Sakura rested her head against the hard wooden surface of her kitchen cupboards, she had her eyes closed but she could sense every movement in the room. Sasuke was opposite her mirroring her posture almost exactly except his slouch was more relaxed. She had cradled him in her lap for almost three hours while she gave his chakra infusions periodically to reduce his bleeding; now his breathing was again calm and regular. The katana was lying on the floor next to her, fully sheathed but at hand. Sakura felt like her insides were twisted up into a giant tangled mess and if she had allowed herself she would have, without a shadow of a doubt, cried herself to sleep. But that seemed useless to her, why should she cry? Her single most desired thing in the world had happened, Sasuke had come home. But if that was true then why wasn't she happy? Why was her first reaction to feel threatened and arm herself? Her inner self reasoned that maybe it was the surprise he gave her by just showing up at her doorstep or his silent manner but she was nervous as hell to be around him. Every time he moved in his sleep she twitched for her katana and then laughed at herself for being so afraid of an unconscious man. When he finally came round she didn't reach for the weapon but instead tried to muster a smile.

Sasuke lifted his lids slightly but he found the effort too much and he shut them again. Only after a moment of pooling some residual strength did he try to move his muscles, all of which twinged after the slightest contraction. Suddenly he felt a soothingly smooth hand place on his forearm, the heat from her skin radiating through him. Then he felt her place her hand on his forehead and he felt the refreshing tingle of chakra run through is body from her skilled fingers, through his closed eyes he could see the green hue that surrounding her hands. He felt the tension from all his muscles just slip away and his who body felt less heavy. He opened his eyes slowly, experimenting with the newly found strength she had given back to him. Her bright sea-green eyes were the first thing he saw, a gentle smile gracing her face. She moved her hands away from his face and pressed them to his abdomen to which he flinched slightly. She focused on closing the wound that he had torn open again trying to secure the apartment, with each passing second he felt the stabbing pain wane more and more.

"Sasuke," her voice floated up to his ears. He looked down at her but her eyes were focused on her work, never meeting his own. "I want to believe you're not dangerous," she said sincerely. He let out a short chuckle and smiled weakly,

"I'm not here to hurt you Sakura," he said as he rested his head against the kitchen wall.

"I believe that. If you had wanted to you would have already," she said honestly. He hnnned in response and then they let a comfortable silence fill the void between them as she continued to heal him expertly. When she was finished she allowed the chakra slip away from her hands and she let out a tired sigh. She turned to look up at Sasuke only to find that he was looking down at her; his eyes were blood red and followed each of her movements hauntingly. His stare sent a shiver down her spine but she could never look away.

"I'm sorry," he said turning his head back as he deactivated his sharingan. "Just trying to copy the healing technique." When he turned back through Sakura's eyes were boring right into him, her expression a mix of confident defiance and fearful apprehension.

"Why did you seal us in here?" Sakura asked with trepidation, her voice was hesitant and quiet. His breath stuck in his chest and he remained very still for a few moments, not expecting her to ask him that just yet. Eventually he sighed heavily and pulled up one of his knees to his chest to rest his elbow on.

"It's complicated," he said cryptically. Sakura bowed her head slightly and resigned herself to that answer for now. She slowly got to her feet and walked across the kitchen to the sink and began to busy herself about with mugs and tea bags. She filled the kettle and ran a tired hand through her hair. The past few days had been long and a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Moving from suprise, to confusion, to fear all in a few instants was wearing and now with him being all Uchiha mysterious, Sakura felt mentally drained. Suddenly she sensed Sasuke behind her, the heat of his body pressed up against her back as he stood less than a few centimetres away. He was looking over her shoulder down at the tea cups below her paused hands,

"I take mine with..." he started but she cut over him.

"Milk and no sugar," she recited. "I remember." Sasuke allowed himself a small smile over the fact that she could remember snippets about him from so long ago. It shouldn't have been suprising as the younger Haruno Sakura was obsessed with him. However this Sakura stood in front of him was very different, she masked her emotions better than before. She seemed stronger than before too, both emotionally and physically. To carry him into the house on her own showed strength. But what surprised him the most was the medical jutsu. How did Sakrua know that? He hadn't seen her in years and he naturally assumed she would have improved a little bit but he had expected her to be just an average kunoichi. She never showed any spectacular promise, so how in hell had she turned into such a dynamic shinobi. He smiled again, happy that she had managed to surpass even his low expectations. Suddenly he realised that he was practically pressed up against her and he hurried to take a step back but as he did Sakura span around and pulled him into her. Her arms quickly wrapped around his back and she held him to her. Her arms were tight and stiff, the hug felt tense and contrived. Her head came to his shoulder but she did not place it there. Sasuke's arms fell at his sides in shock until he felt Sakura shudder slightly underneath him, trying desperately to mask her emotions. Sasuke gently pulled himself out of her embrace and took a step back, her face looked hurt and embarrassed for her outburst. Then Sasuke came in towards her again and wrapped his arms around her waist, securing and holding her to him expertly. He moved one of his hands to her hair and began to stroke it softly, Sakura rested her heavy head lightly on his shoulder and began to cry silently. Sasuke rest his chin on the top of her head and held them there for a moment. The whole action seemed very strange to him, like some foreign custom. Intimacy never really suited him but something in him tweaked into place when she took a hold of him. A tender side he never knew he had suddenly took charge, knowing exactly what she needed. Sasuke slowly felt his shoulder dampen and he felt her body hitch.

Sakura couldn't believe she was doing this, she was falling back to the very thing she had sworn she would never do in front of him again. She was crying! Crying like the little girl she used to be. She reprimanded herself for not keeping the professional womanly exterior she had worked so hard to make for herself, but this self-deprication only made her cry harder. When she felt Sasuke's warmth against her back it finally sunk in that this was real. This wasn't some strange twisted fantasy her subconscious punished her with every now and again. The heat of his body against hers was all hers, he was back and it was too much to take in all at once. So when he pulled away, threatening to take away that comfort, she wrenched it back again, refusing to let the reverie end. When he then hugged her back, she felt her hardened exterior crumble away into nothingness. She let out a small smile as tears fell down her face, she reached a hand up to her eyes and tried to wipe away the tears in the hope that he wouldn't notice. But the Uchiha noticed everything. Her body hitched again and slowly Sasuke began to sit them both down on the floor again. He rested his back against the cupboards once more and Sakura fell in suit, resting her head against his shoulder still. His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into him.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said quietly. Sasuke turned to look at her but her eyes were closed serenely, the beads of tears glistening on her face. Sasuke sighed,

"You shouldn't be," he said calmly. Sakura nodded in understanding and took a deep breath trying to steady her nerves shaken from crying. She opened her eyes slowly and wiped away the remaining tears with the back of her hand. She sat up slowly and lifted herself from his comfortable shoulder. She rested her head against the wooden cupboards and starred up at the ceiling. She ventured a small look across at Sasuke who was doing the same as her, starring blankly at the white ceiling tiles. She took a deep breath and stood up to finish off the tea she had started before. She sat back down a few moments later after handing Sasuke his mug, she settled back down next to him and pulled her knees up to her chest, Sasuke's other arm resting lonely by his side. Sakura took a long sip and sighed satisfyingly. She then rested her mug on the floor next to her and then she turned to Sasuke. He noticed her intent and moved slightly so that she was looking at him dead in the face.

"I want fair warning if you're leaving again," she said with a smile on her face, trying to make the conversation a little more jovial. Sasuke however didn't smile back; he turned his to her with a sad expression. Sakura's smile faded quickly and she turned back, her eyes cast back down at the floor tiles.

"Guess it's too early to be joking then," she mumbled with an awkward smile. Sasuke hnned in agreement before standing up slowly. Sakura's eyes followed him as he walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. Sakura suddenly felt cold so she picked up her tea and sipped at it quietly.

What a strange turn of events! She'd never expected this to happen.