Title: Nightly Turnaround

Rating: PG

Summary: Best to move on...

AN: READ&REVIEW

Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto… but if I did he would be chained to my bed -right next to my new husband ;]

Prompt 13- shatter

The hardest part of his job seemed to be trying to finish all the paperwork that never seemed to lessen, no matter how many hours he sat in his office.

With a jawbreaking yawn, Sasuke stood to refill his fourth cup of coffee. As the machine whirled to life, his thoughts lingered on whether or not he would be able to go home early -or if at all- when the front doors of the precinct swung open, and in walked his pink-haired teammate.

That settles it. I'm not going anywhere, he thought with a sigh.

"Hey, teammate," Sakura greeted him with a smile as she came bounding over to Sasuke's side. "I almost didn't recognize you. You know, on account that you're finally out of your dungeon, and all." She winked.

Sasuke felt his lips lift slightly in a smirk. "Says the one who spent an entire weekend locked in her lab."

"It wasn't an entire weekend. It was more like five days. And besides, I was researching new ways to keep wounded shinobi stay alive longer on the battlefield. Thanks to my hard work you'll be alive long enough to find yourself a suitable girlfriend."

Ignoring his friends quip at his lack of a love life, he instead said, "What are you doing here? I thought you had a nightshift at the hospital today."

"So you do listen when I talk to you," she beamed. "Well, I asked one of the nurses to cover for me so that I would have more time tonight."

He frowned. "More time for what?"

"I thought maybe you and I could go out, get a drink."

At her words, Sasuke could feel himself stiffen and his mouth going dry. She wanted to go out on a date? With him?

As if reading his mind, Sakura fought back a giggle. "I meant, get some air, clear your head. Since when was the last time you left your office?"

He gave her a look and simply lifted a hand to incorporate the front of the police station.

"Hilarious," she said with a roll of her eyes. He hid a smirk while taking a drink of his freshly brewed coffee. "Come on, Sasuke. We're friends and we hardly have time to see each other. What's one drink between teammates?"

The young man pressed his lips into a thin line. He observed the wide smile and bright eyes of Sakura and knew he never had a chance. Blowing out a long sigh, he said, "One drink."

Which, naturally, led to more than just one drink.

"You were right," Sasuke smirked, his neck craning to the left to see Sakura walking by his side. "This was a good idea."

She grinned at the compliment. "All my ideas are good ideas." She frowned. "However, those last two shots were probably overkill. I'll definitely be feeling that tomorrow."

They were rounding the corner leading up to Sakura's apartment complex. All the lights were off save for a lone security lamp fixed high near the roof when Sasuke suddenly stopped without warning, causing Sakura to walk right into his back.

"Ow, Sasuke? Wha-"

He held up a hand, silencing her question. With the other, he signaled at her front door. It was slightly ajar.

"Stay behind me," he ordered, activating his Sharingan to better see in the dark.

"Sasuke I don't like this is necessary," Sakura whispered, though did as he asked.

"You come home to find your door open in the middle of the night and you don't think taking precautions is necessary?"

"It's just that, I usually leave my door unlocked anyways, so..."

Again he stopped in mid-step.

"You really have to stop doing that," she mumbled as she rubbed the tip of her nose.

Abruptly, red eyes were right in her face, frowning down at her with an intense glare. "You don't lock your door?"

"It's not a big deal, okay?" Sakura said trying to defuse the situation. "Naruto doesn't lock his door either!"

"Naruto is a moron and I could care less what happens to him." He stopped. Had that really just come out of his mouth? The words had come out rushed and the moment they were out, he wanted to take them back. "I mean—"

"It's fine," she said, downplaying it for her friends benefit. Although she also tried hiding her smile, her happiness at his words still broke free when she continued with, "Can we take a look in now?"

Not trusting himself verbally, he ducked his head in a nod and went in first.

It was dark but with his Sharingan, it was as if every light was turned on. The entryway, kitchen, living room, and most of what he could see of the hallway were clear. It wasn't until he stepped further into the house that a crack could be heard. Stilling himself, Sasuke looked down, and found fragmented pieces under his shoe.

"Glass?" he murmured to himself.

"Over here." He turned to the sound of Sakura's voice, instantly finding the source of her discovery. "It looks like they shattered the window."

He crept forward, analyzing the now busted up window. Shards lay strewed in and around the opening. Sasuke almost wanted to tell Sakura to wait outside for her own safety, but clamped his lips tight in the next second. She was a grown woman and a top-rank ninja who could handle herself around measly pieces of broken glass. He did not want to make an even bigger idiot of himself tonight if he could help it.

Reaching into his pants he pulled out a communications device. "I'll call it in. Lets wait outside until they get here."

It was five minutes later that a flurry of activity replaced the once quiet neighborhood.

I hope my neighbors don't make me move, thought a worried Sakura as she nibbled on her bottom lip. To her right, Sasuke and another officer by the name of Kai Mizo were talking in that way only policemen can and decided to pay closer attention.

"There doesn't seem to be anything taken," said Detective Mizo. "Although there does seem to be activity suggesting he was looking for something. The front door was left open but he didn't go in through that way. There were no fingerprints leading in or out of the apartment from anyone but Ms. Harunos'."

"Then how did he get in?" Sasuke frowned. "The window?"

"We did find tool markings and partials on the window panes, suggesting he entered in from there. There's also enough ridge detail to work them through our database."

Sasuke nodded. "Good. Let's scan those prints into the system and secure the crime scene for processing."

Kai nodded and went to do just that, leaving Sakura and Sasuke by themselves. It was she who broke into his thoughts. "And you were worried he'd come in using the front door."

Sasuke turned to look at her.

"I wish someone would have told him it was unlocked. Would have saved me the work of installing a new window and one hell of a cleanup." She sighed.

Through the thinly applied veil of sarcasm, Sasuke could hear her exhaustion and most likely dejection from the scenes that had unfolded. Tonight was suppose to be a fun night out with her friend. To leave their work and worries at their respective jobs and enjoy themselves. To come home only to find a problem to sort through, it was enough for Sasuke to reach into his pocket and hand her a key.

"Here," he said. "I want you to stay at my place until we catch the guy responsible."

"Oh, Sasuke..." Sakura gaped in awe. Never in her twenty-two-years of being his friend had she ever seen Sasuke willing to have someone living with him. "I don't know what to say."

"Just...do it. Please."

Already with a smile in place, Sakura said nothing as she reached over to grab the small key from his palm. When their skin briefly touched it sent out an awareness that she had been trying to fight off all night. She had to get used to the idea of Sasuke Uchiha just being one of her many guy friends and not a potential boyfriend. It had been her sole purpose to try and find him a potential mate tonight. In Sakura's mind, it would better motivate her to move on.

Or so she had thought.

As the night had progressed, it had brought forth a different side of her ever-stoic friend that she had never seen before. He talked more, and at one point, even laughed. She had to wonder, could she truly get over him that easy?

"If you're sure," muttered Sakura.

"Aa. I'll be home later tonight."

Her eyes widened in surprise at his words. "But you're already off duty."

"It won't take long." And without another word, Sasuke disappeared into the crowd.

After the days events of work, drinking, and more work, needless to say Sasuke was more than ready to retire at twenty-two.

Or at least sleep through a week straight.

Nearing his apartment, it wasn't as dark as Sasuke expected it to be.

It's almost one in the morning, Sasuke thought, looking down at his watch. Could she still be up this late?

And then an even more surprising thought -could she perhaps be waiting for him?

Deciding it best not to think of such things, especially when he would be in close proximity to her, he went to open the door.

She was standing with her back to him, eyeing the few pictures he had on the wall of his family. "Sakura?"

At the sound of her name being called, the girl turned with a start. "Sasuke!" she exclaimed. "Welcome home," and smiled wide for him that for a moment, Sasuke thought he was dreaming. Sakura was greeting him home like she did this everyday.

Like a married woman greets her husband.

Sasuke ignored the niggling whisper from the back of his mind and instead asked, "I thought you might be asleep by now. What are you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep," she admitted. "So I decided to snoop around a bit." Her eyes shimmered with mischief as she added, "Personally, I can't get enough of the picture where you're in your brother's arms. It's really something to behold.

"Sit down! You must be exhausted." Sakura began dragging him by the hand and onto the sofa. "Find out anything new about my case?"

"Aa. They found the guy responsible at the hospital being treated for cuts on his back." Her hand was warm and soft in his. It was enough to distract him from the way she sat closely at his side. So close, in fact, their knees touched. Sasuke looked anywhere but in her eyes. "The nurses reported him when we sent out a BOLO for him."

"Cuts on his back? You mean from the window?"

"It turns out there was a trap set to go off if anyone were to enter your bedroom without releasing the jutsu first." Sasuke smirked, finally looking over to her. "The blast sent him flying out through the window."

"My bedroom!" Sakura laughed. "Well, what was he after?"

"He was just a petty thief looking for loose cash and valuables."

"Poor guy. The only valuable thing I have lying around is our team picture we took when were twelve. Not that it would mean anything to him." Sakura's demeanor suddenly changed to a serious one. "Why did you go? You had already finished your shift yet you decided to track down this guy. Why?"

Sasuke suddenly felt what it was like to be one of Sakura's test subjects as she examined him closely. His first instinct was to tell her she was being annoying or push her question away altogether or tell her that he was just doing his job, nothing special. What came out instead was, "I told you I cared, didn't I?"

There, he'd said it. Now she knew how he really felt.

Question was, would she push him away?

For a whole thirty seconds, no one said anything. Sasuke wasn't even sure if she was breathing. He knew he wasn't.

It was a split second later he felt her arms wrap around his neck, pulling him forward. "You really mean that?" Her words were hot and moist in his ear.

Without hesitation, he willed his stunned arms to move and wind themselves around her slim waist while, at the same time, dipping his head to press his lips against hers. It was everything he had ever dreamed kissing Sakura would be. Soft, warm, sweet. Nothing about her disappointed.

"I tried hard not to feel the way I did whenever I was around you," came her breathy confession as she pulled away. "That's what tonight was all about, actually."

"I thought you had given up on me a long time ago and that I was just living in denial. Not that I would've blamed you. You deserve to be happy."

"Sasuke," she smiled. "I am happy. So happy I could just see myself never getting tired of this." That's when she pulled him back down for another kiss.

And Sasuke had to silently agree, neither could he.