Day 15: Sweater Weather
For Sakura, every evening was sweater weather.
No matter when she returned from the hospital, no matter how tired or dirty she was, she'd get ready for bed and pull on one of Sasuke's sweaters. It didn't matter if it was freezing cold or sweltering hot; Sakura wanted to drift off to sleep wrapped in Sasuke-kun.
It had taken her forever to beg and cajole him to leave one for her, right before he left again on his journey of atonement. He'd given in when Sakura pointed out that she never asked him to stay, but only wanted to keep a part of him with her. Somehow, she knew when he'd be coming back when the scent started to fade from his sweater.
Until one day, when she'd woken up late for her shift at the hospital, she'd forgotten to change out of her sleep sweater. Between a vomiting child in the lobby, her own office being inaccessible for badly need renovations, and a small, controlled fire in the general locker room, Sasuke's sweater never came home with her. That night, she slept poorly, cold and alone.
At first, Ino had teased her about it. She'd stopped, however, when Sakura didn't react. Their friends had tried to come up with a solution, but Sakura had brushed them all off. It was just a small thing, after all - they all had much more important things to do.
But still, she slept badly.
When Naruto noticed, Sakura knew she needed to get a grip on herself. At least Naruto only asked her if she was okay. The last thing she wanted was for word to get to Sasuke-kun, about how pathetic she was. It was just a sweater, after all; she didn't want him to think she was holding him back.
And yet, that night, when a hawk tapped on her window with a parcel in its talons, her heart lifted like a bird on a thermal updraft. The hawk bumped her once on the shoulder, then disappeared in a poof. She unwrapped the simple package to find another black sweater that smelled like him and a note. As she read it, she burst out laughing.
Sleep properly so I can tire you out when I'm back.
AN: Every time I have to restrain my dirty, dirty writer mind... *sighs* Someone asked me what happened after day 13 - my answer is... the K+ rating happened XD Some day I might write out the full story. Someday.