Sakura raced up the stairs to Ino's office, practically out of breath by the time she reached it. She was left panting in the doorway with a somewhat confused blonde looking at her from her chair.

"Sakura? You look like you just ran a mile. Who lit a fire under your ass?" Ino asked in confusion.

"You did! Well—okay, no, Tenten kind of did, inadvertently. I just remembered, this weekend was the weekend we were supposed to go to the lake house, remember?" Sakura watched as realization dawned on Ino's face as well; Sakura wasn't the only one who had forgotten about it.

"Oh my god. I forgot too. Damn it! And I asked tall, cute, and mysterious out on a dinner date this weekend, too, and then I have to prepare for that big case on Monday... Oh, no. There's no way I can go out this weekend." Sakura understood the need. Boys took precedence for the two of them; they were both at the age where they needed to find someone to take that next step. It had been a mutual agreement they'd had for years now.

"You mean the one who insulted me earlier?" Sakura asked dryly. "Tall, annoying, and jerkass is more how I'd put it. But, you know, you do you, Ino. Anyway... hey, maybe there's a way..." And then it dawned on both girls, at the same time.

"Sakura, do it," Ino said.

"No, that's—I don't know if he would."

"Do it."

"Ino—"

"Do. It. You. Little. Chicken. Shit. Cherry Blossom." By her tone, Ino was dead serious and wasn't about to back down.

"Okay! I'll ask him." Sheesh, she was pushy.

"Oh! It's going to be so romantic. And then we can have a girls' night next week, and we can totally gush about what happened. Besides, you still owe me girl talk about what Sasuke was up to when acting all weird. You said things went amazing, but you never told me the details."

"Next week," Sakura promised, putting her hands together. "One hundred percent. Promise. We will have a girls' night with popcorn and bad movies, and we can gush all about it. Promise. Cross my heart." She drew an X on her chest with a finger.

"Go! Go ask him! Go have fun! Bring protection!" Ino called.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, you lech," Sakura called back over her shoulder, followed by a chorus of laughter from Ino.

———————————————

Sasuke made his way down to Sakura's office, using his key to unlock it. He was still stunned and surprised by what she'd done; they'd agreed to keep things professional for the most part, though it wasn't exactly... a verbal agreement. Neither of them wanted to try and explain what was going on. Sasuke knew that Ino was well aware of what was going on, but he also knew that she wouldn't dare speak a word of it for Sakura's sake.

He rubbed his cheek where she'd kissed him, his hand lingering on the spot. He'd enjoyed it more than he wanted to admit to anyone. Hell, he enjoyed her more than he had anything in his life so far. How could he have been such a fool? To have given up the opportunity for something like this?

Well... in his defence, he hadn't had anyone that had clicked as she had. There were a few girls from his past, but most of them had just hung on his good looks or wanted a wounded soul. He was the resident bad-boy with the scars as a kid, and after graduation, he'd done his best to avoid most groups. Naruto was the only person he'd kept in contact with from his old life, and even they'd had their differences as kids. They still did, even today.

Sakura was different, somehow. He couldn't put his finger on it, but she was. Something about her intrigued him, attracted him, made him forget what he'd sworn to do. He was just enamoured with her whenever she was around.

Grabbing her jacket and bag, he locked the door behind him, made sure he had the files he needed and made his way to the parkade. He reached the door at the same time as Sakura did, seeing her troubled expression. No... not troubled. More like... nervous.

He'd let it slide, for now, giving her some time to build up the courage for whatever it was that was bothering her. He silently handed her jacket and bag over, led her to the car, opened the passenger door for her, then got in the driver's side and started it up.

Sakura was incredibly nervous about asking him. She wasn't sure if he was the kind of person that was into vacations. He'd never seemed like the type. Rubbing her arm as she sat in the passenger seat, she took a few deep breaths before speaking up, doing her best to keep her tone level.

"So, um, about that girls weekend thing I was talking about," she began awkwardly. "It's kind of... not happening." Sasuke gave her a quizzical look, and she chewed her lip nervously. "I-I mean—Ino's kind of busy this weekend so that we won't be going, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to go still, so... I was wondering if maybe you and I could go..? We'd have the place to ourselves; it's quiet and secluded, no one there to bother us, just... quiet. Relaxing. That kind of thing." The more she spoke, the redder her cheeks turned.

Sasuke debated for a moment. A weekend away, with just the two of them? He couldn't remember a time at all that he'd gone on any sort of vacation. He never really had anyone to go with. Pondering as he drove, he thought about what it could mean. Naruto had always told him he needed to let loose a little. Why not try now?

"Sure. When do you want to leave? If it's not too far, we could leave tomorrow when we're done at the office." He assumed it wouldn't be far, no more than a couple of hours, which meant they could arrive just after dinner. It would be enough time to set up and spend time together and left them more time to enjoy if they arrived that evening.

Sakura was deeply surprised by his decision. She'd expected him to refuse and claim he had work to do... though she was sure he would end up bringing some of the files with them to review anyway. Dragging Sasuke away from his work was a difficult task. Some rest and relaxation would be good for both of them. It would allow them to look at the cases they were working on with a refreshed perspective and perhaps find additional details or leads that they could follow. Sakura had a feeling it was going to be significantly imperative in the newest case they were handling.

"Uh, yeah, it's about two and a half hours out. I could make some snacks and sandwiches, and we could have those on the drive, and we'd be good for dinner." Sasuke could see how her whole face lit up the moment he agreed; he loved seeing that expression on her face.

"Sounds good to me. I'll leave most of the preparation to you, then. I'll get some things packed and have it ready for tomorrow." He was looking forward to the weekend more than he'd expected. Then again, it could be because it meant he'd be able to spend more time with Sakura in a different environment. He'd grown used to her presence. He couldn't imagine being without it.

"Okay. I'll get everything ready tonight, and we'll be good to go!" She giggled energetically, feeling elated that he'd agreed. Once they made it home, she quickly worked, rushing upstairs and grabbing the laundry to throw it in. She even took the time to grab some of his, moving at a rapid pace around the place as she prepared. He opted to sit in the living room after his shower, reading through some of the files absently while she was preparing their sandwiches and snacks for tomorrow.

As he was reading, he heard something coming from the kitchen. Curious, he made his way toward it quietly, peering around the corner to see her. She had her hair tied up in a small ponytail, her white apron with the cherry blossom design tied tightly on as she worked. She was humming a soft tune, the faintest smile on her face whenever he caught a glimpse of her from the side.

She was... beautiful. No, not just beautiful; it reminded him of an old memory, one he knew he'd forgotten to trauma. He could remember his mother always standing in the kitchen like that; he'd used to tease his father all the time, calling him a glutton for spending so much time in the kitchen. He always claimed the man was just there to get a taste of the food. Watching Sakura, he finally understood why his father spent so much time in the kitchen. It had nothing to do with sneaking extra food. Nothing in the slightest.

"Hmm? Did you need something?" Sakura asked, having noticed he'd appeared in the kitchen. It was then that he realized he'd been staring.

"No, nothing. Just wanted to check and see how it was coming along. I'm going to make case notes for the next little while." An easy way to back out of the embarrassing part of that conversation. He was quick to disappear back into the living room, leaving Sakura tilting her head in confusion. She hadn't realized he'd been watching her for as long as he was. With the sandwiches packed along with their lunches for tomorrow, Sakura moved to the laundry, moving what was in the dryer to a basket and the wash into the dryer, starting it up and carrying the basket to the living room. She took up a seat beside the detective on the couch and folded the clothing piece by piece. Most of it was hers, but there were a few articles that were his, too.

"Thanks," he said absently, only glancing up from his files briefly. "I'm sorry if it seems like I don't do many of the chores around here. I don't mean to."

"Hmm? Oh, no, it's fine. I really don't mind. I'm used to doing most of them, and honestly, I like it. Especially cooking. I've always liked it." She set aside a pile she'd finished, moving on to make a second one. "It's always more... rewarding when you have someone else to cook for."

"I see," he remarked softly. "Well, if you ever feel like you need help... just ask. I don't mind. And I appreciate the help you do." If it meant less for him to do, he wasn't going to complain. He wasn't fond of chores like laundry, and he hated cooking; it felt like too much of a chore to him.

"Of course. I will." She flashed him a smile and finished the last of the laundry in silence, piling it back in the basket. "I'll leave this stuff in the basket so you can pick from it to pack for the weekend."

"Sure. Thanks." He closed the folder he was working on and moved to another one, scribbling a few things down on small sticky notes that he had in the file. She could see the concentration in his gaze as he worked; it was admirable, the way he pored over whatever he was working on.

"I'm going to shower and get some rest. I'll pack in the morning. Don't stay up too late, okay?" She didn't want him to be too tired tomorrow, especially if they were driving.

"Yeah. I'll be up in a little bit, don't worry," he replied. He had a few more files to get through, and that would be it for today. He'd make sure to pack a few extras that he could work on over the weekend. Once he was finished, he made his way up to the bed, falling asleep quickly next to Sakura, who was already sound asleep.