with what Naruto suggested but he figured that he owed his friend something since he had helped the village accept his return since he had left. He dressed nicely in a suit and tie then left for the restaurant, still getting a few glares from the villagers but also quite a few looks from old fangirls that still thought that he was attractive. He arrived at the restaurant a few minutes early, expecting the rest of his team to be there.

Meanwhile, Sakura was also arriving at the restaurant, having decided that rather than fighting Naruto, their team really did deserve a night out to reconnect since everything had been so hectic after the war, with the village having to be rebuilt and all. She arrived outside the restaurant the same time that Sasuke did. She was wearing a stunning, pale blue, knee length, traditional looking dress with a pattern of cherry blossoms on it. Her hair was pin backed into a bun with a few strands falling to frame her face. She looked around and saw Sasuke and walked over to him.

"Hi Sasuke, you look very handsome tonight. Have you seen Naruto yet?" She asked. She of course thought that Sasuke was far more than handsome that night, but she had become more guarded of her emotions over the years since he left, so she didn't go right out and say anything.

"You look very beautiful yourself." Sasuke commented awkwardly. He thought that she looked stunning, but he didn't want to say something that could possibly overstep the boundaries of the friendship that he had rebuilt with his teammates, unsure of how Sakura would take it, or even if she would believe him. "And I haven't seen Naruto yet. It is unlike him to be late." Sasuke stated in his monotone. Sakura blushed lightly. She decided that he was just being polite by complimenting her, but she still had a soft spot for Sasuke.

"Maybe we should check inside, he could have already gotten the table, you know how impatient he gets sometimes." Sakura suggested.

"Hnn." Sasuke agreed and led the way into the restaurant where they began to look around for Naruto, but were unable to spot him at all. Sakura walked up to the hostess.

"Excuse me, have you seen Naruto at all tonight?" Sakura asked. The mentioning of Naruto's name seemed to spark something in the hostess and she smiled politely.

"You must be his friends that he mentioned. I'm afraid that he stopped by to ask me to let you know that he won't be able to attend tonight, he had something else that came up." she stated. Sakura looked partially angry for a moment and Sasuke looked irate but Sakura seemed to decide that it was stupid to get angry. Everyone had been extremely busy since the war, and Naruto had been among the busiest.

"Thank you for letting us know." Sakura said and turned to Sasuke.

"I guess we will have to reschedule." she stated, earning a nod from Sasuke. They turned to leave but the hostess spoke up, causing them both to turn back to face her.

"Oh there is no need for that. Mr. Uzumaki paid for the dinner ahead of time and said that he wished for both of you to enjoy the dinner." the hostess said cheerily.

"He paid for dinner ahead of time? That seems unlike him to plan so much, but I suppose that it would be rude to let the dinner go to waste." Sakura said and looked at Sasuke to get his opinion.

"Hnn. If the dobe paid for the food, we should eat it." Sasuke stated.

"Wonderful, follow me please." the hostess said and led them to a wonderfully set table that was lit by candles and was near a window but it faced a quiet street so there wasn't any disturbance. Sakura fought back a blush after they sat down and the hostess left them after taking their drink orders.

"That idiot, why would he have the table set like this?" Sakura questioned as she looked at the gorgeous table cloth and red roses that were placed in a vase at one side of the table.

"He was always strange, but maybe he is just trying to mess with us. He does like to play tricks still, I have noticed that in the past few months." Sasuke said, a barely noticeable blush on his face as well. Neither of them really questioned their teammate that much. Both of them secretly guessed at his motives, but neither spoke up.

"Maybe we should go, this seems rather extravagant." Sakura said after their teas were placed in front of them. She was about to push her chair back but was stopped by Sasuke's hand gently gripping her hand.

"Maybe we could have dinner here. It seems like a lot of time was put into this table and that the food will be very good. It also seems like you put a lot of work into your outfit. It would be a shame for everything to go to waste." Sasuke said, barely keeping the nervousness out of his voice. Sakura stopped to look at him, carefully look at him. She was quickly able to determine that he was not just trying to convince her not to waste the table or her outfit. He wanted her to stay. A look of surprise briefly flashed in her eyes but she resettled in her chair.

"If you say so." she said softly. At that point, they were both blushing subtly, both trying to hide the fact that they were both nervous and embarrassed as Sasuke let go of her hand. Since Sasuke had taken a risk, Sakura decided that she could too, so after a waitress came and took their orders and she was about to leave, Sakura spoke up.

"Could you bring a bottle of red wine and two glasses as well please?" Sakura asked, briefly glancing at Sasuke who seemed surprised but he didn't object.

"Of course." The waitress replied. She returned a few moments later with a bottle of wine and poured them each a glass as they moved their tea to the side. After the waitress left again, they both took a sip of their wine and there was silence for a moment before Sakura decided that she was willing to let down her guard, after all it really seemed that Sasuke was trying to show that he wanted to be there with her.

"So, do you think that you will stay in Konoha?" She asked quietly, deciding to get right to the point, not being one to hesitate. Sasuke looked at her carefully and took a sip of his wine before responding, looking straight into her eyes.

"I do believe that I would like to stay here for a while." Sasuke said. Sakura gauged that he was telling the truth, and she tried to interpret the look that he gave her, but he was always hard to read. She was still holding a breath that she hadn't realized that she had been holding since she had asked her question. Sasuke seemed to notice her hesitation to accept his answer, and he saw that she had tensed up slightly. He tried to figure out what to do, and decided that her guarded self was understandable, and if he wanted to reassure her, he would have to be a little more clear.

Sasuke reached his bandaged arm across the table and lightly laid his hand on Sakura's, which was tensed up. "I'll have to remember to thank Naruto for being busy tonight." he said in his gruff voice. He was always assertive, but when it came to his emotions, it was complicated for him to admit them, so he averted his gaze away from her and looked out the window before he spoke again. "It is nice to be able to spend some time talking to you without others around." Sakura seemed surprised again, but her muscles released their tension and she released her breath that she had been holding.

"Yes, I will thank him as well, and it is nice to be able to talk to you alone." Sakura said softly, not moving her hand from his calming touch. The dinner came awhile later and they both took their hands back to eat and had a nice conversation for the rest of the night. When the night was over, Sasuke led Sakura out of the restaurant and into the cool night air, neither of them noticing that they were being watched from a distance far enough away to be out of their senses since they weren't on guard or out on a mission.

"Would you like me to walk you to your apartment?" Sasuke asked Sakura quietly. Sakura smiled brightly.

"I would like that." she responded. They started to walk towards her apartment, and after a block or so, Sakura slipped her hand into Sasuke's hold and entwined their fingers and Sasuke seemed to accept the action, not trying to pull his hand away. It was late enough that there was no one walking around that part of town to disturb their peace. As they turned the corner, their observer smiled briefly as he watched his friends walk off towards Sakura's apartment.

When Sasuke and Sakura got to her apartment building, Sasuke walked her to her door and kissed her lightly on the forehead, not wanting to make her uncomfortable by kissing her on the lips so soon. He was willing to give her space and let her learn to trust him again.

"Goodnight Sakura." He said.

"Goodnight Sasuke." she said and then he turned and walked out of the building and headed to his own apartment near the Uchiha district, a smile actually gracing his features as he took another look up at Sakura's building before continuing to walk home.

Meanwhile, their teammate had just gotten back home after going to check up on his friends for a few seconds on the way to his house. He had caught them just as they were leaving the restaurant. He smiled as he entered his small apartment, happy to know that his friends had seemed happy when he saw them. He emptied his pockets onto his table before changing into pajamas. After changing he grabbed some instant ramen, made it, then sat down at the table. After eating, he looked out his window then back at the table, noticing his flat frog wallet sitting near the corner of the table.

"Sorry buddy, I'll fill you back up after a few missions, but I think it was worth it to empty you out this time." Naruto said quietly with a small smile on his face.