Change of Heart

Author's Note: I don't own Naruto. The characters are a little (or a lot) OOC and it's a bit AU-ish.

I awoke to the smell of my favorite soup….miso soup.

I rubbed my eyes and threw on my robe, wrapping the tie around my waist, and followed the wonderful scent down the stairs with a sleepy grin on my face.

As I descended the stairs, I could hear noises in the kitchen.

Footsteps that seemed to be going back and forth by the sounds and vibrations, utensils clanking against each other, and a shaker being shook.

I walked down the short distance of the hall to the wall on the right side that opened in the middle of the hall into the kitchen, where I peered inside.

In the kitchen stood Sasuke over a pot stirring the soup and taking a spoonful to taste it.

"Morning, Sakura," he told me, returning the spoon to the pot to stir it more, a small smile grazing his usual stoic face.

"I decided to make your favorite this morning. It's the least I could do since I was out late last night."

"Well…you did have me worried last night. But so long as you make it up to me."

I leaned over the counter, staring down into the pot of soup with hungry eyes and taking a long whiff of the delicious scent.

"Mmm….smells great. You always make it better than I do," I told him, slightly pouting.

He turned around, his lips curling into a smirk as he did, grabbing two bowls from a cupboard overhead and a pair of spoons to go along from a drawer below. He turned around again; stirring once more, until he said it was all ready.

"Great! I can't wait to eat it all up!" I said excitedly. He chuckled a little and smiled at me.

How I loved to see him smile.

He hardly ever so…it's nice to see once in a while.

"Do you need any help?" I offered.

He shook his head and told me to seat myself in the dining room. I did as I was told and walked into the dining room, seating myself in a chair. As soon as I did, he came out of the kitchen with both our bowls and walked over to me, setting my bowl in front of me and his portion in front of himself.

I didn't even wait for him to sit down before I started to dig in my own bowl.

He looked at me, smirking and shaking his head while bringing his spoon to his lips, taking a small sip of what was in his spoon.

I gave a shy smile before I continued to slurp it down.

"I see you must have been craving it." I slurped up the last of the soup, nodding my head. I glanced at the clock that hung on the wall.

It was 7:43a.m.

"Crap! I've got to start getting dressed for work. I can't be late again or Tsunade'll kill me!"

I just recently, and unfortunately, took up the habit of being like a bear in hibernation. And while it has its benefits, it also has its downfalls.

"Thanks for the soup! It was delicious!" I yelled, racing up the stairs to take a shower.

I was out of the shower in record time and I managed to get dressed in record time as well.

I just threw on my usual hospital outfit (which consisted of a teal-colored scrub) and decided to let my hair air-dry because I had no time to blow-dry my hair. Although, I did take a couple extra minutes to towel-dry my hair just so that I could get the excess water out, that way my hair wouldn't be dripping water at work.

I glanced at the alarm clock that sat on my nightstand.

8:00a.m it read with bright red lights.

I walked down the stairs and, noticing that he was no longer in the kitchen or dining room, searched for Sasuke.

My search didn't take long though, because I found him in the living room reading a book.

I smiled as I approached him. "I'm gonna be late coming home today…again. Tsunade has me busy with paperwork along with incoming patients," I said, becoming depressed the more I thought about sitting in my office, stuck with paperwork that seemed as though they were stacked to the ceiling.

He stood up, taking a few steps before he was directly in front of me, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me into his body. I wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my head against his chest.

"It seems as though we never get to see each other anymore," I said, sighing. He brought a hand under my chin, making me look up into his depthless orbs. We stood there, he, seeming to examine my face for something. Me, just looking up at him, wondering what it was he could be looking for.

"I know. I'm sorry," he said so softly, I barely heard it. I was going to reassure him, say that works been getting in the way, but he didn't give me a chance.

His lips were on mine with such want and need; I wondered if something was wrong.

But I didn't dwell on it.

I loved kissing him. The taste of him lingering in my mouth.

We both pulled away, slightly gasping for air.

"Oh yeah. I wanted to ask. Are you going on any missions or work today?"

"No, I'm not going on any missions the rest of this week, and yes, I do have work. In the evening though."

What did I just say. It seems as though we're never going to have time for each other.

I didn't want to let him go. I wanted to stay exactly like this. To be in his arms.

But as everything else, it had to come to an end.

I reluctantly pulled away, giving him a peck on the cheek. "I should get going now. I can't afford to be late again," I said, heading for the door.

I slipped on my boots, unlocking the door and taking one last look at him, waving a hand to him, putting on a fake smile. He waved back as I locked the door.

I sighed once the door was closed, walking down the steps.

At least I was able to see him this morning.

I was in my office, filing papers that were in stacks on my now cluttered desk.

I may have exaggerated that the piles of paperwork would be all the way to the ceiling, but if felt like I had to do that much. It took me practically an hour to get just one pile done and filed.

Maybe it's that I'm too slow or maybe it's something else. I really don't know. Nor do I have the time to dwell on the thought.

I began work on my next stack, when Ryo, my assistant, walked in.

"Hey, Sakura. I just stopped by to see if you wanted to grab some lunch with me," he asked, then noticing the piles and piles of paperwork on my desk, added, "Or maybe I should stay and help you?"

I gave a tired smile.

"Both ideas sound great, Ryo. How about we head out for lunch then you can come back with me and help me. But that's only if you're not tied up yourself."

"Oh no!" He said, waving around his hands. "I'm free any time you need me."

"All right, then. Let's get going." He walked over to the door, holding it open for me. I walked around my desk, smiling at him, saying "Thank you," as I walked out the door.

We went down to the cafeteria in the hospital to get our lunch. It was really too much to walk out and find a place to eat. Besides, it's much more convenient to be here in case there's any type of emergency.

Plus, Ryo and myself love eating food from the cafeteria here. The food is always so good.

"So, how's everything going with Sasuke and you?" Ryo asked while we slowly made our way to the cash register at the end of the line, picking up some food along the way.

"Oh, everything's fine, I guess." As soon as I said that, I could feel his eyes on me. I chanced it, and glanced up at him. One eyebrow was rose in question.

"You guess?"

"Well, it's just that he's been coming home later and later by the day," I said, returning my attention to the buffet of food in front of us, not wanting to see his reaction. I picked up a bowl of udon noodles, seeming to be in the mood for soup today.

"I don't even know what time he came home last night. I fell asleep but I do know it was later than 1:00a.m. And the night before that he came home around 12 in the morning."

I slumped as I sighed, making my way to Ryo who was already paying for his lunch. "I'm just afraid that they're going to have him working late a lot more often. We haven't really been able to do all the things we used to do."

I paid for my lunch and walked over to the side where Ryo was waiting for me.

I scanned the cafeteria seats, my eyes resting on a table near a window. "How about we sit by the window?" I suggested. He nodded his head and we made our way over to a table that had a clear view of outside.

"Well, maybe it's just that he's got the late shifts this week or something," Ryo said, trying to cheer me up.

"Yeah. Maybe you're right."

We took our seats by the window, Ryo across from me.

It was a really beautiful day. Too bad we hardly ever got to see it since we're always in the hospital, working non-stop.

We talked some more about Sasuke and myself, but I decided to change the subject, not wanting to talk about the matter any longer. It seemed to really depress me. And I don't need other people knowing something's wrong. Nor do I want to get others depressed.

"So how are things with you, Ryo?" I asked, my mouth half-filled with udon noodles.

"Um, everything's fine with me. I'm actually gonna get this weekend off. I haven't been able to get a weekend off since last month. Actually, now that I think about it," he said, tapping his spoon against his mouth and looking up, "I haven't gotten a day off since last month. So I guess I'm lucky to even get one weekend off."

I nodded my head.

"Same for me."

We finished up our lunch and I lead the way back to my office.

"Okay. We better get started," I said, looking at the piles of paperwork that were still sitting comfortably on my desk.

I made my way around my desk, seating myself into my big, oddly comfortable yet greatly appreciated, chair.

"I'd really like it if you could start on this stack," I said, pointing to the stack that was on my desk facing Ryo. "And as soon as you're done, just tell me and I'll tell you where and how to file them, okay?"

"Sure thing…boss lady," he teased, smirking. And I couldn't help but smile back.