Sakura lifted her hand up to wipe sweat from her brow. Pushing her bright pink hair behind her ear, she looked toward the instructor. Seriously, this cooking crap was more difficult than it should be. She'd fought shinobi since she was a child but for some reason when it came to something as domestic as this, she had difficulty.

Sighing, she looked up from her cutting board and tightened her grip on the handle of the knife.

"Now cutting the onions is relatively simple. First, turn it sideways and cut about a half inch off the top. Discard this, and lay the onion down on its flat side," she instructed, smiling.

Sakura looked down at the vegetable grimly. Gulping, she did as instructed, cutting off perhaps a bit more than necessary but it was fine. She flipped it onto the flat side she just cut, so it lay upside down on her cutting board.

"Next, you'll need to slice it vertically down the middle…"

As the instructor droned on, Sakura's thoughts drifted to her Sasuke. They'd moved in together pretty recently, and she wanted nothing more than to be able to cook for him. To give him a nice home and a family he hasn't had since he was young.

She sighed dreamily. "Oh, Sasuke…" she whispered.

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat next to her. She jumped and turned toward the sound. The cooking instructor smiled warmly, and glanced at the mangled onion on the cutting board.

Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry, I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing," she said, lifting the boardto swipe the mangled vegetable into the trash bin.

The instructor giggled a bit. "I figured as much. It's fine hun, here let me show you."

She grabbed another knife off of the workspace and walked Sakura through the process step by step.

About an hour later, all the other students had left and Sakura stood at her counter staring intensely at the perfectly cut up onion, blinking several times.

The instructor, her name was Yukki, clapped eagerly. "Great job, you did it!"

Sakura smiled widely. "I did! I did it! Finally!"

Yukki helped Sakura clean up the workstation, properly disposing of any trash and cleaning the dishes and cutting board.

Sakura started toward the door, still grinning before remembering Yukki. Turning around she bowed. "Thank you so much, I really appreciate it."

She giggled a bit. "Of course, will I be seeing you in class again?"

Sakura nodded eagerly. "You bet you will!" Yukki smiled kindly and waved good bye.

Sakura practically skipped on her way home. It seemed like such a small thing, but it showed her she was improving. Walking past the market, she slowed her stride. Contemplating what to do, she walked in and returned to the street a few minutes later, a bag of onions in hand.

"What's the point of learning a skill if I don't practice?" she whispered to herself, giddily. Humming while she walked, she waved to the odd acquaintance before pulling out her key and unlocking her, ours she corrected, door.

Walking in she noticed the house was quiet, andassumed Sasuke was out. She sighed, she had really been hoping to see him.

Walking to the kitchen, she set the bag of onions on the counter and grabbed the cutting board and a large knife. She breathed deeply, and tried to remember every step Yukki told her.

Turn it sideways...cut about a half inch off the top...lay down flat and cut vertically…

Sniffling loudly, wanting to rub tears from her eyes but unable to, they welled up blurring her vision. Great.

Sasuke sat up a bit straighter when he heard the front door open but relaxed when he figured it was just Sakura. Looking back at his novel, he contemplated where she was all day, she had refused to tell him.

He sighed, before gently placing the book on a nearby desk. Standing up, he stretched his arms above his head hearing his bones crack and shift. Relaxing, he left the room, seeing the kitchen light on.

He smiled softly, thinking about his Sakura. Her soft hair always smelled of strawberries, he felt like he could stare into her eyes for years, and the dedication she felt towards him was incredible. She had grown a great deal since they were kids, she'd become much more confident in her abilities as a shinobi. He was damn proud of her.

Perking up, he heard sniffling coming from the kitchen, and heavy breathing. Was she crying?

Who the hell thought they had the right to make my Sakura cry…

He hurried around the corner and grabbed onto her shoulder, looking into her beautiful red-rimmed eyes. She sniffles, and he hugged She sniffles, and he hugged her tightly.

"Who did it?" he demanded.

"Huh?" she asked.

He held her at arms length, looking at her intensely. "Who made you cry Sakura? I swear I'll make them wish they'd never been born," he growled.

Her brow furrowed, before realization dawned on her face. She looked into the sink, turning my head I saw a bag of onions. She reached out and held the bag up to Sasuke.

"These made me cry," she stated, flatly.

He stared at them for several seconds before forcibly grabbing the bag from her and holding it out in front of him.

She tilted her head, confused. "Uh..Sasuke?"

He glared at the bag. "This is what you get," he said seriously. He then brought his fist back and swung hard at the poor vegetables, causing a few to practically explode in the bag before hitting it again.

Sakura felt her face heat up as giggles found their way out of her mouth. Hearing her tinkling laughter, Sasuke turned to her curiously. She jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck causing his to drop the bag of onions and grab the counter or risk falling.

She planted a kiss on his lips which he gladly returned, while wrapping his arms around her waist. She pulled back and whispered in his ear, "thank you, my hero." She giggled again, and he silenced her with his lips.