Date: 5/18/13
Rating: T
Genre: Drama, Romance
Prompt: Sasuke hugs Sakura once the war is over. He's relieved that she's alive and she is happy that he's coming back to the village.
"You should go see her," Naruto said as he nudged his best friend. They sat outside one of the tents, watching as hoards of ninja ran through the camp in celebration. The war was finally over. And though they all had to face terrible loss along the way, Naruto still found reason to smile. Peace.
"See who?"
The smile fell from Naruto's face. "Now, teme," he said, shaking his head, "we both know you're smarter than that."
"Hn."
"Come on, just talk to her. It's been three years. You don't even have to say anything important. Ask her how she's doing, or say hi." Naruto looked at his lap, continuing softly, "I think you owe her at least a proper hello."
Sasuke sighed; he knew Naruto was right. And seeing that the dobe wasn't going to drop the subject, Sasuke stood up and began to look for Sakura. However, it seemed that no one had seen her since the war was declared over. It wasn't until he saw someone exiting the medical tent that Sasuke realized where she was. He raised his brow and walked towards the tent. Everyone was out celebrating; why wasn't she?
Carefully, Sasuke pushed the tent's flap out of his way and entered, but Sakura didn't seem to notice, too busy changing the lining of the exam table. He knocked on a wooden table. "Did you forget some—Oh, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed when she finally looked up, "Is something wrong? Do you need me to heal you?"
However, he ignored her question with his own, though it sounded more like an unamused observation than anything else. "You're still working."
Sakura made a face. "A medic's job is never finished, Sasuke-kun," she said. She meant for it to be a joke, something to lighten the mood, but Sasuke didn't seem to find it humorous. And when Sakura couldn't handle the awkward silence any longer, she turned around and cleared her throat, picking up the nearest clipboard. "Well, since you're here, let me at least give you a check-up."
Sasuke clicked his tongue, shoving his hands into his pockets—so much for just saying hello—and followed Sakura to the exam table. She asked him if anything was bothering him before starting with his blood pressure, and as the check-up progressed Sasuke had to admit he was quite impressed. She was so calm, so professional, and clearly skilled in her work. Sakura had really grown.
"Sasuke-kun, did you hear me?" she asked, tearing Sasuke from his thoughts, "I said take off your shirt."
"… Sakura," Sasuke said warningly, glaring.
She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh, don't flatter yourself," Sakura said, amused with Sasuke's reaction. "I just want to listen to your lungs, that's all. See?" She pointed to her stethoscope. However, the glare didn't leave Sasuke's face as he listened to Sakura's orders, embarrassed. "Okay, good. Breathe in. Breathe out. Good."
Now Sasuke didn't know what made him do it. Maybe it was because he failed at saying a simple hello. Or maybe it was because he truly wanted to tell her first. But before he could stop himself, Sasuke blurted, "I returning to the village."
Breathe in.
Sakura froze and looked at him. She took off the stethoscope from her ears, thinking maybe she'd heard him wrong. "You are?" He nodded, watching her reaction carefully. Sakura felt the tears well in her eyes, the smile on her face growing as she turned away so he couldn't see. "I'm so," she said, quickly wiping her eyes, "I'm so happy to hear that, Sasuke-kun. We've, I've, really missed you."
Breathe out.
As Sasuke felt the return of the coolness of the diaphragm on his skin and watched Sakura, his thoughts drifted back to moment right before he almost killed her. It seemed so long ago, and yet, it didn't. He remembered how, at the time, he didn't care what happened to her, not after she tried to kill him. But now, sitting in the medical tent, talking to her, being with her, he just felt so relieved that Sakura made it.
They both made it.
Breathe in.
Satisfied with her work, Sakura was about to remove the diaphragm when Sasuke grabbed her wrist, holding her hand in place. Sakura looked at him, confused, a part of her wanting to pull her hand away and another wanting to see what Sasuke was up to. But before she could say anything, Sasuke let go of her wrist, pulling her into an embrace. She gasped. "Sasuke-kun?"
At first, Sasuke didn't answer her, comfortable with Sakura in his arms, comfortable with silence. But after a while, he finally said, "You're alive."
Pause. "So I am." Sakura closed her eyes and smiled, relaxing into his touch and resting her head on his chest. "And you're coming back."
He held her tighter. "So I am."
Breathe out.