A/N: Hello! Thank you everyone for your nice words, reviews, and favorites/follows!

I'd like to thank the guests' reviews as well, as I can't personally message you back. Please know that I still take in consideration every word. :)

Here's another long chapter! ~ Happy reading!


The first rays of sun touched the ground, lifting the morning dew in a thin layer of mist over the village. Although a new season had started, the lower temperatures of winter still lingered during the mornings in Konoha.

The sound of crunching ground filled the air, moving along with its creator towards the deserted street at the outskirts of the village. It was the same street that circled the lake, crossed the Academy, and snaked towards the village's main street, leading to the Hospital and Hokage Tower.

Haruno Sakura was feeling extremely content. She was well rested, she had had time to take care of herself, and she had made peace with her heart and its owner.

While she walked, her smile was bright and reached her eyes. That morning, Sakura had decided to take the long way to work, because more than ever, she was appreciating the little things.

And one thing that Sakura loved was observing the first rays of sunlight touching the grassland and trees around the village.

The way that the amber veil enmeshed through the leaves and branches, knitting a fascinating blanket of light and shadows on the ground took her breath away every time.

As she walked the length of the road just past sunrise – after four full days of rest – it was clear in her features that the break had done her some good.

The ease in her shoulders and her peaceful steps were only visible changes, while others were not so visible – and she was keeping them locked under seven keys. That included the time she spent with him.

If the pink nin was honest with herself – she was skeptical at first, as any nice gesture coming from the last Uchiha was a gift received once in a blue moon (at least, anything nice towards her). Blame her twelve-year-old insecurities, which tended to resurge in his presence.

In the end, Sakura had truly enjoyed his company and their time together. He had followed her around the village, and although she had only 3 items on her list (not that he knew that little piece of information), she was able to drag the day out as long as she could, visiting every little shop and stand on their way. Of course, she made sure she was not stretching her luck too far – or his patience.

And he might not have said so, but she was certain that Sasuke had enjoyed their time together as well.

After two long days of denial, half-hearted reflections, and a couple of wake-up calls (one literally delivered by her best friend), Sakura made a decision: No matter what this was, she wouldn't run away anymore.

She wasn't really sure what was happening between herself and Sasuke, but she was tired of being deluded, tired of evading and pretending.

Her heart be damned. It was still in pieces, and maybe he was the only one that could stick it back together. If this was not meant to be, he'd be the one doing the running this time.

With this new resolve, she trailed contently towards the Hospital, and she couldn't help but keep that pleasant and kind smile on her face, a giddiness growing in the pit of her stomach as she thought about everything and nothing all at once.


She can't say she didn't enjoy her time away, but Sakura dared to say she missed work more than usual this time. She missed the buzz of people coming and going, she missed talking to people and guiding the nurses around… she missed her kids.

Her kids. It was delusional and something she didn't say out loud, but she considered them hers. For the past five months, she was involved in their lives and she didn't know what she would do if she had to stop that.

Sakura was sure that part of this – in essence – was simply her maternal instincts, which were probably awoken by her hormones and all that jazz.

The medic nin stopped dead in her tracks.

On a whim, she contemplated if one day she would be a mother.

It was a thought that she usually avoided, as fantasies were not something she kept on her days any longer. If she was truthful, she had always known she wouldn't have children if it wasn't with the love of her life.Because if they couldn't be together, she'd undoubtedly die alone.

Pathetic – she could hear her Inner echoing the word inside her head.

That was another thing she had to work on, because there was only so much rejection and pain a heart could take until it gave out and gave up.

However, if that happened – if she became a mother one day – she wondered if it would be as good as the experiences she had at the Clinic.

Maybe she would never be one. A mom, a mother… a mama.

Even if that pained her, she came to terms with that reality long ago. And in a way, she was comforted by the fact that she had these amazing children to take care of every day. As long as they were cute little pies like that or as long as they needed her, she would be there.

With a dreamy gleam in her eyes, she resumed her walk, stepping inside of the Children's Clinic, a place she was spending more time than the Hospital these days.

Sakura greeted the receptionists and nurses on the way to her office, her apparent cheerfulness brought a pleasant smile to her co-workers.

A nurse presented the weekend report to the medic nin, as it was customary to review it on Mondays. Like every week day, she walked straight to her office, which was located in the back of the first floor, close to the garden entrance.

Skimming through the pages, Sakura turned to the right and continued through the long hallway. Her attention was solemnly on Saturday's complaints when she felt bells swinging at the back of her head – her ninja instincts telling her to move.

It happened quicker than she could process – to her own surprise.

She heard the sway of a string moving above her and the elastic sound of rubber stretching. When she looked up, poised in a stiffened and alert pose, a 'pop' sound rang in her ears as three balloons burst open above her.

The splash of water falling from the ceiling hit her hair and clothes, dampening them instantly. A high pitched screech broke free from the back of her throat to the open air.

A faint and distant snicker snapped her attention towards the window.

As she marched towards the sound, each step – firm and heated – poured crinkles on the linoleum floor. If she hadn't spotted him before reaching the ledge of the windowsill, the cracks would have probably spread to the walls.

There he was.

Hiding perfectly at the corner of two walls, dark hair slouched forward, with a stolen and tiny smirk adorning his lips.

Yuki.

But it was not the little boy's name that she hollered in the confines of the calm and silent clinic.

"UCHIHA SASUKE!"


It was like an exercise – of patient and endurance.

When he thought of his current predicament as training, it made it easier.

He could feel the intense gaze upon his back and he almost risked turning around to glare back, but he was better than that – or at least he learned from the last time he tried it.

He decided to look up instead. His eyes followed the creased path where the wallpapers met, at the corner of the two walls. The pattern was simple and now predictable after staring at it for so long.

Sighing, he nearly rested his forehead on the nook of the wall, but to be honest, he was dreading the possible outcome if he did just that.

Thus, he stared.

He stared at crinkles that covered the length of the walls, he stared at the annoying pattern of that ugly wallpaper, he stared at the countless wrinkles at its junctures.

The scowl on his face only deepened after every minute, he could feel his lips folding into a pout. Reluctantly, he swallowed it and pressed his lips into a firm thin line.

It was beyond boring at this point, and due to his sight advantage, he had memorized everything that was in front of him. It wasn't like he had a lot of space to analyze either, differently from his partner in crime.

The height difference was not as startling when they were both sitting. He looked beside him to confirm, and he found a pouting boy with his tiny arms crossed in front of him, as stubborn as the posture implied. The boy had a lot more to cover as he reached half of his current stature.

It wasn't his fault; really, he wasn't even there. It seemed that the boy by his side had pursued revenge on Sasuke's behalf, taking matters into his own little hands.

It didn't sit well with Yuki that Sakura had missed Sasuke's session the other day – without a word of explanation – leaving the dark-haired nin waiting. That had also caused a lot of confusion and shouting, which Yuki described as distressing for both Sasuke and himself.

Consequently, the boy had the great idea of pranking their sensei, teaching Sakura that 'you couldn't just go and disrespect Uchiha Sasuke'.

The clucking of a tongue resonated within the four walls, and the familiar sound made his head snap to that damn corner immediately – as it was instinct at that point.

He rolled his shoulders and straightened his back. He could hear his bones popping and it brought him a satisfying but momentary relief.

His behind though, it was flat after all this sitting. And for the first time in his life, he was glad for the padding advantage that he had inherited, as it was not aching (yet) as he'd expected.

The tick tock of the clock and the rustle of a pen moving back and forth, ruthless against the paper sheet, were the only sounds he could track. The occasional sighs released by the three people in the room were not frequent enough for a pattern.

He lost track of time when his mind decided to throw a curve ball his way, making him remember his day with the pink nin behind him.

He could say with confidence that they were finally friends – that what they had before was finally restored – and their bond was as strong as ever.

He couldn't compare that bond with the one he had with Naruto though. Not because he preferred the blond over her or anything like that. He couldn't compare them because it was just different – and Sasuke himself couldn't define it just yet.

It wasn't a sibling friendship – Oh Kami, no. He cared deeply for her and he was definitely protective of her, but he could never consider Sakura his little sister (or big sister, since she was older). Tch.

Sasuke knew that their connection was now easy and comfortable – pleasant, even. And he could admit that he had repressed many things that involved said connection. He could also admit that he was tired; tired of avoiding and tucking everything he felt away.

Maybe he should just let it go and stop wasting time; the time that he spent avoiding and then concealing every scrape of emotion deeply within his shadows.

Maybe he should take it easy and just learn from it; learn what these moments meant, learn what that hell he was feeling.

Tuning out the now annoying tick of the clock, the last Uchiha's mind drifted to that day – the day he asked if he could be included in Sakura's schedule.

He was not certain of why that came to his mind and why he blurted it out so quickly – but he noticed he felt an urge to go back to their routine – and if that was also going to save him from that crazy Yamanaka girl, good for him. Kill two birds with one stone.

He remembered how they strolled through the busy streets of Konoha, and Sakura had stopped to browse every shop and stand on the way, especially the ones with colorful fruits and vegetables.

At one point, when they hovered over a pile of ripe and perfectly round tomatoes, Sakura grabbed a crate and placed it in her bag, saying that she would cook him something for lunch. He pretended that the warm tug on his stomach wasn't caused by her consideration, but the prospect of a homemade meal containing his favourite food.

He held her groceries bags eagerly after that, and she thanked him with a bright and earnest smile that stayed with him the whole day.

The next items on her list were a new training tunic and a dress. The task itself was simple: wait while she tried the items on, then provide his sincere opinion on her new attire.

However, the turmoil caused every time she opened that damn thin curtain – presenting a different side of the blossom every time – was far from simple.

She had tried regular tunics first, similar to her current training uniform. However, by the third item, she had flung the curtain open abruptly, twirling in place, clad in a dress.

A too short and too tight dress.

After that, it was one after the other and he lost count of how many dresses he had seen, as he was too preoccupied with something else entirely.

It didn't help one bit that the thin orange curtain allowed him to see her silhouette and the shadow was sin itself; the dance of her curves while she removed her clothes tempted him and allured his mismatched eyes to follow each movement, burning every detail to his memory.

He vaguely remembered that he helped her choose a midnight blue one, which she said she might wear to their team celebration in the upcoming weeks.

On the way back, he had to watch her childish conduct, as Sakura squealed over dango. He bought her one, since it seemed the saccharine thing was like magic to her eyes – or was it because he secretly wanted to watch what reaction she would give him?

Then, she dared to eat the thing right in front of him! And that was, without a doubt, the hardest part of his day.

While he could conceal easily his emotions earlier, suppressing what she did to him in that damned clothes shop, the mental image that she was providing him now… was torture.

Pure agonizing torture.

Not because the sweet treat itself repulsed him, no. But because watching Sakura as she licked and lapped on the sugary treat, releasing delightful moans after every bite… was the end of him.

That day, Sasuke was nearly convinced he was going to die of an overload of mental images of Haruno Sakura, dressed in a tight dress, using her tongue skills for something else than the consummation of a sugary dessert.

Feeling as he was drifting to a place he shouldn't – a dangerous place that he couldn't visit, not right now at least – he shook his head, clearing his undisciplined mind.

Chancing an extra fifteen minutes of wall-staring, he half turned his head towards the desk behind him and decided to ask her anyway. "Can I leave now?"

A tired sigh escaped her lips. His shinobi hearing noted that she had dropped her pen, and was probably crossing her legs, and pushing the chair a bit far from her desk. The medic nin was possibly looking at the time now and contemplating if she should let him go already.

"Have you reflected on your actions, Sasuke?"

"Hn." He grunted and she sighed again.

"Yuki, you can go. Find Ino-sensei and tell her I sent you."

The boy didn't need to be told twice, he sprang from the floor, swiped his hands up and down his pants, and dashed outside, making sure to present a tiny bow of gratitude towards his sensei before that.

"And you, close the door. We need to talk."

He could barely mask the smirk after hearing her words. The tug in the corner of her lips told him that she was thinking of the same thing too. Was that what friends did? Internal jokes and mutual understanding without even opening your mouth?

"You might not know, but kids his age," she started, nodding to the corner where Yuki was sitting just a minute ago "they are like sponges. They just absorb everything they see and hear."

He moved closer after pushing the door closed, nodding in confirmation while burying his hand deep in his pocket.

"And you might not be completely aware of this or its extension, but Yuki looks up to you."

"Aa."

Sakura had paused abruptly, looking up at him and furrowing her brows. Whatever she saw, it wasn't pleasant for this conversation, as she pursed her lips and sent him a vicious glare. He could only imagine that he looked somehow smug after her last sentence.

"Please just try to help him. Emphasize that what he did was wrong." Sakura pleaded, the soft tone of her voice and that look on her face just confirming that she truly cared about this kid, the prank itself completely forgotten.

He didn't say anything, but he made sure she knew he considered every word, sending her a determined look of understanding. And trying to push them back to that easy place they were, he talked first this time: "I had forgotten how boring it was."

"What?"

Sasuke pointed to his time-out corner with a movement of his head, and noticing her still arched eyebrow, he exhaled soundly, preparing himself for conversation. "I was often instructed to reflect on my actions in a corner of the manor."

"What—you? Really?" Sakura crossed her arms, and leaned over her desk, ready for the story. She flashed him a mischievous smirk as if his misbehaviour as a kid was the juiciest gossip someone was telling her. "You, Uchiha Sasuke, used to be put in time-out… multiple times?"

Now she was just teasing him, pushing his buttons to see what else she could learn of this side of him, this side that talked freely about the past. So, he continued, because he trusted her; he trusted she would still be Sakura, no matter what he said.

"Yeah, mostly because I wanted to follow Itachi around, and when I didn't understand I couldn't go, I was rude with mother or I wouldn't eat…" he trailed off, shrugging lightly.

"Oh, wow." Sakura looked him up and down, pretending to assess the person in front of her. "I never took you for someone that needed discipline, Sasuke-kun."

He glared light heartedly, pursing his lips before he could say something stupid to this annoying woman.

"You're so damn tall!" She exclaimed while rolling her shoulders and pressing a hand to the side of her neck. "Could you—can you sit down please?"

He did as he was told, a half chuckle escaping his lips at her discomfort. It was ironic that she thought he was so tall, while he couldn't place when she had become so short.

"You know, I met your brother a few times," that got his attention, and he met her eyes, showing her his interest. "But we never really had time to talk, you know — and at the time, I kind of hated him because of what he did to you..."

She captured her bottom lip after saying that, the pressure imposed turned the plump flesh red, and even though it was distracting for him, he could also note that she was being careful to not put him under any discomfort while talking about his family.

"Hn. Understandable." He nodded a couple times, his gaze captured between her teeth and bottom lip too.

"But the times we talked; it was pleasant."

Sasuke thought this was the end of her tale, the tale of her encounters with the other Uchiha, but then she continued, a shy smile springing up before she said these next words.

"He even saved me once..."

At that, Sasuke stiffened in the chair, his sole hand clutched the armrest, and his knuckles were turning white from the tight pressure. Not because they were talking about his older brother –although it still kind of hurt to talk about him, Sasuke knew he had to. If not for her, then for himself; he had to take these constricted emotions out of his chest.

Noting that his nails were digging into the wood material of the chair, he stopped the instinctive action, taking a second to analyze what caused it.

He believed that the mention of his brother was not the reason of this spontaneous reaction, not this time, as he had already talked about Itachi several times with Naruto.

Maybe it was because there was this glint of admiration in her eyes when she mentioned it; that he saved her. Maybe because this was another part – another detail – of Sakura's life he had no knowledge of.

Or maybe he was jealous… because he wasn't the one that saved her.

The last Uchiha grunted in confirmation or disapproval, he didn't know.

"Did he?" He asked through clenched teeth; still sounding more Sasuke than not, and she didn't notice his distress.

"Yeah. Before the war, Naruto and I were kind of locked in Tobi's – or Madara's? – Limited Tsukuyomi* for a few days. I'm almost sure Naruto told you about it that other day we were at his place."

"Aa. I remember."

"I was kidnapped in the middle of the battle we had in the village, and Tobi chained me, I was the bait. Naruto couldn't save me – he had to fight the enemy. And just our luck, the Akatsuki showed up—"

After the mention of the infamous organization, Sasuke grunted a questioning sound, to which she replied by holding her finger up, making him wait until she could finish her story.

"In the end, it seemed that Tsunade-sama had sent the Akatsuki to help us. Itachi freed me and I was about to bolt and assist Naruto in the fight, but he held me back saying they weren't paid for that."

"Hn. Where did you go after?"

"Uh… Itachi picked me up and carried me away from the battle. Even though I was really mad, and I confess I thrashed in his hold at the beginning, he was a true gentleman throughout the whole trip back to Konoha."

The dark-haired nin knew most of that story already, thanks to the Usuratonkachi. But hearing Sakura tell her version, describing how his nii-san saved her, carried her in his arms, like a true hero…

Seeing how her eyes were vivid and telling him a full story by themselves; how her cheeks were tinged as pink as her hair; and how she had that small shy smile – still dainty and beautiful – the whole time…

It just made him clutch that armrest even tighter.

Sasuke couldn't possibly understand how one person – one single man – was able to make him envious and jealous his whole life – including now, when said man was dead.

He wasn't even sure what he was feeling to be honest. If he had to compare, it was almost the same feeling he felt when his brother accomplished something that was out of his reach. Something that Sasuke couldn't do, couldn't have.

Unconsciously, he frowned, lips rolling into a pout.

It was unfair. He was the one that could make her blush and smile prettily like that. He was the one that was there to protect her since day one—

Yeah, but you left her too… You weren't around to protect her…

Shut up!

The voice inside of his head was trying to pick up a fight by steering this newly formed storm inside of him.

He wouldn't admit it, not out loud, and maybe not even to himself, but Sasuke was having a hard time trying to understand how a dead man could work him up to the point he was a mess of irrational protectiveness and selfish acts. Ugh.

Maybe it was because you wanted to be the one holding her in your arms…

"You okay?"

He only nodded, not trusting his own voice and composure.

"You know, one day I'd like to know more about Itachi." Sakura said with enthusiasm and curiosity lacing her tone.

And Sasuke closed his eyes; as he refused to see yet another of his emotions covering her face because of other man.

Other, yes. Because when he thought about it, in these few minutes between her tale and his internal turmoil, he came to a simple conclusion: when it came to the pink nin sitting across him, it was not only Itachi that could stir this possessive and annoying feeling inside of him – any other person could.

"I'm sure he would make a nice big brother for me too." She completed, looking at him expectantly.

Right. Conversation, Sasuke.

"Big brother?" he met her eyes and asked, still a little perplexed.

"Yeah, like Naruto."

Naruto?

In his entire life, Sasuke had never thought that a comparison with the knucklehead would bring him such relief, as it seemed that Itachi would have been Sakura's big brother, like the idiot was to her now.

A discharging feeling washed over him; his hand that was about to turn the armrest into splints, loosened up its hold and his shoulders eased back on the chair. He smirked, fully back in his game – wait what game?

"Naruto is younger than you, Sakura."

"Details, Sasuke."

"I could tell you more about when I was little..." He offered, because while she said Itachi, the only way he would include his nii-san in their talk from now on, was if he was telling her something about himself and his brother happened to be part of it.

"Really?" She grinned, the happiness reaching her eyes and making him forget how to breathe. "That would be nice Sasuke-kun! Whenever you want, we could—"

It mesmerized him; how little he did and how much she gave back.

It was so easy to make her happy, to make her give him all these reactions, specially his smile. Because he knew there was that one – the one she gave him since they were little – that was his and only his.

"We could go get lunch and I'll tell you some stories."

He almost forgot to answer her, or was he only ignoring that altogether? She was so disarming.

He wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to do this; he could see the walls around him crackling and about to crumble with the strength of this woman. He was afraid that they could fall on him, he was afraid that he could fall-

"Ok! So, it's a dat—deal!"

Her bell like voice got his attention again. And Sasuke was surprised when she averted her eyes, worrying her lower lip between her teeth, until he replayed her words in his head.

She had asked him countless times before, and although it seemed she was past that phase, in order to save whatever little of her heart she had left, Sasuke found himself wanting her to complete that sentence.

Would he be opposed? Was it because it was nostalgic? Or was it because he needed confirmation that she still wanted him?

In a way, it was good that she prevented the subject, as it was already too challenging for the raven-haired nin to distinct rational thinking from desire these days.

In a world that once was dark, pink was a too bright of color.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

*Limited Tsukuyomi - References/scenes from Naruto – Road to Ninja movie.

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