A (late) idea I had for SasuSaku month. I don't want to say too much here, because I don't want to give anything away. But I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.


Sakura sighed happily as she filed away the last of her medical scrolls in the enormous bookshelf she had in her bedroom. She was finally, finally done with her work, which meant that she could start getting ready to go to Sasuke's. It was Saturday night, which meant that they would be having one of their Team 7 dinners. They'd made a pact, they would have dinner once a week at each other's houses every Saturday night, and they would take it in turns to play host. Last week they ate at Naruto's, which meant that this week was Sasuke's turn.

At first, the members of Team 7 had been quite surprised to learn that their stoic teammate was admittedly a pretty decent cook. Living by himself for all those years had taught him how to take care of himself properly. Still, Sakura always liked getting to Sasuke's house early, so that she could help him with dinner, set the table, choose a movie, and just talk to him (which was really just her filling up the air with mindless chatter and him occasionally saying 'hn'.)

Sakura smiled to herself. Although she loved hosting Team 7 dinners herself, she had to admit that dinners at Sasuke's house were definitely her favourite. After dinner, they'd all go and sit in Sasuke's (huge) living room, in front of his (huge) TV. They would talk, laugh, joke around, and put on a good movie. But without fail, the night would always end the same way, with Naruto sprawled out on one of the couches, snoring loudly, Sakura curled up on another couch, Sasuke slowly dozing off, Kakashi fast asleep with a copy of his Icha Icha novel on his face, and Sai attentively watching the movie, sitting up straight and taking notes (depending on what kind of movie it was).

Barely able to suppress the grin on her face, Sakura locked her front door and set off for the Uchiha district.


Sasuke was rummaging around in a cupboard trying to find a pan when he heard his front door open and close, followed by a delightful "Hey, Sasuke!"

He smirked. So she was here already. If he was if he was honest with himself, he actually rather enjoyed Sakura's company, and he liked the fact that she always got here early to help him out with the food. If it were anyone else, he's be annoyed because he'd assume that they were suggesting that he couldn't do it on his own, and that he was incompetent. But with Sakura it was completely different. With Sakura... she was just being friendly.

He heard her footsteps echoing down the hall.

"You OK?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen, shrugging her coat off and trying to fix her hair. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, and the wind had whipped her hair in all directions. "Oh, what are we having today? Smells good!"

"Hn. Spaghetti."

Sakura grinned. Always something with tomatoes in it.

"Anything you want me to do?" she asked, rolling up her sleeves.

"You can make a start on the salad."

And just like that they were off, both preparing food with Sakura talking and laughing, and Sasuke either saying 'Hn' or making a sarcastic remark.

It wasn't long before Naruto walked in, grinning like an idiot and slamming the door shut before any more cold air could get in.

"Hey, guys!" he said, walking into the kitchen. He gave Sakura a peck on the cheek, and thumped Sasuke on the back playfully. "What's cooking?"

"Spaghetti," said Sakura. "Naruto, could you set the table, please?" she asked, handing him plates. "Sai and Kakashi will be here any minute."

"Sai and – wait, Kakashi? Now? Bit early for him, isn't it?" Naruto asked, taking the plates from Sakura.

"We told him to be here for 6 o' clock, and it's almost 8, so he should be here soon."

Naruto chuckled, and Sasuke smirked.

"Well, that was smart."

"You're welcome." was Sakura's response as she handed him cutlery.

Sai and Kakashi arrived together, just as the steaming hot spaghetti was brought from the kitchen into the dining room. Kakashi didn't even have to apologise for being late, seeing as dinner hadn't even started yet, and Sai greeted everyone formally with a small but genuine smile on his face.

Although dinners at Sasuke's house always went the same way, they were never boring. They would all chat about what they'd been up to, their missions, and anything else they could think of. Thought he never really said much, Sasuke was secretly grateful for this time they all spent together. He was no longer bitter, lonely or isolated. In fact, he was the complete opposite. No one had accepted him more than the people sat around his dining table right now. In all honesty, he cherished these moments, and he'd never admit it out loud, but he wouldn't change it for the world.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who was finishing saying something about Hinata, at which Sai smiled, Kakashi chuckled and patted him on the back, and Sakura laughed and said "Well it's about time!"

He looked at Kakashi, who was smiling and patting his former student on the back proudly. He looked at Sai, whom he had originally loathed almost as much as he had loathed Naruto, calling him his gay replacement, but who he now considered a comrade, a teammate.

And then he looked at Sakura, who was laughing and playfully patting Naruto on the back and pinching his whiskered cheeks. The sound of her laughter reached his ears, a sound that he wanted to hear time and time again. Her pink hair tumbled around her shoulders, her green eyes lit up with laughter, her pink lips spread into a bright smile, and for a moment he couldn't look away from her, until he regained his senses and looked down into his empty plate, with the hint of a smile on his face. These people, his teammates, his comrades, were his new family.


"So," Naruto said loudly, practically jumping onto the couch and earning himself a glare from Sasuke, "what movie are we watching tonight?"

"Sakura already chose one, now shut up and watch."

"Wait! What about snacks?!"

"You just had dinner, you still want snacks?"

"Come on, Sasuke," Sakura cut in, "you have to have snacks with a movie."

"Yeah!" said Naruto. "It's like, a law."

Sasuke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine."

Naruto leapt up from his spot on the couch, grabbed Sakura and Sai's arms, and ran into the kitchen, shouting "I bet the bastard's got some ice-cream!"

Two hours and two tubs of ice-cream later, the members of Team 7 were draped across Sasuke's couches, too full to move. Just as the movie was about to end, Sakura stood up.

"Just going to the bathroom quickly," she said, "I'll be back soon." And she left.

Naruto grinned, and slid into Sakura's spot, which was right next to Sasuke's, and put an arm around his shoulders. Sasuke glared at him.

"Get off me, you parasite."

Naruto ignored him, and instead nudged him in the ribs with his elbows.

"So..." he drawled, raising his eyebrows suggestively "saw you staring at Sakura during dinner... anything you wanna tell us?"

Sasuke removed Naruto's arms from around his shoulders.

"Oh, don't you dare try and deny it!" Naruto said accusingly. "Even Kakashi saw. Right, Kakashi?"

A snore was his only response.

"Whatever. Sai saw, didn't you, Sai?"

"Saw what?"

"You missed it? Aw, c'mon, the bastard was totally checking her out!"

"Shut up, you idiot."

"See? He's smitten!"

"Naruto, I'm warning you-"

His sentence was cut short. Because at that moment, they heard a thud coming from the first floor of Sasuke's mansion. A sound that couldn't be detected by a normal person, but was easily picked up by their trained ears.

The sound of a body hitting the floor.


Short first chapter, I know, but I just had to leave it here! Next chapter should be up in a few days. Is it worth continuing?

I don't mean to make Sasuke OOC in this fic, but he will be a tiny bit... well... nicer, I guess? This story is quite a while after he comes back, so they're about 19.

But tell me what you thought! R&R!