Title: i will be the calm in the storm
Summary: Of course the only person able to help her would be the one she was currently having issues with.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Prompt: Flood
Rating: K
Warning(s): None.
Comments: I don't know why anyone didn't do this yet? I mean come on, it's perfect!

She thought she was safe. Living on the fifth floor, there was no way silly problems like flooding of the basement, due to too much precipitation, could reach her, in her opinion. It was logical.

But then the impossible happened: her damn neighbour from upstairs left his damn bathtub open and it just so happened that it had overflowed. He didn't stop the water even after that, though, oh no! For some stupid reason, he'd left it open and let the water flood his whole apartment floor. Eventually the water, which had travelled all the way to his neighbours, collapsed the ceiling and created endless damage to her apartment and her neighbours. She was lucky she had been working that day—she heard that there were some people who were seriously injured.

Still, it wasn't exactly a pleasant surprise to come home to, after an exhausting day of work.

"How long is this going to take?" she asked her landlord, looking as depressed as she felt.

He had just told her of the incredible damage her apartment had withstood, being directly beneath the source of the cause. Apparently she had to prepare herself to have lost more than half her things—nothing remotely comforting about that, but she remembered having a coverage plan for incidents like this. Still, she was likely going to lose a good amount of small things that couldn't be covered, like clothes, food, and her precious music CD's.

And I just did my groceries yesterday, how unfair is that! she whined in her thoughts, hunching her shoulders.

"Couple weeks, maybe," the man replied, looking apologetic. "It's hard to tell—they haven't finished assessing the damage yet."

"Weeks?" Sakura groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Damnit, I don't have enough money to spend that long in a hotel…"

"I'm sorry Sakura. The best I could do for you is try to bargain with some of the owners I know. Otherwise," he patted her shoulder, then, "I think you should ask one of your friends to take you in."

"Alright," she said, sighing. "Thanks. Keep me updated on those negotiations, ne?"

He smiled. "Of course, Sakura."

.

.

.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Wish I was, Sakura," the fifth Hokage replied, drinking her cup of sake before refilling it again. "But unfortunately, I'm not. Most of the Konoha Eleven have been sent on various missions, a few days ago."

"And why is that?"

"The village has been under severe reconstruction, as you know, and we've had issues with neighbouring countries upon the decision of Sasuke Uchiha's reinstatement as a Konoha nin. The Konoha Eleven have been sent to negotiate and/or resolve conflict pacifically, as not to rise tensions again." She paused, drinking her second cup of sake, before resuming her explanation. "You know just as well as me that they are the most efficient in resolving issues concerning Sasuke because they were the most involved with him. They don't pretend to know Sasuke as well as you and Naruto do, but they do know a fair deal."

Sakura nodded, but her fists tightened as she realized that she should have been sent on one of those missions—after all, the Hokage said so herself: she and Naruto knew Sasuke better than anyone else.

Tsunade seemed to catch on. "You are most needed at the hospital, Sakura. Your skills are uncanny and your reserve of chakra is impeccable. The survivors of the Fourth Shinobi World War are in desperate need of your medical attention, at the moment. Diseases and infections seem to be spreading much too fast these days, as you probably know." There was a momentary silence, before the Hokage added, "We are also running very low on medical staff. You're worth at least twenty of our best medics."

There was a sigh of defeat, followed by a nod of acknowledgement. "You're right," Sakura said. "I'm sorry for being selfish."

Honey colored eyes softened. "You love him," she said gently. "It's only natural you want to do everything you can for him."

"And yet," the other replied, features suddenly depicting a great sadness, "And yet I can't talk to him. We haven't talked to each other since the war ended, not truly. It's been… edgy between us."

"Maybe this could be the ideal occasion."

.

.

.

She was incredibly nervous as she stood in front of his apartment. She lied when she told Tsunade she and Sasuke hadn't talked since the war—they had talked, but the conversations hadn't exactly ended well. They were either terribly awkward, one-sided, or incredibly tense. They had yet to have the discussion with Naruto pertaining to apologies and explanations, since they were so busy with the rebuilding of the village, and it took a toll on their relationship.

Sakura wanted so badly to work things out between them, but not having Naruto at her side while she confronted Sasuke about something so serious—and which concerned all of them, to be honest—wasn't the most reassuring idea.

So she let life take its course. And she let her relationship with him get tenser, uncomfortable.

Can't believe I'm going to do this, she thought to herself, cringing. But I don't really have a choice now, do I?

She knocked.

He opened the door a few seconds later, his eyes widening momentarily, as if it was the greatest surprise she was here.

"Sakura," he acknowledged, nodding in greeting. His eyebrows creased slightly in confusion, and she knew that was his cue to her to explain herself.

Her shoulders slumped. "My apartment got destroyed by a flood. The whole building is on shutdown, actually." She gave him a tiny and uneasy smile and looked at him with imploring eyes. "So… can I stay over for the next couple of weeks?"

She found herself to be completely surprised when he didn't even hesitate to open his door the moment she finished speaking.

"Come on," he grunted when she simply stood there, doe-eyed.

"You… You don't mind?" she asked, unable to refrain herself from blushing.

"Should I?"

"I…" She trailed out, pausing, before smiling softly. "No. No, you shouldn't," she said, stepping into his home when he opened the door wider.

Maybe that awkwardness and anxiousness was all in her head? It seemed Sasuke was under the impression that they were on relatively good terms—otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to let her stay so quickly. But wasn't that a bit… extreme, even for him? There were things he could hold against her, and a lot more she could hold—well, she did, actually—against him.

A thought crossed her mind, then. Is Sasuke-kun looking to be alone with me? She thought about the times she ran into him, the times he looked as though he was about to say something only for her to basically run out on him. She thought about the times they talked, and realized they had never been just the two of them during those times. Was Sasuke-kun looking for a private conversation? She thought about the times he showed up at her office for no particular reason, standing around and looking at her medical books, asking off-handed questions but not really saying anything of much importance. Sometimes, he'd seem a little frustrated when he left, and she realized that perhaps he was irritated by her lack of response. Was Sasuke-kun… trying to bond with me again? Was he mad that I couldn't catch on?

She smiled. Sasuke-kun, you are so strange. But at least you're trying.

A/N: Lame ending is lame. I also think the whole thing was pretty weird. Does the story flow together well or is it weird? Please tell me, it's nagging at me. I wanted to add more, but then I just thought fuck it. Ya'll spoiled lately because of the SSMonth!

Just a heads up that every day I do a prompt, they will most likely be up in the evening. I spend my afternoons either doing errands or house chores, and then watching movies/tv shows. After dinner it's my prime time to write. :D So my submissions are likely rarely ever gonna be in the afternoon, much less morning (I'M A SLEEPER YO).

I had fun with this one though! Hope it was equally as fun to read. ;)

DeepPoeticGirl