Sasuke has finally returned after two long years. How much have things changed?

"Crying? You're always crying for no reason."

Sakura pulled back from Sasuke and took in a deep breath and smiled at him. The uneasy feeling filling the pit of his stomach wouldn't go away. He let go of her and walked out of the bedroom towards the living room in silence.

Sakura watched his back and sadly put a hand on her waist. "Again…not saying a word. Even though he was speaking normally to me just now…"

Sasuke looked at his hands and clenched them. How could he just hug her like that and speak to her as if nothing's ever happened? He didn't know how to act at all and where the boundaries were.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned his head and looked at the worried Sakura.

"Everything alright with you?" she asked him.

He nodded his head and opened the front door. "I have to report to the Hokage real quick. I'll see you later. You don't have to wait for me, it's late."

Sakura watched him leave and silently walked back to her room.

Sasuke leaned against the door and clicked his tongue in annoyance. He didn't know how to face her properly. Looking at the sky, he ventured on to the streets of the village to see the Hokage. As he walked he could feel eyes watching him and could hear whispers going around. He wasn't surprised though. Even if he had helped save the village, he still made some major damage along the way.

Finally reaching the Hokage's office, he opened the door and was greeted by his old sensei.

"Welcome back, Sasuke."

"Kakashi."

Kakashi's eyes smiled at him welcomingly and Sasuke eye's drifted towards Yamato, Kakashi's advisor, who stared at him cautiously.

"Yamato, Sasuke, there's no need to glare at each other," Kakashi pointed out.

Yamato flinched and looked at the Hokage while Sasuke responded in his usual silence.

"But sir-"

"There's no need Yamato. After all, Sasuke is also one of the heroes of the leaf village. Don't forget that."

"Right..."

"Long journey was it, Sasuke? How long has it been? Two years?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied.

"Hmm, well, I assume that your travels went well?"

"Yes."

"Beautiful world out there, isn't it?"

Aside from all the other chaos left, he thought. Then he replied with a "Yes."

"Hmm...well, I'll make it known to the others that you're back so there's no suspicion of an intruder or imposter."

"Right."

Kakashi stared at him and found his one word answers quite somber. "It's good to see you again, you may leave."

Sasuke replied to the Hokage with a bow, then looked at Yamato and bowed again in a silent apology. Yamato's eyes widened and he bowed as well, shocked at the gesture.

Before the Uchiha left the room, Kakashi stood up. "Sasuke."

Sasuke looked back at the Hokage. "What is it, sir?"

"You may be known as one of the Leaf village heroes, but keep in mind that there are some people who are still unhappy about your pardon. Be careful."

Sasuke averted his eyes from his teacher and smirked. "I know."

The Uchiha then left and Yamato looked at Kakashi. "You really think it's alright to trust him, Kakashi?"

Kakashi tapped his desk with his fingers and nodded. "He's a changed man now. It's not going to be an easy road, but he's getting somewhere."

Yamato nodded, "If you have faith in him then as your advisor, I'll do the same. I just hope it doesn't backfire…"

"He is my old student after all…I've got to give him some credit...Ah!"

Yamato looked at the Hokage and raised a brow at the sudden raise in his voice. "Sir?"

"I need you to call someone for me."

Sasuke again walked among the streets of Konoha, not caring about the reactions from the people around him. He was awfully hungry, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to see Sakura…not right now at least. He found Ichiraku and suddenly thought of Naruto.

"Tch...What am I doing..." he told him himself. It wasn't wise to just wander around aimlessly with a notorious reputation. It was going to take time before he could just go anywhere without having to worry about someone attacking him. Only because he knew that they'd probably be no match for him and they wouldn't be able to get out of a fight with just small cuts and bruises - even if he tried to go easy on them.

He decided to go to Sakura's apartment for the night. Upon his return, he found her asleep on the couch and he could tell that she tried waiting for him. He watched her snore and he chuckled as he picked her up and moved her to the bedroom.

"Nn…Sasuke…"

Sasuke looked at her face and his face grew sullen as he saw dried tear stains on her cheek. He then placed her on her bed and sat beside her after pulling a blanket over her. He stared at her for a moment and rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand. Somewhere in his mind, he felt...no, he knew that he didn't deserve her.

Soon, there was a knock on the door. Sasuke furrowed his brows. "This late…? Who'd want to come to Sakura's apartment this late…"

Curiosity took over and he went to the living room to open the front door. There, he was warmly greeted by an old friend who had been waiting for him just as much as Sakura had.

"Naruto."

Naruto replied with a huge grin. "Sup, Sasuke!"

"Why are you here?"

Naruto grimaced and forcefully pushed the bowl of pork buns he had in his hands onto Sasuke's chest.

"Ow! What was that for!"

"A hello would be nice!"

"You're here for me?"

"Why else would I come here this late?" Naruto snapped.

Sasuke stepped back in relief. "So that's it."

Naruto put a fist on his waist. "Oi. I wouldn't come here for any other reason. I'm a married man, you know. Here."

Naruto gave the bowl to Sasuke and Sasuke paused for a moment. Then it hit him. "Wait, you're married?!"

"Oh man, let's go inside and talk. It's cold out here."

"Well, dang." Sasuke let him in and Naruto sat down in the living room.

"How'd you know I was here?" Sasuke asked, placing the bowl on the dining table.

"Kakashi sensei told me."

Sasuke groaned quietly. So much for having a peaceful night, now he had to entertain a guest. It was just Naruto though so he guessed that it wasn't so bad.

"Where's Sakura? I saw her earlier at the market but she seemed a little tired than usual today and sort of under the weather."

Naruto followed Sasuke's eyes to the hallway leading to the bedroom.

"She's asleep. Why was she under the weather?"

Naruto smiled at his concern. "Probably because she missed you."

Too forward, Sasuke thought. "...I see…"

There was an awkward silence and Naruto finally opened his mouth. "How have you been?"

"I've been well...considering. How about you?"

Naruto sighed and let out a soft smile. "Man, times are different now. It's nice, you know? It's a lot more peaceful now, definitely better than it was 10 years ago or so when we were still at the academy."

"Oh…" Sasuke muttered.

There was another awkward silence but this time, Sasuke's stomach growled. His face showed an annoyed expression and Naruto tried his best to hold in his laughter.

"You know, you can eat the food I brought you. Hinata made it for dinner earlier and we had leftovers so feel free to eat if you want."

Sasuke slowly opened the plastic bag and the smell of the pork buns filled his nose. "So...marriage huh…" The image of Sakura popped up in his head and he pondered over how different their relationship would be if that were to happen. He didn't want to think about it.

"How long?"

"Over a year now." Naruto stretched his arms and sighed. "It's nice…it was weird at first, coming home everyday and having a wife waiting for you. Living with someone after having been living alone for almost 18 years your whole life is totally different…and now we have our own kid coming around soon. I'm really excited about that…."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "A baby? Hinata's pregnant?"

Naruto grinned at him. "Yeah, bet he-or she's going to be just as great as me."

Sasuke thought of Naruto and Hinata getting in bed together and stuck his tongue out in disgust. "That's gross and weird."

Naruto glared at him and pointed at him. "Don't think of weird things, you nasty!"

"I'm just being honest." Sasuke chuckled. Again, Sakura's face popped up in his head.

"Well some things are better left unsaid."

"Whatever."

Naruto frowned, "You can be so boring to talk to sometimes."

Sasuke turned his head and glared at him. "Well sorry if I'm not as much of a blabbermouth as you are."

Naruto laughed. "That's more like it." He then looked at the hallway leading to Sakura's bedroom. "You and Sakura okay?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke took a pork bun and chomped on it hungrily. Man, did that taste good.

"I don't know. Are you guys okay, in terms of you know, the relationship?"

"Relationship?"

"I thought you two were together."

Sasuke paused and leaned on the table and crossed his legs, thinking. "Well, something like that…I guess."

Naruto raised a brow. "What do you mean by 'I guess' and 'something like that'?"

Sasuke sighed. "It's just a mutual understanding...agh. It's complicated, Naruto."

"Well, don't you basically live here already?"

"Not really. I'm thinking of getting my own apartment. I can't stay here the whole time and be a burden."

Naruto frowned at him and clenched his hands. "Why? You'd be saving a whole lot of money if you just stayed here. I don't think she'd mind."

"We never labeled our relationship, Naruto. We're not dating."

Naruto sighed, "I don't get you, man. You tell her you like her, then you act like…like this the next day."

Sasuke ate another pork bun and thought to himself for a moment. "You don't get it, Naruto."

Naruto looked at him sadly. "Then help me understand."

Sasuke frowned at Naruto's persistence, but he knew that that's how Naruto always was. Even after at least 3 years of fighting after he left the village, Naruto always set his heart on bringing him back. "Naruto...I almost tried killing her on more than one occasion. It's not fair to her if she's with someone like me. It'll take time..."

Naruto silently looked away and sighed. "That was before. This is now. Remember that. Sakura cares about you and she's constantly worried about you. Shouldn't you take her feelings into account too and not just yours? If you know that it's going to take time, start now." He then stood up and scratched his head. "Well, it's your decision to make, not mine. We're full grown adults now...anyways...it's time for me to head home."

Sasuke nodded and Naruto headed to the door.

"Got a pregnant wife to take of, heh. See ya Sasuke."

"Mm."

Naruto reached the door but before he left, he turned back to look at Sasuke with a sad expression.

"What?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"Sakura really did miss you, Sasuke. She missed you a lot. Just don't hurt her again and think hard about what you want." Naruto then closed the door and left.

Sasuke put his pork bun down on the table and sat on the dining chair, sliding his hands down his face with a big sigh and crossing his hands over his mouth. His eyes then looked to the ceiling and the thought of a family suddenly made his heart hurt.

"Do I even deserve something as precious as that?"

A/N: Thank you for supporting this fanfic and please continue doing so! :) And if you haven't noticed, i also changed my username just because i want to stay lowkey hehe. Thanks again!