AN: SasuSaku Oneshot set after the end of the war. Please R&R. And, as always, I do not own the characters, settings, and such.
One arm gone, one eye unusable. Sasuke was a mess.
Tonight was his last night in the hospital. He knew a doctor would come in the morning to check his bandages before signing his release forms. And he was fairly sure Sakura would not be that doctor. She worked more nights than mornings, from what he saw, and she attended only the most critical cases. His injuries, though still painful, were far from life threatening.
Sasuke wished Sakura would be that doctor, though. There were things he wanted to say to her, further explanations he felt he needed to give about the last few years. He had everything prepared; he just needed opportunity. Or rather, he needed another opportunity.
During his time at the hospital, he saw Sakura fairly regularly. She walked by his door on her rounds every day, always looking in his window as she went. But she hadn't actually been in to check on him, so they hadn't actually spoken, for weeks.
Sasuke considered flagging her down, or asking a nurse to put in some kind of request, but he felt that would be too brash. He wanted her to come see him on her own free-will.
Since he only had a few hours left at the Hospital, Sasuke decided to stay up and wait for her.
He estimated she would come by around nine. That was when she normally passed his room on her evening rounds. But there was no trace of her at nine, or even ten. Determined, Sasuke fought to stay awake, no matter how long it might take.
Around two AM, he felt himself drowse; by four he was asleep. He dreamed she came to him. That she was on him, kissing him, making love to him. When they were done, she ran her fingers through his hair. An intimate touch, something that felt quite new and strange, but he couldn't get enough of it.
Suddenly the hand on his head felt heavier, more real than any other part of his dream. Her fingers stretched out, pushing away the stress of the world. Sasuke moved closer, wanting more, but it made her hand retract. There was then a cacophony of footsteps heading away from him, and he didn't understand why.
He opened his eyes, seeing only the darkness of his room offset by a streak of light slipping around the door as it shut.
It was an odd sight, but not odd enough to merit getting out of bed so early in the morning. So Sasuke fell back to sleep, only waking once more when the nurse came in with breakfast.
The doctor, someone named Takada, came in a little while later and performed his final check up. Sasuke was then handed a packet from the Hokage's office and sent on his way.
The envelope held details about Sasuke's new living situation. Adamant that he didn't want to return to the compound, Sasuke found he had been assigned a one-bedroom apartment in the same building he once shared with Naruto and Sakura.
Sasuke walked across town to his new flat. He assessed the place scrupulously when he arrived, and found it was a decent size with a full kitchen and spacious bedroom. But it was also completely empty. There was no information about furnishings in the Hokage's packet, so Sasuke realized he would be responsible for buying what he needed.
Sasuke decided to go shopping right away. He left and returned home several hours later with a few pots and pans, two small kitchen knives, a new futon, pillow and blanket. Then he left once more to go to the market for some groceries. By late afternoon, he had everything he needed, all his purchases were put away, and there was nothing left to do but relax.
He took a seat on the window ledge and sat there waiting for inspiration on his next move. Night fell, and, before he realized it, the days were about to change over.
He began debating if it was time for bed when he saw someone walking through the garden, straight up to the front door of his building.
Sakura.
Sasuke jumped to his feet. He left his apartment and strode over to the elevator without giving his actions a second thought.
He wanted to talk to her, but, as the elevator climbed higher, Sasuke wondered if surprising her like this was a good idea. Unfortunately, he didn't have a chance to make up his mind before the elevator opened with a loud DING.
Sakura stood inside the lift, carrying a lumpy, brown paper bag stuffed so full that a pack of strawberries balanced precariously on top, shock clear on her face.
"Hi," she said, adjusting her hold on the bag.
"Hi," Sasuke replied after a moment.
The two then stared aimlessly at each other, neither sure what to do next. They only moved again when the elevator dinged a second time and began to close.
Sakura put her foot out and Sasuke grabbed hold of the door on his right. The elevator opened; Sasuke moved out of the way for Sakura to come out onto the landing.
She shuffled by uncomfortably, and Sasuke immediately felt guilty about rushing out to see her like this. He said, "Let me help you," as a peace offering, gesturing towards her groceries.
Sakura hesitated, but passed the bag over, silently hoping there was no ulterior motive to his hospitality.
She turned and quickly walked down the hall in the opposite direction of Sasuke's new flat. She stopped outside the door at the end of the hall. He waited while she dug for her keys and fiddled with the lock, then followed her inside down a narrow hallway that opened into, what appeared to be, a mirror image of Sasuke's new place.
Sakura put her purse down on the kitchen counter, and motioned for Sasuke to set the groceries down beside it. "Thank you," she said warily when the bag was down.
"Is this the same apartment you lived in..before?" he asked.
"Yes." She replied, proud it was moderately clean today.
"Hn," he responded passively.
Sakura moved to the other side of the kitchen counter to put the groceries away. "How are you settling in?" she asked, carton of milk in hand.
"Fine," he lied.
Sakura threw the milk and a few other items in the fridge, then turned back to him. "Have you given any further thought to what you plan to do now that you're home?"
"Maybe training genin. But with my arm gone, that could prove...difficult."
"I see," she said downcast. Seeing people in pain because of something she did (or didn't do) was something she never liked. "You know, there are some things we could try…" she started. But Sasuke wouldn't hear it.
He put up his hand, signalling her to stop. "That is not necessary."
"Well, if you ever change your mind," she offered, carrying some boxes to the pantry, and he nodded politely in return.
"Speaking of medical...things," he began awkwardly. "I wanted to ask you something." Sakura put the last item in the pantry, then walked back around to the living room to be closer to her guest. "Did you...come to see me last night…?"
"Yes." she blushed. "Very early in the morning. I apologize if I woke you."
"You didn't. But, why didn't you come see me during your rounds?" he asked.
"I…I wasn't ready yet," She fidgeted stiffly. "I'm still trying to figure out how to act...normally..now that you're back."
Sasuke stared at her confused. What was that supposed to mean? Was she really acting differently than she would otherwise?
"When we were younger," she continued, "We were always near one another, but our relationship was...distant, at best. Even when we were teammates, we barely spoke of anything other than our missions. We were just getting closer when you left."
"I had my reasons," he countered.
"I know that now," she huffed. "But leaving the way you did...I…we went looking for you immediately, hoping that something, anything, could be done to bring you home. Do you have any idea how difficult that time was? The tolls..."
"Sakura," he whispered "I never intended..."
"I know! And you have done nothing but apologize since you returned. You've been so amenable these past few weeks, more so than anyone thought you would be. But you can't just expect me to move past all those years in the blink of an eye. It doesn't work that way!"
"You don't think I know that?! I am no better at moving on than anyone else! Or do you not remember?"
Sakura stared at him angrily, and he immediately regretted his outburst. Of course she remembered. It was the only other thing he used to talk about. Him and his problems.
"So what do you want, Sasuke?" she said as evenly as possible.
"I don't want us to forget our past or pretend like it never happened. But I would like us to be able to walk by one another in town without this…tension between us like it is now."
Shocked, Sakura's eyes shot straight to the floor. That was something she wanted too. What was the point of fighting for him to come home if they we going to push each other away as soon as he returned? She was just amazed he had been the one to say it.
Her face scrunched as she considered his proposal. "Is that all we are going to be, though? Two people living in Konoha who might occasionally see each other in town? Not former teammates, or allies...or friends?"
"Friends," he whispered back. He didn't know how to answer that. Were they ever really friends before?
Sasuke frantically looked around the room, attempting to find the right words. He caught a glance at the clock on the wall. It was 2:30 in the morning, and Sakura likely needed to wake up for work in the morning. That was his out. It was too late to start talking about this now.
"Perhaps this is something we should talk about another time."
Sakura took a ragged breath. That clearly wasn't the answer the wanted, but he left before she could argue.
He marched back to his apartment, barely registering the clash of lightning in the distance.
Were they even really friends before? The question echoed in his head.
They grew up together, spending more time together as the year passed, first as classmates, then as teammates. He knew she had feelings for him when they were kids, but it was one-sided. He thought her kind and loyal, but weak.
The longer they stayed on Team 7 together, the more he began to see her strength. She was great with chakra control, even then, which he now understood made her a prime candidate for her medical training.
When he left, she tried to follow. It was a naive offer, but he still appreciated the gesture. The further away from Konoha he travelled, the more he began to think of home. At first, he thought of the places he missed. The food. The people. Then it was just her.
He met other girls on his travels, but they were all silly to him. Maybe they would have grown on him if Sasuke put forth the effort, but that never happened. Sakura was already under his skin, and he couldn't bring himself to replace her.
When Sasuke entered his new apartment, he realized leaving like that was wrong. He'd spent months trying to come back to her, and now he was running away.
Sasuke knew it was late, but he felt compelled to make amends. Fortunately, he recently discovered that Sakura was a night owl. If she managed to sneak into his room at four this past morning, there was a good chance she might not be going to bed just yet.
Mind set, Sasuke walked back down the corridor to her apartment.
The storm had grown significantly in the last few minutes. Rain pelted the side of the building, creating a blanket of white noise, randomly offset briefly by flashes of lightning and thunder.
It was so bad outside, Sakura thought the knock at her door was just the wind. She went to check, expecting to see an empty threshold, but found one obsidian eye staring back at her through the looking glass.
She opened the door, slightly taken aback, and stood aside for him to come in. When the door was safely closed, he turned back to her.
"Friends…That's not the word I would have used to describe our relationship back then."
"I know. Me neither." Her eyes focused on the floor once more. "Teammates would probably be a better word."
"Probably."
"You were always very closed off," she smiled shyly.
"I was." He mused.
Sakura looked up and caught his eyes. "But you're not anymore?"
Sasuke raised his eyebrows, unsure what to say.
She reached out to him. Her fingertips landed lightly on the side of his face. His skin was cool and rough with stubble, but the fringes of his hair were as soft as she remembered.
"You never would have let me do this before."
Her hands moved up to the side of his head and stretched out the same way they had in his "dream" earlier that morning. His hand came up to hers; their fingers intertwined.
Sasuke leaned down, placing his forehead against hers, and relaxed under her touch. He kissed her lightly, and she closed what little space remained between them. The years they spent apart had been so long, he'd barely allowed himself to hope her feelings for him remained the same. Yet here they were.
He pulled back for a moment, looking for confirmation. She gazed back at him with so much longing, it made him quake. This was not the reason he came, but he could not deny he felt the same.
Sasuke scooped her up and carried her down the hall. Her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders, half supporting herself, half exploring the muscles on his back.
He found the bedroom and sat down on the edge of her bed, setting her down in his lap. His calloused fingers worked their way up and down her body, relishing the feel of her skin. He pulled at her clothes wordlessly, and she reciprocated in kind.
Her shirt came off. Then his. Then her pants. Then his.
Skin collided with skin in a frenzied rush. They tumbled over and collided again and again, continuing long after the storm outside faded into a soft rain.
They lay in silence for a long time afterwards, neither wanting to break the moment.
Sakura rolled on to her side and put her head on Sasuke's shoulder. She fell asleep, leaving Sasuke just enough room to reach over and run his fingers through his hair. It wasn't something he'd ever done before, but now he understood why Sakura couldn't stop doing it.
There were so many things they still needed to discuss. Their past, their present, their future. But lying here like this, with his fingers in her hair, he felt like everything was going to be alright. And for now, that was all Sasuke needed.