A/N: Oh my goodness! It's been...a REALLY long time. :) I'm not dead, otherwise I wouldn't be writing right now. My first semester of college is over and I must say, it's pretty fabulous. I hope you all are enjoying your Christmas/holiday break, and if you don't celebrate Christmas, I sincerely hope you guys are safe and just having a good time with life. :) I'm toying with this story, so tell me what you think. Love it, hate it, it's whatevers. Just enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. :)

Her blurring days were beginning to annoy her. Where was the lively drama? The action? Even her best friend, Ino, hadn't caused uproar in quite some time. She lay on her bed, frustrated while looking at the clock. 4:20 A.M. it read. That was perfect. She got in at midnight and had to work yet again in an hour and forty minutes. She sighed heavily, looking up at the ceiling, one leg sticking out of her blankets because of discomfort and the broken A/C that conveniently decided to die during the hottest summers Konoha has recorded. Her pink strands of hair stuck to her sweaty neck as she frustratingly sighed. Sakura Haruno decided to take a walk. If she couldn't sleep, might as well get the day started early.

Her days always started off like this.

Wake up, take early walks, shower, brush teeth, get dressed, go to hospital, work, food, go home, food, brush teeth, sleep, and repeat. Sometimes if she got lucky, she would be greeted with a patient that came in drunk and disruptive. Those days added a little "noise" to her rather quiet life. Sure, she went on missions that required fighting, and of course, that added noise, but even then, missions were hard to come by these days for her. It was to the point where her line of days started to blur against each other. Everything was the same. Silent, quiet, boring. That is, until he came back.

By 4:45 A.M. she was out the door, grimacing at the disgusting humidity that engulfed her. She strolled along the street, the moon still shining a path for her. Sakura kicked a pebble, tired and frustrated at the events happening in her life. She thought back to when he came home.

The sun was blazing hot rays towards the Konoha citizens as they bustled through the streets, wanting to escape the heated cement. Sakura was walking along the path of the market, her days off were spent quite often here. She aimlessly shuffled about, until she heard a commotion.

"He's back!"

"Is it true? I heard he's not in good shape at all."

"That boy has some nerve coming back here. A disgrace is what he is."

"I heard he didn't come back willingly, either. Apparently, Naruto is back with him."

Sakura squinted, her ears perking up at the gossip as she made her way through the bustling crowd towards the gates. And he was there.

It wasn't as big of a reunion as she had hoped. Sure, the two boys, rather men, came in with tattered clothing, wounds, and bruises, but no hugs, tears, or words of relief were uttered between Team Seven. They were gone as quickly as they came in, a frown etching deeper onto the Cherry Blossom's face.

She walked along the river now, and stopped, deciding the heat was just too much to bear. Sitting down, Sakura delicately took her shoes off and dipped her feet in the water, sighing contently at the cool rush of the river. She stared up at the dark sky, a bit sadden as her memory recollected her encounter with the boy she loved. Or still love. She hadn't quite decided.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Sakura turned around to see Naruto. How he had grown so much. His blue, courageous eyes were dulled, dark circles apparent underneath them. She could tell from the strain in his voice that he was exhausted to say the least. She subsided her anger for the time being, knowing full well that her friend didn't need to be berated right now.

"He's Sasuke. I'm sure he'll recover quickly," she murmured, continuing to look at his charts as she signed something off at the front desk. "You can see him if you'd like."

The blonde nodded and made his way to the room, but stopped to turn around.

"I'm sorry for not bringing you along," Naruto quietly uttered, knowing full well that she was angry.

"I just don't understand why it's so hard for you to realize that I'm part of the team," she placed the chart on the desk and turned to him. "I may not understand this bond you have with him, but I'm his friend too, and I know that I could have brought him back. I'm not weak anymore."

"Your physical strength had nothing to do with it," he quietly muttered, his eyes boring into hers. "It's your emotional strength that got me worried."

"What are you talk-"

"Look, Sasuke will have to tell you himself, but please understand. I care about you." Naruto quickly spun around towards the room, leaving Sakura to decipher his meaning.

"Excuse me?"

The medic turned to see a girl not much older than she, her thick, black hair falling neatly to her waist. "Are you Dr. Haruno?"

"Yes I am," Sakura raised an eyebrow, "How can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you could help me find Sasuke," her melodic voice echoed, "I was told that you treated him."

Sakura's eyes widen, drawing possible conclusions on how this girl was related to Sasuke. "Yes, he's in that room across from us. I'm sorry, how do you know him?"

The trees began to billow in the wind, the soft air around her starting to clear the humidity. She felt sleepy, swaying quietly as she continued to shift from memory to memory.

"You honestly can't be sleeping out here," the dark, velvet like voice wrapped around her. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. She felt him sitting next to her, placing a considerable amount of space between them, mind you.

"What are you doing here?" she lazily murmured, staring off into the forest.

"Hn," he, like her, didn't meet her eyes, and looked up at the sky instead. "I could ask you the same thing."

"I couldn't sleep," she truthfully told, and gazed intently at him. She got a good look tonight.

He had definitely grown, that's for sure. He was void of the usual attire and awful purple bow, sporting only black shorts and a white t-shirt. His hair was still unkempt but longer, fuller. His angular bone structure was prominent, especially when he was looking up at the sky. When he lowered his head to face her, she realized all the age had gone to his eyes. Dark as ever, but emptier as well.

"Taking a picture will last longer, you know," he smirked at her blush as she turned away quickly.

"Well aren't you chatty tonight," she murmured as his smirked became more pronounced. "She definitely changed you."

He didn't say anything at that. Only continuing to look at her as she swung her feet in the water slowly.

"And they let you off easy too," she continued, absently looking ahead, "I'd say you have it pretty good right now."

"I suppose," he murmured quietly.

"So what are you going to do? I mean, now that you're here, and all," she trailed off, biting her lip at the anticipation.

He didn't answer her, only staring at her again to the point of discomfort. Smirking he turned away.

"I don't know, get through the Dobe's wedding as best man," he trailed off.

"What?" she shrieked, only to cover her mouth quickly and looking around, hoping not to disturb the peace at this early morning. "Naruto…he's getting married?"

Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, "He didn't tell you?"

Some best friends. Some team, right?

"No."

He didn't say any more. The uncomfortable silence drug on, but Sakura was seething inside.

"I'm getting married too."

"What?"

At this, she turned harshly, angered at the sudden ambush of news she was receiving.

"This is too much," at that she got up quickly and put her shoes on, the sun slowly peaking over Konoha. "And may I ask why you are telling me this?"

"I don't want to talk to you anymore, and I don't want you at my wedding."

She snapped her head up at him, his eyes avoiding hers as she straightened up.

"Why?"

"I think by not seeing me, your infatuation with me can go away. That way, you can move on. I mean, I have."

She was at a loss for words. Today was just not her day, damn it.

"I have to go."

She quickly turned around and ran.

A/N: Okay, so i know it seems a bit depressing, rushed towards the end, and confusing, but I promise it'll get better. Again, I'm playing around with the idea.

Oh, and one more thing: this is a humor/romance story. It gets funny from chapter 2 onwards. Haha. I'm sorry for the delay with everything.

Please Review for the next chapter!

Stay classy.

xoxo,

xxpiggybankxx