The bell rang for lunch just as Sakura was shoving several textbooks into her locker. Genma had handed back essays from last week and then dismissed the class early; Sakura started to look over the corrections he'd made on hers.

"Hey."

Sakura almost dropped her essay on the ground.

Sasuke was leaning casually against the locker next to hers, looking carelessly handsome. He smirked at her.

She felt her stomach flip over. "That was kind of unnerving."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really."

Sakura just rolled her eyes and Sasuke reached over to grab her math textbook out of her hands, sliding his other arm around her. "So are you just here to pick up my books?" She asked him, smiling slightly. The feeling of his arm was sending pleasant tingles up her side.

"Tch." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Want to go to lunch?"

"Yeah, sure." She stuffed her essay away and slipped her arm around his waist with a smile.

Several freshman stared at them as they walked by, mouths slightly open.

"Oh my God." Sakura said once they were out of earshot. "Do we really warrant speechlessness?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Maybe." He smirked.

Sakura just shook her head. She'd never, never admit to Sasuke how much his smirk turned her on.

Then when they reached the cafeteria doors, Sakura glimpsed Mr. Sarutobi leaving down the hallway. "Shit." She said, suddenly remembering.

"What?" Sasuke asked, frowning.

"I haven't even started studying for the history test tomorrow. I don't know anything about the Iwa Rebellion."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "You want to study together? I'm taking it tomorrow, too."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Sakura asked skeptically. Being in the same room as Sasuke tended to distract her from everything else.

Judging from his expression that showed he understood what she was saying, it was the same for him with her. "It'll be fine." He said with a slight grin. "We both know how to focus."

That was for sure.

"Alright." Then Sakura had a spur-of-the-moment idea. "You could…come over to my house after school. If you want." Sakura said.

"That's okay?" Sasuke asked, frowning.

"Yeah, why not? My parents aren't home. It'll be quiet."

"Sounds good."


Sasuke followed Sakura back to her house in his car after school. She couldn't help feeling slightly nervous as they got closer. This seemed like a big thing, for some reason; Sasuke had never been inside her house.

Sakura shook it off. She was being ridiculous. She'd invited him after all, and she shouldn't have any doubts about it.

She got out and waited for him on the front porch.

"So…This is my house." Sakura said, waving a hand around.

"Aa." Sasuke's mouth twitched.

"Yeah. Okay" Sakura rolled her eyes at herself and opened the door.

Sasuke followed her in, looking around.

"Do you want something to drink?" Sakura asked, feeling slightly awkwardly.

"Sure. Just a glass of water?"

"Yeah, no problem." Sakura got two glasses.

For some reason Sasuke was frowning slightly.

"What is it?" Sakura asked him.

"Nothing." Sasuke said. He followed her into the kitchen.

"How long have your parents been gone?" Sasuke asked.

"Since Wednesday." Sakura said. Her mother had told Sakura she would be home by Friday at the latest, but Sakura had long since stopped being surprised at the last minute call that said her mother or father had to stay on a few more days.

"Do you…Want to see the rest of the house?" She asked him, slightly hesitant.

"Sure."

She showed him the rarely-used living room and the little dining room, and then went upstairs. Sasuke seemed even taller, in the house's small rooms. He ducked slightly to avoid hitting his head on the low doorway into the dining room, and followed her up the stairs. She opened the door to her bedroom. She hadn't really thought about letting him see it, it hadn't seemed like a big deal.

But it was extremely strange having Sasuke in her room, unlike having him in the rest of the house. And completely surreal.

Sakura watched him look around curiously at the relatively clean space. Her desk was a mess of books and papers, but Sakura hated when there was stuff all over the floor, so she never let the rest of the room get cluttered. She hadn't bothered to make her bed earlier, but it wasn't like Sasuke would care about that.

He looked at the objects on her dresser, and then motioned to a framed picture perched on the edge. "When was this?"

It was a framed photo of her and Ino. Sakura remembered it as if it was yesterday.

"Start of freshman year." It had been a few weeks before that when she'd taken a pair of scissors and hacked off her hair. The picture showed the short, choppy style and the dark circles that had lurked under her eyes for weeks, but Sakura had kept the photo as a reminder of who she was now. She had shed Sasuke along with her hair that day. Of course, she'd grown it back out later that year, but by then she'd gone too far forward to think that hair had any symbolic meaning.

"You cut your hair?"

"Yeah." Sakura shrugged. "I was pretty rocky back then." She was downplaying it so much, but didn't want to dwell on it. She sat down on her bed and watched him.

Sasuke just frowned and looked at her, and Sakura had a feeling he could see through her words. He opened his mouth like he was about to speak, and then closed it, eyes narrowed. Instead he came over and sat down next to her.

But suddenly the past was more open in a place this intimate, and she wanted to speak. "It wasn't just you." Sakura said, rolling her eyes because if she was going to talk about this, it was going to have to be deadpan.

"Your parents." Sasuke said quietly.

"Yeah, I guess." Sakura said. She didn't know how much he knew about her home life, but the two of them had always had an uncanny ability to see things.

The happiness bubble inside of her had shrunk slightly, even with Sasuke here. So many things were colliding, especially being in this room. Her schoolwork and home life had seemed so far away for the past week; it had just been her and Sasuke and the feelings between the two of them. But her bedroom was the center of reality, and she'd brought him right back into the middle of it.

"Sometimes it just feels like too much, you know?" She said quietly. "Everything always comes back."

Sasuke didn't say anything, but instead reached out for her hand.

"Maybe I'm just crazy." Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

"You're not crazy." Sasuke said with a slight smirk.

There was a pause. "I'm still naïve. Or at least, I was at the beginning of this year."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke frowned.

"I couldn't get over it. Who I was, who you were. I was always pushing it up between us."

"You're not naïve." Sasuke said, in a tone so firm that Sakura frowned. Then, "Not as much as I was."

"What do you mean?"

"I should've apologized." Sasuke said softly. He was staring down at her carpet.

"What?" Sakura frowned, confused.

"I should've apologized. For leaving you like that. I never apologized, and I came back and thought everything would be the same with everyone." He shook his head, a humorless smile twisting his lips.

"Naruto and the rest of them never gave up on you. That was still the same." Sakura said.

Sasuke shrugged and nodded.

"There was always a part of me that wanted you back, too." Sakura said slowly. She was admitting it to herself just as much as she was admitting it to him. She'd never acknowledged that little part of her that had been inside her mind until now.

Sasuke turned to her, eyebrows raised.

"Some things didn't change, I guess." Sakura said, even though she didn't want to admit it.

Then again…She'd come to terms with herself. She didn't want to incinerate her past anymore, not really. Because the past had brought them both into the present, and there was nowhere else Sakura wanted to be.

"No." Sasuke said. "Everything changed."

And Sakura realized that was what she could never seem to see. People could change, and of all people, she'd been the most reluctant to get it. She and Sasuke were still changing, even now; five months ago the thought of apologizing hadn't even crossed his mind. Five months ago the thought of accepting him, and even more importantly accepting herself (or her past self), hadn't crossed her mind.

Sakura lay down on her back, looking up at the ceiling.

Sasuke lay back next to her, weighing down the mattress. She would've thought being on the same bed would bring out some sort of reaction in her, but it just felt comforting to have him there. Sakura leaned her head on his shoulder, cheek on the soft material of his t-shirt, and Sasuke relaxed against her. They stayed like that for a few minutes, and Sakura didn't think she'd ever been more comfortable.

Sakura broke the moment, only because the room was starting to get dark around them. She also didn't know what the combination Sasuke and a dark room would do to her, but this was a different sort of atmosphere.

"We should probably…Do some work." She said.

"Hn." Sasuke smiled slightly.

The two of them went back down to the kitchen, which was pleasantly devoid of any real emotional triggers, and Sakura cleared a space at the table for them to sit.

They spent the next two hours reading and quizzing each other. Sasuke knew slightly more than she did, though Sakura was fast with memorization (it wasn't her favorite method, but this late before a test, it was her only option), which meant they could go back and forth extremely fast, throwing terms at each other. Sakura couldn't help having fun with it. The two of them had never talked about schoolwork, but Sakura realized it was relaxing in a way to study together. It was a different dynamic, but they each understood each other completely.


It was dark by the time Sakura shut her book and yawned. Sasuke closed his own and stretched his arms, then looked at his phone. "I have to go. Told Kakashi I'd be home by six. He's leaving for Taki tonight. Weeklong investigation."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, no problem."

Sasuke shoved his books into his backpack. "That was good." He smirked. "You're fast."

"Yeah, well, thanks for the help." Sakura said, organizing her notes.

"You're better than I am at this stuff." Sasuke said, slightly grudgingly.

"Wait, you're actually admitting that?" Sakura raised her eyebrows and then smiled. For some reason she was finding it easier and easier to tease him.

Sasuke frowned and then just rolled his eyes.

"But thanks. For everything, today." Sakura said seriously.

He smiled slightly. "Sure."

Sakura just shook her head.

She walked him to the door and their lips brushed briefly before Sasuke opened the door. He looked slightly regretful. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said.

"Yeah. See you."

She watched him drive away and smiled to herself.