The Little Things

Sakura had been surprised when it happened for the first time, stunned when it happened the second time, and completely bewildered when it happened a third time.

And of course, it all started with a certain anti-social Uchiha.

They'd all just come back from a mission the first time it had happened. They were sitting at Ichiraku's like usual, getting ready to finally have their first warm meal in over a week.

When he not only remembered her order but paid for her meal as well, she was so stunned all she could stutter out was a shocked 'thank you'.

A week passed before she got back into her normal routine. She'd get up early to train, and then after cleaning up and grabbing a bite to eat she'd run over to the hospital where she'd spend a majority of the rest of the day. Some nights she'd get out of there at a reasonable time, but on most nights she wouldn't find herself walking out of the doors of the hospital until well after midnight.

When she spotted him, standing outside the entrance of the hospital, she paused for a second, almost fearing that he needed medical treatment. Instead, he nodded toward her, gesturing for her to follow him.

"Come on," he had said, nonchalantly, "it's late."

She followed him, still confused as to what he was doing. It wasn't until she realized he was walking her home when her throat suddenly got tight.

"You don't have to—" she stuttered, letting out a nervous laugh, "I can get home just fine—"

"It's late," he repeated once more, as if that explained his actions. "You've been working all day."

She walked alongside him, almost silently for the rest of the walk. The other day Kakashi had scolded her for working too hard at the hospital, telling her that it wasn't wise. She would admit that she did find herself a bit chakra depleted after each night, leaving her vulnerable as she walked home each night, but she never thought much of it.

Sakura hadn't realized that Sasuke had been paying attention.

Instead of offering only a 'thank you' to him, she managed to muster up a smile too. And as she closed the door behind her, she willed her heart to slow down, still smiling at his spontaneous action.

On a particularly sunny afternoon, Sakura found herself walking through the bustling streets of the village with her friends, laughing and joking around. It was one of those insanely rare days where everyone's schedules synced up and they all had a day off at the same time.

Soon enough she found herself with her face almost pressed against the window of a certain shop, admiring the pale yellow dress on display.

"It's so pretty," Ino cooed next to her. "And it's so… expensive."

Sakura frowned as her eyes found the price tag at the same time Ino's did.

"What a shame," she mumbled before turning and rejoining the rest of the group.

The following day she had just gotten home after a long day at the hospital; her feet hurt, her back ached, and she was simply too exhausted to even pay attention to her surroundings. So when she almost ran head-on into Sasuke, she jumped. She would've stumbled backwards if he hadn't reached out and steadied her.

"Oh," she said, startled. "Th-thank you."

He nodded once before releasing his hold on her arm and stepping backward.

Sakura stared at him for a long moment wondering why he was here… outside of her apartment… at almost midnight…

"Here."

She was stunned when he held something out to her, looking away as he did so. She gave him a confused look before taking the bag into her hands and peering inside of it. Immediately recognizing its contents she let out a gasp, closing the bag quickly and thrusting it back into his hands.

"Sasuke I—I can't accept this!"

He pushed it back toward her, taking another step back as he did, "It's a gift."

"But it's so expensive!" she exclaimed in disbelief, referring to the dress inside. "You didn't need to, honestly."

"I wanted to… do something nice."

If it hadn't been so dark out Sakura would've sworn he saw his face redden slightly as he kept his eyes averted.

He was surprising her more and more as the days went by. Little gestures that not only shocked her but flattered her as well, making her thoughts muddled and words jumbled.

So as she looked inside the bag once more and closed it, she lifted her eyes to meet his and smiled.

It was flattering to know that he cared about her wellbeing, but to know that he actually paid attention to her made her heart soar.

And before she could tell herself not to, she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Letting out a laugh, she held the embrace for a long moment before whispering, "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

When she felt him return the embrace, she swore she'd never been happier.