Shanan hadn't really had as much alone time with the guys as she would've liked. So she decided to have a weekend with just them before she got married.

She still had her apartment, even though she hadn't been inside of it since Shikamaru's Omoidasu. In fact, she had mostly forgotten about it.

But she wanted to spend time with them, maybe like how they used to, she couldn't remember Sasuke in her memories, but she assumed he had been a part of most of her Naruto memories, so they'd have fun.

She did worry that Sasuke would say no, even though they'd trained together a lot since he'd returned, but they hadn't hung out much, except when they came for dinner. But he seemed enthusiastic about spending time at her old apartment, just the three of them.

She had gotten there early so that she could stock the fridge with the food she'd already cooked and to make sure they had everything they needed, but she also kind of forgot that they lived on either side of her, so they both ended up coming right over anyway. Already in their pajamas like Shanan basically was.

Shanan loved seeing them in their pajamas. She was used to Kakashi always in sweats and usually no shirt, but they both wore looser knitted type pants, Naruto's had cups of ramen all over them and Sasuke's were plain black. Naruto had a t-shirt on and Sasuke had a hooded sweatshirt on, likely with a t-shirt underneath.

"So what's the plan tonight, sis?" Naruto asked her as they walked in.

Sasuke poked her forehead playfully as he walked past her. She noticed that he only ever did that to her, so it was ok. It was kinda sweet.

"Honestly, I just wanted to hang out with you guys. It'll probably be pretty boring."

"I'm good with boring," Sasuke said as he sat on her bed.

Shanan looked at Sasuke and tilted her head to the side. "I feel like I believe you, but I'm also extremely disappointed," she said as she shook her head.

Sasuke laughed a little. "I just mean that I don't get bored easily, so it's ok. I'll probably think that whatever we do is fine."

"Hey, just because I fall asleep doesn't mean I'm bored!" Naruto yelled for no reason.

Shanan and Sasuke laughed at him as Shanan sat next to Sasuke on her bed.

"Calm down Naruto, nobody was accusing you of anything. Yet..." she said the last part under her breath.

"I heard that, you know?" He went and sat on the other side of Shanan as he sighed contentedly. "I miss this. Although, I don't think I can cuddle up to you the way I used to," he said as he tried to lean on her the way he did when he was smaller.

Shanan laughed at him. "Yeah, you're too big, kiddo."

"So when did you start calling him that exactly?" Sasuke asked her.

"Oh, um... I called him that in the Kaitei, so I just kinda call him that out here now too."

"You knew me in the Kaitei too, right?"

"Yeah, Kakashi and I are actually the ones that found you, after… you know, and Kushina Sensei took you in to live with her and Naruto. Your moms were good friends," she told him as she smiled and grabbed his hand.

"Yeah, Naruto told me about it, but I wonder if they really were..." he said thoughtfully as he laced his fingers with hers a bit mindlessly.

Shanan smiled at him again. "Actually, I've asked around. They really were good friends growing up!"

Sasuke smiled softly at the thought. "I'm glad to hear that. They'd probably be pretty happy that you brought us together."

"I knew them both pretty well, and yes they would be. You all sat next to each other at my first wedding."

"Oh yeah, we did," Naruto laughed. "Sasuke looked so grumpy the whole time, because he had the biggest crush on you!"

"Aww!" Shanan said as she put her hands over her mouth and looked at Sasuke and then back to Naruto. "I remember him sitting there with his little arms crossed. I thought he was mad about something else, that's so adorable!" she said as she pinched Sasuke's cheek and beamed at him before getting up to look in the fridge.

She did not see Sasuke's and Naruto's brief exchange of punches behind her.

"Oh yeah, what can I eat? I'm already starving." Naruto said as he jumped up, holding his arm where Sasuke had hit him.

"You're always hungry, idiot," Sasuke said a bit impatiently as he rubbed his arm in the spot that Naruto had hit him back.

"So is Shanan." Naruto pointed at her as she was shoving a rice ball into her mouth.

"What? No I'm not..." she said with a very full mouth.

"Great, you're both idiots," Sasuke said a bit more gently.

Naruto casually and silently gestured to Shanan for her to offer Sasuke a rice ball since he knew they were Sasuke's favorite, and that he was still being weird about revealing a lot to Shanan since returning home.

Shanan nodded at him and went back to sit by Sasuke with the container she'd filled as Naruto looked for something else to eat.

Sasuke seemed to be sitting with his eyes closed, either deep in thought, or just being shy around Shanan like he often was. Which drove her nuts. She nudged him with her elbow and held the container out as she watched his face.

He jumped slightly, surprised that she'd elbowed him. And gave a half smile when he saw the container in front of him. This was his favorite food, but even more so the way she'd always made them and it seemed her recipe hadn't changed even after her memory loss. "Thank you," he said as he took two.

Shanan set the container down on her lap so they could both reach them easily. "Naruto, grab the book out of my bag and read to us," she told him.

"What? Me read to you? No, you always read to us!" he said incredulously.

Sasuke sighed. "If you still don't know how to read, then just bring it here, I can eat and read."

Naruto handed him the book and went back to stand by the stove.

Shanan shook her head at him. "Waiting for water to boil for your noodles then?"

Naruto grinned at her.

"Well I got you the premium kind."

"I noticed you did. You're always so thoughtful, sis."

"Anything for you, kiddo," she said as she gave him a thumbs up.

Sasuke put his hand on top of hers and pushed it down and shook his head. "Don't encourage him. Can I read now, guys?"

Shanan pinched his cheek playfully. "Yes, you can read now, you little grump," she teased as she grinned.

"Shut up... You're such an idiot," he said softly.

Sasuke sat and read to them while he and Shanan finished off all of the rice balls and Naruto ate his ramen.

Afterwards, they sat on the floor and talked the way they used to when they were kids.

"Hey Shanan, remember how I used to beg you to sing to me before you went home?"

Sasuke looked at him, confused.

"That was in the Kaitei, kiddo," she reminded him.

"Oh, right. Well how come you never sang to us here?" he asked her.

"I didn't know I could and I was too scared to try. I didn't remember my mom's lessons out here. I didn't remember my mom out here."

"You sing?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Kinda. Sometimes," she said shyly.

"Oh... Can I hear it?" He almost didn't want to ask and he almost hoped it wasn't very good. He didn't need another thing about her to make him smile.

But she obliged and he had to try and hide all emotion from his face as she did so that she wouldn't see how much he loved it. Luckily, she mostly kept her eyes closed as she sang, so the only one he really had to deal with was Naruto, looking over at him knowingly and sympathetically.

Once she finished her song, she looked at Sasuke hopefully. "Was that ok? It's a bit high for me..."

"It was really nice." He tried to say it so that she knew he liked it, but not too much.

Shanan looked at him wide eyed, completely delighted at his compliment. "You really liked it?" she asked him excitedly.

He sighed and smirked at her as he tilted his head. "Yes, I really liked it. You have a very pleasant voice," he said a bit more softly and sincerely this time.

Shanan leaned over and hugged him. She knew how hard it was to get something like that out of him. "Thank you, Sasuke. That means a lot. I probably never would've sung anything again if you didn't like it," she said half jokingly.

Of course as soon as she hugged him, their chakras stirred and it was hard to pull away.

They spent the rest of the night doing mostly nothing and talking and laughing and spending time together.

Shanan remembered doing all of this with Naruto when they were kids, but she still couldn't place Sasuke as having ever been a part of it. All she could picture was Naruto off to one side and an empty space next to him. And it made her sad, but she didn't want to bring it up and upset him or risk him running away again. She had always known in her heart that she cared for him, but having him around made her really like him and she would be really sad if he left. His presence was always really comforting to her.

Naruto fell asleep after his fifth cup of ramen. And Shanan was glad to have some alone time with Sasuke. They hadn't hung out alone since before the war when they'd created the Shi no Tenshi technique together. And even then, Sasuke was still pretty awkward around her.

"You wanna come and sit on the roof with me?" she asked him.

He didn't say anything, just nodded and stood up and followed her outside. "Wait," he said calmly as he closed the door, before Shanan could jump onto the railing.

"Oh? What's wrong?" She was a bit confused as to why he'd stopped her.

He didn't say anything again, just grabbed her by the waist. "Hold on to me," he instructed as he jumped onto the railing and then onto the roof.

Shanan had thought to either protest or tease him a little, but decided to just accept the gesture that seemed both out of character and very much like something he would do.

He set her down without a word and they quietly walked to the three chairs they'd put up there years ago and sat in two right next to each other.

"You know, it's kinda weird having to do this all over again," Shanan said quietly as she looked over at Sasuke.

"What, getting married?" He didn't look at her, just stared up at the sky. It was a really clear night.

"Yeah. To me, I already did this seven years ago. And I'm still married in my mind. I still introduce myself as Shanan Hatake and then have to correct myself. It's weird."

Sasuke looked down as he thought. "You know, I honestly think about your Sharingan a lot. I'm happy you have it. And of course you would take my chakra and make it your own." He paused for a moment. "You probably can't even tell the difference between the multiple chakras inside of you, can you?" he asked as he finally turned to look at her.

Shanan shook her head, a bit confused. She obviously had the chakra of at least a few people inside of her. But nothing felt different to her.

"Well, maybe it's just me then. But I can feel your chakra inside of me. It's not all the same to me. When we were training your Sharingan techniques, your chakra was really strong." He tried to hide a small smile, but Shanan caught it.

"You can tell the difference?"

"Yeah, your chakra is actually really calming. Sometimes I'd feel it when I was gone. It helped get me through some difficult times. Just knowing that part of you was there…"

Shanan was looking down as she listened. She couldn't help but smile. She knew he'd stop telling her things soon, so she didn't want to interrupt with too many questions.

Sasuke suddenly laughed a little. "I'm glad we're so connected. It meant a lot when you alone knew that I'd come home. I-" he suddenly felt like he was saying too much. "It just meant a lot. Anyway…"

Shanan looked over at him again. "Sasuke. It means a lot to me that you came back. It means a lot to me that you don't push me away if I hug you. It means a lot to me when you even talk to me!" She laughed a bit, but it was true. "You're one of my favorite people, you know?" She got up and squeezed in next to him as she hugged him tight. "I really love you." She'd told him this several times since he'd come home, but she wanted to make sure he knew and felt it.

Sasuke knew that she would've done the same to Naruto. She never was great with boundaries. He wrapped his arms around her and fought back tears. "I really love you too, Shanan." He really hoped he hadn't put too much affection into the words, even though he still very much loved her the same as he always had. And he always thought that he might push her away anytime she hugged him, but he never could and this time was no different. Their chakras really seemed to pull them together. But maybe that was just an excuse.

Shanan finally let go and sat up. "We should go back inside," she said as she folded her arms tight against her chest.

Sasuke smirked at her and sat up as he started taking his sweatshirt off. "Still get cold easily, huh?"

Shanan laughed a little as she nodded her head. "Yeah, but you don't have to give me your jacket."

He got his sweatshirt all the way off and held it out for her. "Here. It's alright. I used to give you my jacket all the time."

She slowly reached out as she looked at him and wondered if he'd say anything else about it.

Sasuke could see the anticipation in her eyes. She always looked this way when it came to their past or him offering up any information about it. "Calm down. You've always gotten cold easily. I don't, thanks to my fire type chakra. I mostly bring a jacket for you because you like to pretend there's more than three degrees you consider perfect."

She chuckled as she put his sweatshirt on and pulled the hood up. "Kakashi says and does the same thing," she told him.

She tried not to be bothered by the fact that he knew more about her than she knew about him. She didn't remember those little details about him. She knew Kakashi got hot easily. And Naruto was a fairly normal person that got hot when it was hot and cold when it was cold. Sasuke apparently doesn't get cold easily. But she felt like she was supposed to already know that and it was frustrating to have to learn these little things about him all over again.

But she was instantly much more cozy and was surprised at how nice his sweatshirt smelled. She really liked it. She nudged him to scoot over a bit so she could stay sitting next to him since she was warm now and being next to him would be warmer still.

He put his arm around her as she put her hands in the pockets and got comfortable.

She always used to ask them to come and look at the stars with her when they were kids and he'd always wanted to sit with her like this when they did. They didn't say much else and she ended up falling asleep on him.

She really never did care about boundaries and he really never did mind.

Sasuke held Shanan for a while as she slept. Not ready to let go of her. But he finally decided to carry her inside and put her to bed, making sure to carefully tuck her in.

Naruto was still passed out and sprawled across half of the floor near the table, so Sasuke grabbed his bedroll for him as well. He wasn't tucking him in though, instead, opting to throw his things at his head.

Barely disturbed, Naruto put his pillow under his head and covered himself up before rolling over.

Sasuke laid his bedroll down on the floor next to Shanan's bed the way he used to. Once he was comfortable and had closed his eyes, he felt a hand on his chest.

"Sasuke," Shanan whispered.

He opened his eyes to see her looking over the side of the bed at him, just like when they were kids.

"Thanks for bringing me in," she said as she yawned.

She had already fallen back asleep before Sasuke had even had the chance to say, "You're welcome." Still leaning over the edge of the bed and still with her hand on his chest.

He looked up at her longingly and grabbed her hand gently as tears started forming in his eyes. He closed them quickly to keep the tears at bay and just as he did, Naruto moved to lienext to him.

"Just like old times," he whispered.

Sasuke opened his eyes and looked over at Naruto. "Yeah." He squeezed her hand gently, but not enough for her to notice in her sleep. "Except, she's getting married next weekend," he said shakily.

Naruto put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "I know, man."

He couldn't fight them anymore. Tears started pouring back into his hair as he sobbed quietly and looked from Shanan to Naruto. "It was supposed to be me."

Naruto squeezed his shoulder now. "Hey, if you can't give her away, I'll help you come up with an excuse. I'll rip your arm off again. I'll do whatever you need me to. Just say the word."

Sasuke looked back over at Shanan as hot tears continued to stream from his eyes. "No. I said that I would. I could never let her down. I just… I shouldn't have left. Why did I leave?"? he asked, mostly himself, regretfully.

"You wanted to protect her..."

Sasuke nodded weakly as he stared up at her. "I think about telling her every day. About letting her see our memories. About saying," he stopped to wipe away some of the tears before continuing shakily, "'Oh, and by the way, you used to love me and I still love you, very much.' I come close to doing it every day."

Naruto gave his shoulder another squeeze.

"I know now why I don't, though."

"Why?" Naruto asked, curiously.

Sasuke's face started shaking again as the heavy tears started back up. "Because." He gently squeezed her hand again. "I know what she'd say," he whispered sadly.

"What's that?"

Sasuke glanced over at Naruto and then back at Shanan. "She'd say that we were just kids. She'd feel bad," he tried desperately to keep his lips from quivering, but failed, "but she'd have to let me down." He paused for several moments as he tried to breathe through the pain. "She wouldn't choose me, Naruto. She'd keep choosing Kakashi. And she'd keep trying to get over Shikamaru. All--"

"Sasuke…"

"All she would do for me is feel sad for me."

Naruto sighed quietly as if to agree with him and gave him a sympathetic pat on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, but you know she loves you very much."

Sasuke looked over at Naruto again. "Stop trying to give me hope, Naruto. She loves me like a brother now."

"No, Sasuke, it's more than that. I mean it. She absolutely adores you. I know she doesn't know why, but we do. It all sucks, but she does still love you."

"Even if it is more than a brother, it isn't someone that she can be with. Hope does me no good."

"She wants you to be happy, you know? If you walk around hopeless all the time, you'll just make her sad for you," Naruto pointed out.

Sasuke thought quietly for a minute as he stared up at her again.

"I can't believe she started snoring," Naruto said as he laughed quietly.

"Shut up, it's adorable." He looked back at Naruto and sighed. "You're right."

"I'm right?"

"I can't continue to mope around her. I'll work on it."

"That's good. And maybe try and work on moving on," Naruto suggested.

Sasuke shook his head gently as he stared up at her and fought back tears again. "No," he whispered. "If I can't have her, then I just wanna be alone."

Naruto exhaled sharply, having given up.

"At least she's happy. At least I still get to be near her. And, like you said, at least she still loves me," he said as another tear fell back into his hair.