A/N: I am going to try my hardest to dish out as many chapters as I can before I start my busy schedule in two weeks. Please anticipate a bit of slowing down come September, but don't anticipate me leaving this story behind!

Chapter 2

At half-passed-six in the evening, Sakura opened the lid to her enamel stew pot with bubbling nikujama with tomato and allowed the steam to waft into her nose. She sighed a satisfied sigh and put the lid back in place, deciding it probably needed about twenty more minutes to allow the potatoes to grow extra tender. She turned back around from the stove to face the small granite counter that overlooked her living room that doubled as a dining room.

Two white bookshelves, each with three tall shelves, stood on either side of her window facing south. They both held her precious photos that separated thousands of pages of medical texts and books. In the middle of the room, her kotatsu table presented with two mint green cushions ready to seat herself and her guest. She was careful to be sure that the navy warming blanket was tucked in where she intended the two of them to sit across from each other. Chopsticks were already laid out on the wooden surface, each placed next to their own small dish of sunomono and grilled mackarel.

She fanned her face to cool her warm skin that had a sheen of sweat from her effort of cooking the stew. "So hot," she breathed. She walked around her counter space towards the other end of the living room wall, her bare feet padding against the cool wood, to open up the window. The outside was beginning to cool and let the daytime breeze blow in the chilly evening air. She unlatched the locks and pulled the window up and immediately felt the cool draft caress her skin. She was glad to have changed into her house clothes, as her black shorts allowed her legs to receive the chill and her loose gray shirt, decorated with a single cartoon panda head grinning cheekily, billowed gently as it blew by.

She clapped her hands together after a moment. "Time to make the soup," she declared to herself. Just as she began to turn away from the window, the corner of her eye caught a familiar shape and caused her stomach to drop. Sakura did a quick double-take and saw Sasuke turning the corner of the stone wall and meander towards the stairs of her building. He relaxed his legs ever so slightly in what Sakura recognized as the beginnings of a flash-step with the intent to land on her floor to bypass the many steps.

"Sa…sa…," she stuttered in disbelief. He's early! Cursing under her breath, she pivoted quickly and tried to make a break for her bedroom door to change out of her embarrassing wardrobe. As she made her next step, she felt no traction on the sole of her foot. In what felt like slow motion, she glanced down at her falling frame and saw her foot stepping on the cushioned blanket of her kotatsu that slid beneath her weight. She brought her arms out in front of her to catch her fall, but milliseconds before her body made contact with the wooden floor, she heard it.

Knock, knock.

THUMP. "OW."

Her left shin caught the corner of the kotatsu as she fell. The impact caused the chopsticks on the table to bounce and roll off the surface and the sunomono dishes to lose a few slices of cucumber. Her right arm was stretched out before her and her left hand reached instinctively to her shin to ameliorate the sharp soreness that began to ripple painfully from the area of contact. "Ow, ow, ow, ow," she whined, putting pressure to her shin that was sure to bruise.

"Sakura?" Sasuke's voice came from behind her door.

The pink-haired girl froze, a deer in the headlights, mouth agape in shock. Did he hear all of that?

"Everything…okay?"

Shit. "Um, yes, just…" Just wait! Just leave, maybe! Just rewind time! Just what are you doing here so early?!

"I'm coming in."

Sasuke opened her door, brow slightly furrowed in concern and confusion at the noise. Sakura was flat on her belly on the floor, her left hand gripping her bent left leg tightly and her right arm outstretched ahead of her. She looked like a superhero in an awkward mid-flight. She wore an oversized gray shirt, decorated with what looked to be a cartoon panda's rear with a little pink heart, that rode up midway up her back and exposed her skin and short black shorts that hugged her backside and accentuated her curves. Sakura's bright green eyes were wide with astonishment and her mouth formed an awkward shape somewhere between a smile and a scream. "What…?" he tried to get words out.

"Oh god," Sakura whimpered, pressing her forehead to the wood and wishing she was invisible. "Hi, Sasuke-kun." Her voice was muffled as she spoke into the floor, her pink locks forming a curtain to shield her face. She was sure her cheeks were red enough to attract nearby honeybees looking for sweet nectar, as the color probably mimicked the petals of a poppy flower.

Sasuke stepped into the entryway and shut the door behind him, turning the knob's security lock. He took off his black sandals and placed them neatly by the medic's own before stepping up onto the wood and making careful steps toward her. He crouched by the medic's shoulder. "Sakura," he said, half in greeting and half in an attempt to have her turn to face him.

She turned her head slightly and peeked through her fringe to see his outstretched hand. His mouth twitched at the edges as though he was trying to stifle a grin. "Thanks," she said, accepting his gesture with her right hand and he helped her lift herself into an upright sitting position, the palm of her left still pressing against her sore shin. She breathed out as she let a bit of chakra flow into the area and seal the bruise.

Sasuke eyed her for a moment, still crouching, not knowing what to say. It seemed the pink-haired girl wasn't sure of how to fill the silence, either, for her eyes were oddly very focused on her knee like it was the most peculiar thing in the room. He then lowered himself all the way to the floor and crossed his legs, careful to leave an arm's length of distance between them. He observed her flushed face, her skin nearly matching her hair with embarrassment.

"You should really lock your door," he said.

"Y-yeah, I…you know…"

He didn't know.

Another few beats passed.

"I…I like your shirt," he tried.

Her face turned an impossibly deeper shade of pink. "Sa…," she said, her voice trailing off. Gathering a deep breath, she looked up at him and forced a small, faltering smile. "You're early, Sasuke-kun." She withdrew her left hand from her shin and mirrored his cross-legged position.

"Ah," he shrugged, trying not to stare at the fair skin of her long, exposed legs. He instead focused as much of his energy on maintaining eye contact with her. "I figured I could help with cooking."

His gaze is so intense. Was he always this intense? Sakura gulped. "Y-you cook?"

The Uchiha nodded in reply.

"Oh, well, I wouldn't want you to work as my guest," she offered.

"I don't mind."

Sakura had to break their gaze. "Alright, then!" she conceded, kneeling to grab the chopsticks that clattered on the floor earlier with one hand and grabbing a napkin from the table to pick up the fallen cucumber slices with the other. "I was just about to make miso soup." Sakura stood and walked to the kitchen, her feet padding lightly on the wood. Sasuke followed suit.

"Is your leg okay?"

"Hm?" Sakura looked down at her left shin and saw a red mark where the bone made contact with the corner of the kotatsu. "Yeah, it's okay," she assured him, cheeks dusting lightly with embarrassment. "It helps to be a medic-nin to heal the little things." She swiftly pulled a soup pot from her cupboards and reached for her refrigerator handle. She froze midway through pulling the miso paste and tofu from the cold shelf, suddenly aware of why she fell in the first place. "I…I think I'm going to go change clothes first. Is that okay?"

"It's your place, Sakura."

Sakura offered a nervous laugh and placed the ingredients on the counter. "I'll be a couple minutes," she said. I need to regroup.

The pinkette stepped by him, careful to avoid contact with even his shirt, and hurried to what he assumed was her bedroom door. He couldn't help but scan her up and down before she disappeared. Sasuke closed his eyes and was surprised to find his shoulders were tense. He breathed out and glanced at the kitchen counter that had ingredients neatly arranged around a cutting board. "Hm."

Behind her bedroom door, Sakura walked to the side of her bed as quietly as she could to kneel and press her face into her plush comforter. He probably thinks I haven't changed, she despaired silently, allowing a barely-audible groan to melt into the fabric. Stupid, stupid. She turned her head to the side and laid her ear on the mattress. "Come on, Sakura," she quietly urged. She sucked in a breath. "Alright."

She stretched her arms up towards the ceiling before making her way to her closet. She pulled out a red t-shirt dress and black leggings. This'll do, she thought. She grasped the bottom of her gray panda shirt and was just about to lift it over her head when she froze at a sudden thought, her arms above her head, breasts and belly exposed. Sasuke-kun is in my home and I'm about to strip next door. The thought was enough to make her buckle over in embarrassment. As she swung her body in an attempt to enter a crouching fetal position, her right arm slammed against the brass doorknob of her closet. Thump. "Ow," she squeaked, hugging her forearm to her chest as she squatted.

"Sakura?" Sasuke's voice came, laced subtly with concern.

"I'm okay, I'm okay!" she called back, shirt still over her head like a child dressed as a ghost while she seeped chakra into her muscle. To herself, she muttered, "Get ahold of yourself!"

On the other side of the door, Sasuke's mouth twitched with amusement. She didn't seem to be aware that he could hear her scold herself and strolled back to the kitchen counter to chop the rest of the chard to put into the soup pot with the miso. He figured Sakura might want some time to herself to regroup. He preferred to contribute as opposed to only being served, anyway. He thought quietly about his mother who, when he was just a small boy, told him the importance of learning his own guest manners. "It might be the norm for a man to be served," she'd said, "but Uchihas know how to treat their host in kind."

When Sakura walked out of her bedroom, face freshly washed and moisturized, donning her red t-shirt dress and black tights, she froze at the sight. Sasuke stirred the miso soup with his back turned to her. He glanced back around at the sound of her door closing and looked at Sakura up and down.

"I went ahead and made rice and miso," he said casually turning his attention back to the stove to show her his back once more. What Sakura couldn't see, however, was the light heat that gathered in his ears.

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun," she grinned. She walked towards the kitchen and slid passed him, taking less care to avoid contact, to reach into a cabinet above her sink to gather a stack of six small bowls, two clean sets of chopsticks, and a pair of soup spoons. In two of the bowls, she scooped freshly steamed rice from her rice cooker inside, patting it down to create a neat round mound of the white grain. She sprinkled furikake on top of each and slipped passed Sasuke's back once more to get to the living room. She felt her front accidentally brush against his back but took little notice of the contact when she pivoted to walk towards the kotatsu to set the dishes down. Sasuke shivered slightly.

The Uchiha lifted the lid from the stew pot and began to ladle the tendered meat, potatoes, and tomatoes into two more of the bowls. Just in time, Sakura slipped behind him again to grab the stew bowls in each hand and then slip behind him once more to place them on the table. Each time, her front brushed against his back and caused Sasuke to tense his shoulders. He turned off the stove burners and ladled the miso soup into the last of the two bowls. He heard Sakura make his way towards the kitchen and he abruptly said, "I've got it. Sit." He didn't bother to look at her, trying to focus all of his attention on filling the bowls. I'll take the two trips with this one hand, he thought, heat rising to his face in what was…shame? Embarrassment? He couldn't pinpoint this emotion.

Sakura blinked at the back of his neck and shrugged before turning back to take her seat at the kotatsu. The window was still open and allowing the chilly now-nighttime air to mix into the room. She rested her bottom on the green pillow and shuffled her legs under the blanket, sighing at the protection of the warmth. Sakura then watched Sasuke as he made two trips to the table and back to deliver the bowls of miso soup. That's a bit of extra work, she thought, but appreciated the effort to use his single hand.

Sasuke took his seat across from her and lifted the warming blanket to shuffle his own legs beneath the table surface. He flinched backward as she jumped, startled, when his bare foot touched the smooth skin of her leg. The two of them made eye contact and mirrored mutual surprise before simultaneously looking away as though to silently pretend it had not just occurred. Sasuke scratched the back of his head and looked out the window aimlessly.

A small giggle chimed across from him and he turned his attention towards the pink-haired girl, her eyes closed in her amused grin. When she opened them again, her gaze was warm and reassuring. She gave a small shrug of her shoulders and clapped her hands together in front of her face. He breathed out and lifted his right hand to his chest. "Itadakimasu," they said in unison, her soprano bouncing against his steady bass. They picked up their chopsticks and began their dinner.

A comfortable silence befell them, one that was so comfortable that Sasuke was pleasantly surprised. He'd half expected her to try to fill the quiet space with rambling words in an attempt to soothe her own discomfort or try to get a reaction from him. Instead, they both picked at the different dishes before them and felt their taste buds sing. Sakura took a spoonful of the miso soup as Sasuke took a spoonful of the nikujama with tomatoes. A small hum escaped both of them in agreement with how delicious they each thought their respective dishes tasted when they each downed a spoonful of the food the other made.

The two of them looked up at each other, jade eyes meeting onyx and violet. Sasuke raised his eyebrows at her as she smiled. "The miso soup is really good, Sasuke-kun," she chimed. "Your proportions are perfect."

"Ah," he said. "So is your nikujama."

She smiled in thanks before sipping another spoonful of the miso.

He watched her carefully for a few moments, chewing slowly. She didn't seem to notice his attentive gaze that watched her lift the spoon to her pink lips that he couldn't help notice were plumper from the heat of the soup. With her free hand, she pulled back strands of hair to avoid getting any of the liquid into her pink locks. Pink hair. Green eyes. Clear skin. Not much of his former teammate had changed, yet he felt a distinct shift in what he used to experience with her that went beyond the yin seal on her forehead and her growth in height.

"What are your plans later this week?" Sakura asked casually, snapping the Uchiha out of his trail of thoughts.

"Not sure," he admitted. "I'm not allowed to leave the village or work even simple missions."

Sakura hummed curiously and eyed him. Sasuke could almost hear her thoughts buzzing in her head. "Would you like to visit Naruto tomorrow?"

"Visit?"

"He's in the hospital. Pushed himself too hard at training the other day."

Sasuke snorted before he pondered this question for a moment, only because he was reluctant to walk again through the busy streets of Konoha. He didn't want to disclose how the dirty looks of villagers continued on his way to her home. It might be better if it were darker outside to be more inconspicuous.

"What time?"

"Visiting hours are between seven in the morning to sundown."

Too much light. Guess not.

He was about to decline when Sakura added, "Although I plan on doing walkthroughs for work tomorrow and could probably get you a free pass to walk in with me. My shift is from five to seven."

"In the morning?" he asked, eyebrows raising.

Sakura shook her head. "Five in the morning to seven in the evening."

Insane hours. That terrifying blond hokage is working her student to the bone, he thought. Although she never seems to complain.

As if reading his mind, Sakura commented, "Tsunade-sama really knows how to drain my energy on these long shifts, but there are many patients that still need regular appointments and check-ins to ensure they're healing properly. Shizune has been doing home-visits and shishou is often busy helping Kakashi-sensei with his transition into the new hokage seat."

He scooped another spoonful of stew into his mouth and swallowed before saying, "You're running the hospital."

"Mm-hm."

He raised an eyebrow. "We're seventeen years old."

Sakura shrugged. "The word 'prodigy' gets thrown around a lot for more than just you and Naruto, you know." She straightened up. "And I won't be seventeen for long." Sakura reached over for the last of her grilled mackerel and carefully placed it in her mouth to relish the taste.

Sasuke found himself racking his brain for the date. March the twenty-second. In six days, Sakura will be eighteen. He mentally gave himself a pat on the back for remembering her birthday. Huh, he thought. I remembered her birthday.

"So?" Sakura pressed.

The Uchiha looked up at her with a blank expression though internally amused that she pulled him out of his thoughts once again. "Hm?"

"If you're open to waking up before sunrise to meet me at the hospital, I can get you in to visit Naruto. Of course, I won't be able to join until midday, and I don't want you to wait up for me, but Naruto would want to see you."

Sasuke nodded his agreement to the plan. "Five in the morning?"

"Five in the morning," she confirmed, a twinkle in her emerald eyes. "But if you're there thirty minutes early, I can't guarantee I'll be stumbling and slamming my shin again to meet you," she teased.

The rest of the time they sat with each other, they discussed Sakura's usual work at the hospital. She explained her usual routine, how she didn't like the piles of paperwork that waited for her at her desk, yet the excitement she experiences when some of patient charts have documentation of improvement for her patients. She also described the logistics into a new clinic she and Tsunade were planning to create for children of the war. Sakura's eyes grew somber as she described the reality of the trauma youth experienced in the war's aftermath, particularly for the children who were exposed to scenes of battle, learned of a loved one's death, or even bringing the news of their unwanted orphan status.

Despite the darkness that the war left in its wake, Sakura's determination didn't falter. He watched when her jade eyes burned something that Sasuke found fascinating, as though it went beyond persistence. Even the word passion did not seem like enough of an adjective to convey the energy she exuded. And, oddly enough, Sasuke was not bored by any moment of her explanation. Rather, he was quite fascinated. In fact, they'd finished eating long ago and filled the space with words instead of chewing. Even though he did not understand much of the jargon she tossed around, despite the context clues that were sprinkled throughout, something about the way she spoke held his attention and caused him to ask more probing questions when one explanation ended to begin another one.

When it was a nearly eleven, the stars over the village glimmering delicately in the dark sky, the two of them began to clear the kotatsu of all of the dishes. They walked together to her little kitchen and quietly, peacefully, busied themselves in the cleaning process. Sasuke insisted on washing the dishes while Sakura packed away the leftovers and wiped down the stovetop, countertop, and kotatsu. She couldn't help but be amazed at his deftness in being thorough with a single hand.

When the cleaning was done, Sakura stretched her hands toward the ceiling and let them drop limply to her side. She leaned across the kitchen counter and watched Sasuke dry his hand with the kitchen towel.

"Thanks for coming over, Sasuke-kun."

"Mm," he replied. Then, "Thanks for inviting me."

Sakura grinned and watched as Sasuke rounded the counter. "I should get going."

The pinkette's grin wavered a bit, realizing that the end of a good night is always inevitable.

"Right, of course." She walked him the short distance to her door and put her hands behind her back as he slipped on his sandals. "I'll be at the front of the hospital at exactly five in the morning." At Sasuke's approving nod, she reached passed him and opened the door. A cool breeze drifted in and the smell of hinoki cypress wafted into her nose. Of course he would smell like the great outdoors, she thought amusedly.

Sasuke stepped out into the night. "See you then," he said quietly in salutations. He turned to make his leave by jumping from the metal railing of her building rather than taking the stairs. She watched his dark figure disappear as he turned the corner.

"See you," she said, although already out of his earshot. She closed her door and fastened both locks for good measure before retiring to her bedroom.