I do not own Naruto.

I hope you can enjoy the story in spite of the mistakes since English isn't my first language. Have fun reading!

Naruto was staring at him intently, waiting for his next move. Perched up in on a tree branch, sharingan activated, the dark-haired shinobi was waiting too. He knew he was faster than the dobe and would most likely be able to avoid any direct attack coming from him. Yet, Naruto had a range of attacks and skills that even he had a hard time keeping track of. He wanted the idiot to come at him, charge him and show him his strategy. He had stopped underestimating his teammate a long time ago. Actually, he never really underestimated him, he was just too absorbed with himself and his demons. Always had been…

Naruto disappeared in a blur… or at least tried to. His sharingan did not miss a thing. Behind him. He spiraled around, lowered his upper half to avoid a well-placed kick and then jumped in mid-air to hit back… only to see Naruto poof and vanish. A clone. One down at least. Sasuke was getting frustrated. He wanted to deal with the real opponent instead of playing around with Naruto's mind game.

"Naruto!" Just come out already!

A chuckle was his only answer. Sasuke felt his anger bubble inside him, something he was used to but that had been less frequent since he had gradually settled back in Konoha years ago… only to have it come back more and more often in recent times. His friend felt his dark aura grow and came out of his hiding spot looking straight at him in hopes to catch his opponent's gaze.

A spinning sharingan was what he found.

"We need to talk," said Naruto in a neutral tone.

"We don't."

Sasuke jumped down and turned his back on his friend, not sparing him a second glance as he started to walk out of the training grounds. Naruto followed him, a few steps behind. They walked like this for a few minutes, Sasuke sulking in the front and Naruto watching his back, hoping for an opening to talk to him. They arrived at the red wooden bridge that linked the training grounds to the rest of the city. Sasuke stopped in front of it and stared at the river flowing down, still not acknowledging him.

"You need to talk to her."

Sasuke closed his eyes. Sakura. Of course, he should. He knew that he should. Only he did not know what to tell her or rather how to tell her. He was anxious just at the prospect of being near or with her. She was too much and he needed space. A clear head. That is what he needed. Sakura was… troubling everything.

"Hn."

"Sasuke…"

"Later."

Naruto sighed. Sasuke increased his pace to distance the dobe, hands in his pockets. He knew his teammate would leave the matter be… for now at the very least. Not knowing what to do and whom to vent his frustration on, he took the direction of his flat. He did not once turn around to see if the dobe was following him, but he figured Naruto was smart enough to read his moods and respect them. The blond idiot had become much more mature he had to admit. Even though his idiocy did not go away… that would have been too much to ask for. Yet it was better that way. It was the way they were, how their dynamic was supposed to be. It was who they were supposed to be. Five years after his return, at now twenty-two years old, he felt like he had found that dynamic again within his team, within his life. Well, most of that dynamic. One point remained a wild card in this. Sakura. Or rather him and Sakura.

When he first came back, she healed him and supported him just like the rest of his team did. They wanted him to feel loved, to feel welcomed. Even though her attitude was nothing like when they were younger, she was there, somehow, somewhere. She was colder and more distant, but he knew his return meant something to her too and even though he could feel the bubbling anger and sometimes fear that she emitted in spite of her best efforts to put on a poker face, he felt like things would settle back into place. Should settle back into place. Like it somehow did with Naruto and Kakashi. Only it didn't.

After a few months, once his probation and punishment were over, she grew even more distant. She stopped training with them on a regular basis. She stopped having ramen at Ichiraku with them. She just stopped being a part of his daily life. Sure, he knew she was one of the top medics at the Hospital, which took most of her time, but her absence still didn't settle well with him. A year after his return, he joined ANBU with Kakashi as a captain. It had felt nostalgic to work with the man again, and Sasuke had sometimes felt a sense of longing for what could have been had he not left. Kakashi, like Naruto gave him the impression he belonged somewhere, that he belonged with them. He had always had a profound sense of respect for the man, even though Kakashi had not been the teacher and father figure he knew he aimed at being for them.

His ANBU career had rocketed quite quickly thanks to Kakashi's leading and appraisal. One year after joining ANBU under the supervision of his old Genin teacher, he himself became a Captain. Naruto had briefly joined the elite squad at that point, only to leave a few months later due to the Hokage requesting he should slowly start to take things over. ANBU gave him his own territory, gave him the challenge and prestige he knew he had always craved and still craved. It gave him a purpose.

The street lights suddenly lit up. He turned left, engaged in a small back street and climbed up the stairs. When taking out his key to open his door, he noticed his ANBU partner leaning against the balcony wall, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Uchiha."

"Hanare."

He unlocked the door and stepped in, hearing her following his trail and locking the door behind him. He put the keys on the kitchen table, took off his shoes and went to his room, not sparing her a glance. They both knew what she was doing here. He was taking off his sweaty shirt when he heard light footsteps echoing on the carpet. She sighed, came closer and pulled her arms around his waist, pressing her armored front against his bare back. He could feel the tension rising up, her warm breath tickling his spine. She squeezed him a little tighter and he could not help a chuckle from coming out.

"I need you," was all she said.

He turned around and put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her slightly away from him, all the time gazing in her brown orbs that looked full of lust. She bit her lower lip and smiled at him.

She was walking home, pacing down the bright-lit streets of Konoha. Heading west of the village, she marched through the Fall Festival with its colored lanterns and dancing crowds. The music beat in a steady rhythm accompanying her tired steps. She had just come back from a diplomatic mission to Suna with Shikamaru and Ino. The unending meetings had been tiring and useless for the most parts since internal clan battles had hindered any decision-making process at the village-level. Despite all his good intentions, Gaara had yet to rule his petulant lords in a firmer way. Much like Naruto will have to do in the years to come, for if left to themselves, clans were bound to let conflicts rise again one way or another.

The scent of street vendors assaulted her nostrils, but she felt too exhausted to queue and pick something up. She just hoped she had something left in her fridge, otherwise… Otherwise she could still wait until tomorrow. One skipped-meal wasn't going to kill her. She turned right at the end of the large avenue and headed down the gradually emptying alley. Drunk people swung dangerously around her, some singing, some dancing ungracefully, some kissing, most laughing. A small smile made its way to her lips at their antics, even though a weight appeared on her chest at the sight of the couples holding hands and kissing. That was always a painful sight. One she couldn't help but feel bitter about.

A few minutes later, her steps led her to the dusty road along the canal and she welcomed the sudden quietness and the freshness of the night breeze. The sound of the slow current of the water washed over her nerves like a soothing mantra, and she felt some of the tension leave her body. Looking ahead, she saw a dark figure walking toward her, heading for the other end of the path. As they drew closer, she could make out the messy and all-too-easily-recognizable hairstyle of its holder, the well-balanced steps that carried it, and the air of dangerousness that oozed from it. Sasuke.

He had taken notice of her too, she noticed.

"Sakura."

His voice always did something to her. Her body didn't always react to it in the same way. But it always reacted to it. Always.

"Hi." She hoped her tone sounded even and uninterested for she felt no inclination to carry a conversation with the user of that velvet voice. She saw dark eyes trying to get a hold of her own, but she kept hers moving, toward the canal, down his feet, up the sky, along his torso… Taking a slow measured breath, she took a step forward, hoping her intent was clear and he would let her be. He didn't.

"It's been a while."

"Has it?"

Since when did he pay attention to her absence in his life, to the time they didn't see each other. That's all they ever did. Not seeing each other. It was hardly worth mentioning anymore. Of course he didn't pick up on her jab. Instead he settled for a one word question.

"Mission?"

"Hai."

He probably expected her to ask about him. But the dirtied ANBU uniform, the traces of blood on his upper arms and the stench of sweat, death and fear were enough indications about his latest activities. So she took another step.

"Where to?"

"Classified."

She heard his snort. Distinctly. Throwing him a sharp look, brows furrowed and venom ready to lash out, she held his gaze daring him to go ahead and dig his own grave. He didn't budge and let his dark irises calmly rest on her viridian ones.

"You know there is no classified between us, Sakura. Naruto tells me everything."

Of course their stupid blond teammate would tell him everything. It was a good thing Sasuke was a naturally quiet person, otherwise the spies of other villages would be able to throw a coup against Konoha in no time. Shaking her head to disrupt the disturbing scenario, she broke their eye contact and took another step, this time letting her sandal hit the ground with an extra impulse, hoping he would get the hint. He didn't talk this time. He followed her.

"You live the other way," she threw at him, her voice not as angry as she had hoped.

"Ah."

"So… go the other way."

"I'm walking you home."

"Hmpf," she scoffed. She almost wanted to laugh. Almost.

"Since when do you walk me home?!" There. Now the anger was there.

He didn't grace her with an answer. But the sound of his almost inaudible footsteps was still here, as well as his masculine aura fucking with her senses. Unsure of how to handle him, she just quickened her pace and made sure the angry beating of her heels against the floor would unsettle him. But who was she kidding… this was Sasuke. Her erratic heart and exhausted body made for a bad combination, and soon she felt her head go dizzy. They were getting closer to her apartment block, and as she got sight of her building, she allowed herself a minute of rest. Holding her hand against a wall, she let herself lean against the hard material and rested her heated cheek against the cold surface. The footsteps behind her stopped, but he was too close, way too close. So close that she could feel the heat radiating off his frame, their bodies almost touching. Standing behind her back, she heard his slow steady breathing, a sharp contrast to her own.

"Sakura." Velvet voice. "We need to talk."

"No. We don't," she sighed, closing her eyes, trying to mentally draw more of that refreshing cold sensation from the wall under her skin.

"You can't keep running away you know."

"I'm not running away."

"You are."