Chapter 20 – Look Who's Home!
"How are you feeling, Sakura?"
Glancing up at the old woman, she offered her a smile. "I'm actually kind of sad to be leaving."
It probably seemed like such a turnaround, considering her thoughts only a month ago. However, thanks to Sasuke's visit and his nightly video chats since then, Sakura had thrown herself into work at the hospital (sometimes even falling asleep while talking to him). She got to know the patients, mostly the children and whenever possible, she spent some time with them just before starting or leaving.
It was sad because she would miss those patients. She would miss the staff. She would miss Chiyo.
Sakura never really knew her own grandmother, but she liked to think that Chiyo was the perfect example of a good grandmother. Whenever the girl looked exhausted or stressed, Chiyo would tell Sakura to take a break. Whenever she was distressed, again, she would be told to take a break. After the break, Chiyo would find Sakura and ask her how she was feeling and whether or not the break was any good. Then, they would sit down and have a chat until Chiyo was needed somewhere.
Yeah, the person Sakura was going to miss the most was definitely Chiyo.
"Well, I expect to hear nothing but good things about you," Chiyo told her sternly but there was a gentle look in her dark eyes. "And I hope you surpass that old drunk soon."
She had learned that it was best not to respond to those kinds of words. Tsunade was just as bad for them, as well.
"I'm going to work my hardest," Sakura assured her with a smile. "And with Tsunade-sama guiding me, I'm certain that I'm going to do this."
Chiyo smiled softly and nodded once. "Even though I don't like the woman, there is no denying that Tsunade is a great doctor."
There had been many conversations between herself and Tsunade. At first, Sakura had had difficulty speaking to the blonde without being intimidated or fan-girling over the fact she was speaking with the legendary Tsunade. It was safe to say that Tsunade had knocked that right out of her and even though there were definitely still times when Sakura was intimidated by her, it wasn't nearly as much as before.
She and Gaara would be leaving for Konoha in the early hours of the morning. It had been a joint decision to leave as soon as she completed her summer programme, as they both wanted to be back in Konoha as soon as possible. They wanted to see their friends and spend the last few weeks of the summer together.
Tsunade wouldn't be travelling with them, however. No, she said that she had a few more things to straighten out before she left Suna, though would definitely be getting the flight after theirs.
Everything of hers at the Sabaku home had been packed the night before except for a couple of outfits and her scrubs for the hospital. So that she wasn't rifling through everything at the last minute, Kankuro had kindly handed over one of his old t-shirts for her to sleep in. All that was really left to pack were the last of her clothes and then she could leave. Gaara, on the other hand, had been packed for quite a while now.
There were many things that he would be leaving behind, including a great deal of his clothes. Apparently they were more suited for Suna's weather and harsh temperature, so there was no point in taking them to Konoha with him. That way, should he ever return to Suna to visit his siblings, he would have clothes there already and wouldn't have to carry much.
That also meant that, once they returned to Konoha, Sakura would be taking him shopping. There was no talking her out of it, either, like Gaara had tried to do. He tried to tell her that he could just buy his clothes online, to which she had scoffed and shaken her head. Most of the time, those clothes had to be returned due to being too big or too small, or looking nothing like their picture. And her best friend was at such an awkward size.
"Well," Chiyo suddenly spoke up as they reached the doors that would take them outside, "I guess this will be the last time I see you for a while."
The thought had her heart clenching, but Sakura didn't show her pain and instead smiled. "I'll be coming to visit you at some point. Maybe I could even help out here again?"
Her words brought a smile to the old woman's face. "Of course you can. It was an honour to have you here, shadowing me."
An honour? Sakura's breathing almost stopped and before she could even stop herself, she was all but lunging forward and tackling Chiyo into a tight embrace, unable to hide her grin of happiness. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Chiyo-baasama," Sakura told her earnestly. "Thank you for your kindness. And thank you for looking after me!"
After a moment, Chiyo returned the young girl's hold, her features softening with affection. It had been quite a while since anybody had hugged her.
"Your friend is here, Sakura," she told her after a few seconds.
Reluctantly, Sakura pulled away, though her smile remained in place. "I'll see you soon, Chiyo-baasama!"
"Make sure you have plenty of stories to tell me."
She grinned. "Of course!"
The old woman watched as Sakura turned and darted out of the hospital, almost jumping on the redhead waiting for her by the wall. He muttered to her in response, saying words that Chiyo couldn't really make out, but she knew that he thought fondly of her. The expression on Sabaku Gaara's face was one that wasn't there every day. His eyes held a softness for his friend and it made her smile. It was good to see such a look on his face, especially after all the torment that family had been through.
"You're getting soft, you old hag."
The warmth on Chiyo's face remained, not cracking for a second and her eyes never left the youngsters' backs as they walked away. "As are you, you drunk. It's not every day that you take on an apprentice. The only one to ever study under you was Shizune, if I'm not mistaken and that was many years ago now."
Tsunade huffed and leaned against the wall by Chiyo's side, following her eyes as she folded her arms over her ample chest. "The girl's talented. I want to make sure that talent and potential isn't wasted."
"More like she reminds you of yourself."
Minutely, honey brown eyes narrowed.
Finally, Chiyo turned her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "Take care of her in Konoha, Tsunade."
Again, the blonde huffed and rolled her eyes. "Is your old age getting to you already? What a stupid thing to say! Of course I'll take care of Sakura."
The warmth left Chiyo's features and she regarded Tsunade seriously, her eyes narrowing a fraction. "You know what I mean."
"Did her mother contact you again?"
"Yes. Apparently Sakura's father is growing more agitated. He's still demanding to know where Sakura has gone, but her mother is refusing to tell him anything."
"This is her time," Tsunade muttered, her own eyes narrowing. "If that man knows what's good for him, he won't dare to approach my student."
"I don't see why you dislike planes so much."
Rolling her eyes, Sakura shifted in her seat, tugging on her maxi dress to make sure there would be no wrinkles when she stood up. It was new and a gift from Temari, who said they had to somehow repay Sakura for being such a good friend to Gaara over the years (because they all knew it was no easy task). Of course, naturally, she tried to politely decline, but there was no saying no to a woman like Temari.
It was a beautiful dress, in her honest opinion and it reminded her of Suna. The entire thing was loose on her, meaning it was incredibly comfortable, though it wasn't loose enough to look stupid. In fact, Sakura believed it kind of made her figure look a lot more appealing than it actually was. It was held up by simple, thin straps over her shoulders with a stringed belted waist, making her breasts look a little bigger due to the bagginess of the chest area (and her favourite new bra). The patterned design was what Sakura loved most about the dress. She wasn't entirely sure what the pattern was supposed to be, but she loved all of the different colours and shapes. To go with the dress, she was wearing a pair of white espadrille wedge sandals (another gift from the siblings).
"I don't like sitting still for so long," Sakura huffed before taking a sip of her water. "Other than that, I'm fine with flying." Deciding to change the subject, she suddenly smiled up at him. "You're finally coming home."
Even though Gaara knew Sakura was changing the subject – and terribly at that – he still returned her smile. He already felt so much lighter, like a huge weight was off his shoulders.
"Are you anxious?"
He frowned. "Why would I be?"
At this, Sakura also frowned. "Well… You wanted to keep it a secret, so it's going to be a huge surprise for everyone. Not to mention that thing with Matsuri–"
"Matsuri means nothing to me," Gaara cut her off, narrowing his eyes. "She's nothing but a nuisance. Now that I'm gone and she knows that I have left, she'll stop trying to break out of the hospital."
"How can you be so sure?" she couldn't help but hiss, wary of others hearing them. "You told her you're moving to Konoha!"
The look Gaara gave her was blank, like he was contemplating her intelligence. "Matsuri is in the hospital, Sakura. She has no passport and everyone in Suna knows who she is. There isn't a chance of her boarding a plane, let alone flying all the way to Konoha."
Since they were flying back much earlier than her tickets were booked for, they'd had to buy new tickets. That was a painful experience, one she didn't even want to go into detail about. Long story short: they were now in first class and she owed Gaara a lot of money, even though he refused to accept any of her money. She'll find a way to pay him back somehow.
There was sense in his statement, also. Security checks in Suna's airport were a hell of a lot more extreme than the ones in Konoha's, which worried her slightly. Were they the ones who were lacking? Or was Suna just a bit over the top and dramatic? Either way, Sakura had heard that the crime rate in Suna was a lot lower than that of Konoha. But that didn't mean they didn't have their problems. The kidnappings or attempted kidnappings said it all.
After their discussion, the journey back to Konoha seemed to fly by, passing a lot more quickly than the journey to Suna. It had Sakura feeling giddy and unable to sit still, making Gaara roll his eyes and smirk every now and then. He could feel her excitement too, although he didn't show it. Instead he sat back and closed his eyes, passing Sakura one of the earphones so that they could listen to music together.
By the time they landed, Sakura was shaking him awake, surprising him with the fact he'd fallen asleep in the first place.
"We're here," she told him with a smile.
Once more, they went through security checks before waiting somewhat patiently for their luggage. Because of how much they had between them, Gaara managed to get hold of a cart, one that would be able to carry all of their belongings and it took a matter of seconds to load it.
He was the one who pushed the cart through the packed airport, trying his best to ignore the urge to just ram it into the ignorant people who refused to move out of his way. Couldn't they see that he was unable to find another route? Ignorant bastards! But even they couldn't shove Gaara out of his good mood and when they caught sight of a familiar face, one who was smiling brightly and waving at them both, he easily ignored the others and their ignorance.
"Mom!" Sakura grinned, running straight into her mother's arms and holding onto her tightly.
The embrace was returned just as strongly, with Mebuki rubbing her daughter's back and kissing her forehead affectionately. "I've missed you more than you'll ever know, Sakura." She sighed, kissing the top of her head. "It's so lonely in that apartment without you."
Her words had Sakura biting on the inside of her cheek. It seemed now would not be the time to discuss her possibly moving in with Sasuke, then. She would have to warm her mother to the idea, first. The last thing Sakura wanted was to make Mebuki feel as though she was being pushed out or abandoned. She knew Sasuke would understand.
"I missed you, too."
Speaking of her boyfriend…
"Where's Sasuke?" Sakura suddenly asked as she released her mother and looked around in confusion.
"He's busy, I'm afraid," Mebuki told her with a small smile. "Where you expecting him to be here?"
She nodded and like only moments before, Sakura was biting the inside of her cheek, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. "He promised he'd be here."
Where was he that was so important?
Only Mebuki knew of Gaara's return to Konoha before it actually happened. Everyone else (other than his siblings, of course) were left in the dark.
And it seemed that her mother had gone all out to welcome him back because when they left the airport, they didn't go to a taxi shelter like they usually would have done. No, Mebuki guided them through the car park and towards a car she had rented for the day. It wasn't anything grand, but it certainly made it a lot easier than lugging everything around with them.
That wasn't all. She also treated them to dinner, taking them to a fairly fancy restaurant and allowing the pair to order whatever they wanted. When Sakura asked what was going on, all her mother had done was smile and say that it was her treat. Something wasn't adding up, however. It wasn't the money that was an issue. Less food would have been bought in Sakura's absence and less electricity and gas would have been used, which obviously meant money was saved. There was also no spending money that was needed because of an allowance the hospital provided her with and the fact Gaara continuously treated her to everything.
No, it was the pauses. It was the deliberate delay in replies. Whenever Sakura brought up her friends or Sasuke, Mebuki would tense for a split second before forcing a smile and answering. It put her on edge and she knew she wasn't being paranoid. Gaara also picked up on the hesitancy, causing him to frown minutely every now and again.
"Have you heard from Uchiha Sasuke at all?"
Again, another pause and when Mebuki answered Gaara's question, her reply was slow and carefully thought out, "Not really. I've seen him around a few times, but that's all."
Seen him around? What did that mean? Sasuke wouldn't have gone to the apartment – not without Sakura being there because he found sitting alone with her mother awkward at times, simply because they had nothing to discuss. So where would Mebuki have seen Sasuke?
Was she overthinking again? Sakura had learned to trust Sasuke a lot over the past few months. She had given him her virginity, so of course she trusted him! But… There was a horrible twisting in her gut, one that was making her feel sicker by the minute until Sakura could barely even glance at the food on the table without it nearly bringing all she had eaten back up.
There was only one way to get rid of the retched feeling in her stomach and as Sakura excused herself, she grabbed her clutch bag and made her way outside, saying she needed some fresh air. Once outside, she immediately rifled through her bag, pulled out her phone and went straight to the most recent contact. It seemed to ring forever, going on and on and on and why the hell wasn't he answering and–
"Sakura."
The thundering in her chest only increased and Sakura couldn't help but frown at the sound of his voice. He sounded annoyed, but why? Had she done something to upset him? "Hey, Sasuke. I'm back!" She tried her best to smile, but it was shaky and her voice was no better. "You must have forgotten–"
"I didn't forget," he cut her off, sounding distracted. "I'm too busy to meet you today."
Her heart sunk.
"…Oh." It felt like she wanted to cry. Why was he suddenly being so blunt and distant with her? "Well… I guess I'll see you around, then?"
"Yeah."
He hung up without another word.
Clutching the phone tightly in her hand, Sakura fell back against the wall, biting on her lower lip as she did so. What the hell was that about? Sasuke had been fine with her last week and every week before that. When had the change happened? Recently, obviously. How had he seemed when they last saw each other in person? Intense to say the least. Sasuke had kissed her like he was never going to see her again, like–
A goodbye kiss.
It had been a goodbye kiss.
Sure, they had been saying goodbye anyway, but what if it meant more than that? What if Sasuke was saying goodbye to their relationship, too?
The anger that was always present within herself flared to life and her hold tightened on her phone. It took an insane amount of willpower to stop the urge of flinging her phone across the road, knowing that it wouldn't survive the fall and would most likely damage somebody's car. The last thing she needed at that moment in time was some kind of bill. It would be all Sasuke's fault anyway.
But why would he go through so much trouble to make her trust him? Sakura didn't want to think badly of him, really she didn't, but just because she had forgiven him it didn't mean she had forgotten how badly he'd hurt her in the past. That pain was impossible to forget.
There was no explanation in her mind as to why Sasuke was suddenly being so… off with her. The last time they saw each other at the airport, after their weekend together in Suna, Sasuke hadn't been different in the slightest. Well, except for his slight possessive nature. Then again that wasn't too out of character for him, because Sasuke liked to make it known that she was his.
Was he hers, though?
That particular thought had Sakura freezing in her place, had her eyes widening in horror and fear.
It had been the pessimistic side of herself, a side every person had. What if Sasuke was with someone else? It would explain why he seemed annoyed with answering the phone. It would explain why he sounded distracted and hung up without saying 'I love you' or 'I miss you' or anything else affectionate. Even Uchiha Sasuke made it known how important she was to him.
If Sasuke was seeing somebody else…
Tears filled her eyes but they weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of anger. The anger went beyond anything she'd ever experienced before, exploding to such a great height that it completely skipped over her usual outbursts and went straight to tears. It just proved how much she was hurting, too.
If Uchiha Sasuke had hurt her again, if he was seeing somebody else behind her back, then Sakura would never forgive him. No, scratch that. She would hurt him the way he hurt her. Not by being with somebody else and making herself seem like a trashy whore, but by hurting him physically. Already she had proven to be stronger than he anticipated and if she were to attack when he was least expecting it–
A hand grabbing her shoulder jolted Sakura out of her dark thoughts, making her take a deep, shaky breath when she realised just how dark they'd been getting.
No. No matter how badly Sasuke hurt her, she couldn't hurt him back.
She wasn't her father.
She refused to be like that man.
"Your mother asked me to check on you."
She smiled weakly at Gaara. "Go back inside, I'll be–"
"Don't even think about lying to me." He rolled his eyes and leaned beside her on the wall. "You tried to contact Uchiha." At Sakura's shaky nod, he sighed. "And?"
"And… Nothing. He's too busy to meet me today."
Gaara couldn't help but sigh at the sight of his best friend. "You have never let anyone upset you this much before."
"That's because this is different," she snapped in return, waving her phone at him. "Sasuke's my boyfriend, Gaara! He's my boyfriend and he promised me that he'd be there to meet me at the airport."
Again, he sighed. There was no use in trying to enter a shouting match with Sakura for two reasons. First: they were in a public area and would attract way too much attention for his liking. Second: her voice was capable of going so much louder than his own, easily drowning him out. There was no use in entering a shouting match with her because Sakura's lungs were much larger and her vocal chords were much louder. She would always win.
"What did he say?"
"It's not what he said," Sakura muttered and glared up at the cloudless blue sky. It was a beautiful day, a hot one, but nowhere near as hot as Suna. She was thankful for that. Being able to wear other colours and not having to worry about sweat patches was something to be grateful for. "It's how he said it. Sasuke sounded so… distant and annoyed with me."
It was clear that it was really bothering her, Gaara thought as he looked away. Seeing such raw pain and confusion on her features was something he'd never enjoy seeing. The fear that was there was just as disgusting, in his eyes. Haruno Sakura was not one to fear somebody. She feared the dark and her father, sure, but with good reason. She did not fear anybody or anything else.
Except for losing Sasuke, apparently.
Why he meant so much to her, Gaara would never know. In his personal opinion, she could do so much better than an arrogant and spoilt brat such as Uchiha. Then again, he was her best friend and he was incredibly protective of her. Wasn't he supposed to think that way? Wasn't he supposed to believe that nobody would ever be good enough for her and should they even think of hurting her, he was supposed to intervene and protect her? Gaara wasn't so sure.
Other than Sakura, he had very little friends and other than Hinata, they were all males. They could all defend themselves. Not that Gaara was saying the two girls were damsels in distress, it was just that urge within himself to protect them both. He had seen them at their most vulnerable, when they seemed so fragile and lonely and scared. Of course he'd want to protect them.
"Was he different with you when you last saw him?"
She shook her head. "Not really, no."
There was a pause as Gaara turned his head to look at her. "…What about after you had sex with him?"
Like he had been expecting, Sakura's eyebrow began to twitch and he knew that her anger was growing swiftly by the second. Thankfully, she didn't release that anger and instead took a deep breath, answering in a somewhat calm voice, "No."
It was the truth, too. After they'd had sex, Sasuke had treated her the same way he had before they'd done it. That was why she was so confused and annoyed. His sudden coldness had come out of nowhere and Sakura had no idea what to do with herself. Did she try to talk to him again? Did she give him space? What did she do?
Closing her eyes and taking another deep breath, Sakura pushed away from the wall and turned in the direction of the entrance. "I'm not going to let him bother me. My mom's gone through so much trouble and I'm not letting him ruin my day."
He smirked and followed without another word.
That was the Haruno Sakura he knew.
The one who took shit from nobody.
Sakura grumbled to herself as she dragged her suitcases towards their apartment. The elevator was not to be used for a few hours for some ridiculous reason and because of that, they'd been forced to take the stairs. Altogether, there were five suitcases and all of them were huge.
Her hands were aching!
It was her own damned fault for packing so much, really. She hadn't even worn half of the stuff she'd taken to Suna because after the first two weeks, they'd handed her a set of scrubs which was to be her uniform. They hadn't been flattering in the least and probably made her look like a child playing dress up, but it could have been worse, she supposed.
When they finally reached their floor, Sakura almost cheered and she knew the two behind her felt the same way. Gaara was carrying his two suitcases and didn't appear to be all that tired or in pain. She was also carrying two of her suitcases and her mother was pulling along Sakura's biggest suitcase. Due to her own hands being full, Mebuki was the one who opened the door and was the first one to enter the apartment, leaving the suitcase by the front door. Sakura and Gaara followed her example, leaving the other suitcases there.
Following her mother and actually groaning with relief as she rubbed her poor abused hands, Sakura all but screamed when she entered the living room.
"Welcome home!"
Welcome home.
She blinked in stunned surprise, glancing around the living room. All Sakura could do was stare as her heart continued to pound away in her chest.
All of her friends were there, smiling brightly and the living room had changed completely, set out so that they could all fit in the room comfortably. The sofas had been pulled back and the beds that were inside them were out in the open, covered in thick duvets and pillows and on the coffee table between those sofa beds were snacks upon snacks. There was even more in the kitchen, Sakura realised after a few moments.
And something that stood out from everything else?
Sasuke.
"Sakura-chan?" Naruto frowned and took a step forward.
But just as he did, Sakura smiled and held a hand up, forcing him to stop and once he had, she spoke. "I have a surprise of my own." Her smile widened as she glanced behind her, watching Gaara as he moved towards the living room and when he was in view, she grabbed his arm and continued. "Look who's home!"
Silence.
And then Naruto and Rock Lee were cheering loudly, approaching Gaara faster than the redhead could even blink. They didn't give him the chance to take a single breath before they were throwing question after question at him, demanding to know how long he was staying for and whether or not he would be going to the dojo during that time.
Hinata looked torn for a moment as she looked between Sakura and Gaara. It was only when Sakura chuckled and gestured to Gaara that she moved forward, not really believing her eyes but so very happy their friend was home.
Sasuke was silent as he watched her, unable to mask his frown at the look in her green eyes.
Her anger was still there. However, now that she knew Sasuke had been busy because of her surprise welcome home party, the anger wasn't as great. In fact, it was barely even there at all. But that didn't mean she had forgiven him for the way he spoke to her earlier that day, because it had been a long time since she'd felt like she was annoyance to him.
Without saying a word, she turned around and walked towards her bedroom. She knew that he was following her because Sakura could feel his presence right behind her, close enough that he could touch her if he wanted to. He didn't. Even when they were in her bedroom and the door was shut, Sasuke did not touch her. Instead he watched as she placed her bag onto her bed and faced him.
"Sasuke–"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Tell him? "What?"
"About Sabaku," he muttered and his eyebrows knitted together. "Why didn't you tell me you were bringing him back with you?"
Was that really what was bothering him? Forget the fact he'd spoken to her like she was absolutely worthless earlier. Forget the fact that he'd made her feel like she was annoying and only an inch tall. No, what really mattered was that her friend (who had been so depressed living in his home town) had come home with her and she hadn't told Sasuke about it.
Stopping herself from actually scowling at her boyfriend was difficult. "It was a surprise."
"For me?" asked Sasuke sarcastically. "No, I didn't think so. It's not like I would have told everyone else, Sakura. You could have told me."
"Why are you so bothered by him?" The aggravation did not escape his attention. "Before you left Suna, you were fine with my friendship with Gaara. What's changed in a month?"
"The fact that you've turned up with him, holding his hand!"
Like his suddenly had, Sakura felt her voice rising more than heard it. "I was holding his arm to drag him in front of everyone!"
Sasuke watched her for a moment, his eyes narrowed and expression serious before that anger faded out of him quicker than it had appeared, leaving him to sigh and shut his eyes. "Sakura–"
"What's your problem?" she demanded angrily, her fists shaking. "First you speak to me like I'm a piece of shit and now you're getting angry because I'm friends with a guy–"
He didn't allow her to continue. Instead he grabbed her wrist and yanked her against him, holding her tightly even when Sakura tried to break out of his hold.
"I missed you."
"Don't try sweet talking your way out of this, Uchiha Sasuke!" Sakura snapped. She wanted nothing more than to melt into his embrace, but… "You made me feel so… annoying."
Without opening his eyes, Sasuke kissed the top of her head. "It was supposed to be a surprise."
The party? Sakura frowned and pulled back to see his features, her frown deepening when his eyes opened. "Are you saying you planned the surprise party?"
Sasuke smirked. "It was Naruto's idea. Hinata said I should be in charge of what we do, since I know you best."
Which was why the living room looked the way it did and not like a real party. Her eyes widened before they softened. "A movie night."
He nodded. "I wanted to be there to welcome you home," Sasuke murmured and raised his hand, stroking the back of her neck. He would have rather run his fingers through her hair, but Sakura had thrown it up into a messy bun. "But Naruto thought that you would like this surprise more."
She didn't want to tell him that Naruto was wrong. It seemed like so much thought had gone into the surprise party and now she felt absolutely vile for thinking the worst of her boyfriend. Why had she even thought that something was going on? Her gut instinct could always be wrong.
"I'm sorry." Sakura offered him a small smile. "Flying makes me grumpy and when you didn't turn up and my mom said you were too busy…" She shook her head. "I just got upset."
Like he would ever be too busy for Sakura. "So how long is he here for?"
Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes. This again? He already knew that he had nothing to worry about. Her friendship with Gaara was just that – a friendship. Nothing romantic was going on or would ever go on.
Then again, just an hour ago, she had been worried about Sasuke having somebody else, too. Was it just natural to feel possessive? There was no denying that he was somebody who was precious to her and there was also no denying that he was one of the best things to have ever happened to her. Of course she would be worried about his presence suddenly disappearing. However, she needed to have more faith in her boyfriend.
"Did you speak to your parents?"
For a moment, he seemed confused and a little annoyed that Sakura had avoided his question, but then the reminder of what he was supposed to ask his parents pushed all anger and possessiveness aside. "Yeah."
"…And?" she pushed, unhappy with the pause.
"And they have agreed."
She squealed with obvious excitement and hugged him tightly.
A/N - I've had a few complaints (mostly guest accounts) about my slow updates. Usually, I update once a week but I've been taking a break in between updates. There's a few reasons for that and I feel like I owe you all an explanation, even though other writers on here don't update for months at a time, or sometimes even years.
The first is that last month, I was diagnosed with depression and I've been sleeping most of the day and unable to get out of bed, which basically means I haven't been writing as much, so I've had nothing to update with. I like to think the antidepressants are working, but meh. I'm still exhausted most of the time and nearly always restless and irritable.
The next reason is that my nephew, who is only two months and eight days old, stayed with us recently. I don't think I need to explain why I haven't gotten much done with him around, right?
My final reason is that a close family friend died the other week. I'm not going to go into full detail, but he was an ex of my older sister's and even when they broke up, he was still there for our family and still looked out for us all. If we ever needed anything, anything at all, then he was there. And he was there for a lot of bad things, always supporting us and taking our side.
I don't know when I'll next be updating, but I'll try to keep up with the weekly updates.