He could count on one hand how many times he'd seen Sakura cry since fate brought them to be on the same team. Which says a lot, considering the fact that Sakura is widely known as an emotional being. He guessed that maybe she is not keen on showing vulnerability to just about anyone, and to be frank, they weren't always in good terms with one another.

He knew something was still wrong when he went to pick the girls up. Even though Ino did an amazing job on the pinkette's make-up, he could still see her eyelids were a bit puffy. But as soon as he was spotted coming through the living room door alongside his girlfriend, Sai saw the change in her physiognomy. Her rosy lips were carrying the same fake smile he'd seen so many times these past two years.

Being at Naruto and Hinata's reception, his coal eyes couldn't stop but study his former teammate from afar. She seemed better now, surrounded by all of her loved ones. She radiated a bit more, her smile now real and sincere. However, he couldn't get last night's events out of his head.

It was a known fact that Sai could hold his liquor. Maybe it was because of his rigorous training from his prior Root days, but nobody knew for sure. Naruto's bachelor party had been a major success. Everyone was wasted, props to Kiba for suggesting the drinking games and bringing four bottles of mysterious neon green liquor to the table. It was really entertaining for Sai to see the groom fall off his stool like a dozen times, every time yelling 'Dammit, dattebayo!' before hitting the hard wood floor. The only thing that kind of pissed him off was that he was the only one still pretty much sober.

'I could go check on her.'

Since it was getting pretty late, he got up from the table and waved goodbye to the boys, receiving a loud wave of 'boo-s' as a response. Biting back a chuckle, he shook his head as he exited the pub and began walking towards the club Ino was at. The air was pretty chilly for the end of March so Sai found himself placing his icy hands in his pockets in an attempt to warm them up.

It took him a whole half an hour to reach the club. Passing the bouncers, he made his way through the crowd towards the dance floor. The air was so stuffy and hot, he felt the need to take off his coat, a light shade of pink coloring his otherwise milky white cheeks. After a couple of minutes of searching for Ino, he finally heard her enthusiastic shouts coming from the left side of the dance floor, near the bar. He smiled softly, knowing that in a couple of seconds he will finally see his beautiful girlfriend. His chest started vibrating harder to the rhythm of the song as he got closer to one of the speakers. He could swear those vibrations were caused by his frantically beating heart and not the loud music. Looking around for the blonde, Sai came across a head of pink hair running past him, heading to what seemed to be the emergency exit. He caught a glimpse of her eyes before she disappeared. The onyx eyed man narrowed his eyes as he jerked his head towards her. After years of studying his ex-teammate's body language, he quickly came to the conclusion that something bad definitely happened. He murmured a soft 'sorry, beautiful' as he fully turned around and ran after Sakura.

Once outside, he stopped in his tracks. Sai could hear her soft whimpers coming from behind the pile of cardboard boxes.

"Sakura?"

He found her sitting on the ground, her back pressed hard against the brick wall as she hugged her knees, her face buried between her arms. At the sound of Sai's voice, she squeezed her knees even harder. "Just go away" the pinkette managed to say between sobs, her head never leaving the safe space created by those strong arms. Her ex-teammate sighed as he crouched in front of her.

"Oi, Sai!"

Waking up from his reverie, the dark haired man blinked a couple of times before turning his body to face the blonde beside him. "Yes?"

"When did they hook up?"

Gazing into her big baby blue eyes, a smile started to creep onto his thin lips before asking "Who are you talking about?"

"Shikamaru and Temari." Ino blinked a couple of times, slightly confused. "Did you know they were like that?"

"Mhm" Sai took Ino's hand in his and held on tightly as he closed his eyes. Feeling her warm skin against his cold one made his heart flutter. "Everybody is probably thinking the same about us, anyway."

Seeing her blush was oddly satisfying to him. The way she quickly averted her eyes from his made him think that she started feeling shy, which was not a first with Ino. His smile only grew bigger as he felt her squeeze his hand, signaling him to stop making her look like a silly little girl head over heels in love in public. He squeezed back, letting her know that he understood.

Watching her look over her shoulder at her best friend as she clicked her tongue, Sai sighed. He knew that Ino was worried for her. He didn't need the blonde to tell him, he could easily read it on her face.

"Just please leave me alone, Sai…" Sakura begged as she lifted her head, her emerald pools glistening with fresh tears ready to be spilled over. "I just- I can't, I c-"she started breaking down once more, her breathing becoming more labored by the second as she started hyperventilating. Her cries were so loud, Sai could feel a pair of eyes watching them from the window above them. He cursed. Slowly, Sai wrapped his arms around her and helped her up before thinking of his next move. He tried to remember what he read in a book Ino gifted him a couple of months ago about human emotions, but was interrupted when he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrapping around his neck and something wet dripping on his white shirt. He froze, his eyes as wide as they could get.

.

.

Without thinking, Sai started caressing her pink locks, trying to comfort his friend. He didn't know if speaking up would make the whole situation better or worse, so he ultimately decided to remain silent.

"I miss him so fucking much" he heard her muffled sobs coming from his chest. "It's not fair.."

So it was about Sasuke. Sai closed his eyes before exhaling. He felt the grip on his neck getting tighter.

"Seeing everybody getting their happy ending while I am here…still alone, waiting for a man who might not even come back for me." She started getting more chocked up. "I am happy for all of you, I truly am, but man it sucks sometimes!" Her body began trembling and Sai couldn't tell if it was because of the cold surrounding them or because of her crying. He laid his head on top of hers as he continued caressing her. He inhaled deeply, the smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke inundating his nostrils. Looking closer at what she was wearing, he noticed the right sleeve of her black top was torn off and hanging loosely around her forearm. His dark eyes narrowed. Getting her arms untangled from his form and putting some space between them, he looked at her face. Her make-up was smudged all over her eyes and cheeks. "What happened inside?"

Sakura lowered her head, embarrassed. She took a big breath of air, trying hard to regain her normal breathing pattern. "There w-was this guy. Apparently he knew me from somewhere. He wanted to kiss me, but I backed up." The pinkette took off her torn sleeve and wiped her tears away from her face before blowing her nose with it. "He got angry and grabbed my arm, stared calling me names. Bitch, prude… Uchiha's whore." There was a moment of silence before she spoke up again. "When he started dragging Sasuke-kun's name through the dirt, I just snapped. I think I broke his nose" the kunoichi chucked lightly as she threw the sleeve away, stumbling a little.

Sai smiled as he put his left arm around her shoulders and brought her a little closer. Even in this intoxicated state, being frustrated and questioning Sasuke's feelings for her, she stood up for the one she loved. He could not expect anything less from his friend.

They soon began walking towards her place.

Sakura was now talking to a man he recognized as being Temari's little brother. Sai heard the story of how Sakura saved his life a few years back and how after that ordeal they became quite good friends. It was a relief to see her laugh like that after what he witnessed the night prior, outside the club.

"Could you please leave the window open?"

Sai looked over his shoulder, confused at her request. "Won't you catch a cold?"

The pinkette shook her head as she smiled softly. "I always kept it open when he was in the village. He would often crash on the couch, since he didn't have a place to stay. Naruto's apartment was too messy for his liking."

"Do you think she's going to be alright?" Ino turned her head to look at him.

As he walked out of the building, Sai was startled by the sound of wings flapping above him. Looking up, he saw a hawk landing on a tree branch just outside Sakura's window. His eyes softened as he recognized the bird. He'd seen it around the village several times since the Kido incident.

"I think she is going to be just fine" he replied, smiling, as he watched Sakura stare up at the clear blue sky while holding a piece of paper close to her chest.


Well, this is it. You've reached the end of the story. I really hope you enjoyed reading it :)

Thank you for the support. Please review!

Laura