Chapter 1

She woke up with a smile.

Today was her birthday.

Nothing felt much different, except that she was in a very good mood. She noticed how it didn't take much effort to get out of bed as it usually did, and after a nice and warm shower she was energetic.
Her usual breakfast felt delicious and even the daily sleepy walk towards the hospital was replaced by a happy stroll as she hummed a song she heard somewhere.

Nurses and medics at the hospital congratulated her and remarked how glowing she looked, how radiant her skin was or how shiny her hair was today. She indeed felt exceptionally happy. She didn't even mind when she was notified of a critical patient's attempt to escape from the hospital. Instead, she offered him a small smile and encouraged him to hold on for two more days until he was released.

After her shift she went to meet with Naruto and Sasuke for their usual lunch at Ichiraku's, and although she usually complained about always eating ramen and why couldn't they at least once try something different, she found herself enjoying her bland bowl of ramen very much.
When her dear teammates started their usual banter over the stupidest things like the way Sasuke's hair resembled the butt of a chicken, or how Naruto would incorrectly spell a word of elementary school's level, she just couldn't bring herself to bother. She looked at them as if they were the cutest little children fighting over a toy, earning odd looks from them.

"Sakura chan… are you ok…?", Naruto asked wary. He exchanged glances with Sasuke, who looked as intrigued as him over the whole 'peaceful and loving Sakura' thing.

She just nodded happily, offering them a smile before returning to her meal.

Suddenly Naruto yelped, almost squeaked, startling the Uchiha next to him.

"Ah! I know! Today is Sakura chan's birthday!", he said alarmed and stared at her for confirmation. Her small, giddy nod was the answer he needed.

"Happy birthday Sakura chan!", he said and grabbed her in a tight embrace.

"Happy birthday", came Sasuke's more modest congratulations and she beamed at them muttering a quick 'Thank you' while she tried not to die suffocated in Naruto's loving grip.

It was only noon and she was receiving so much love already! Her chest tightened with joy as she left her teammates a while later for a quick shopping.

It ended up being nothing near quick after she ran into Ino at the store. She was also thrilled about the celebration, already starting to take onto herself the task of planning her best friend's party. They spent most of the afternoon together, having ice cream, looking at dreamy dresses and beautiful jewellery as they went.

On her way home she ran into Mikoto, who congratulated her warmly and invited her for a celebration dinner at her house.

"Mikoto san, thank you very much! But please, is not necessary", she said shyly with a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Nonsense! You're practically part of the family Sakura chan, and we will be happy to celebrate this important day with you", the Uchiha matriarch insisted with a kind smile and Sakura didn't have much choice but to accept.

After a nice and relaxing bath, she got ready for dinner at the Uchiha household.
Upon arrival, she was greeted by an excited Mikoto, an enthusiastic Naruto and a shy Sasuke…

Wait, shy?

She noticed his faintly coloured cheeks as he averted his gaze from her whenever she looked at him, but after Mikoto san served their plates the whole matter was forgotten.

Some minutes later the front door slid open as Itachi entered the house. His lifted eyebrow suggested an enquiry over the reason behind this small celebration, and Sakura couldn't help the mortified blush on her face when his mother excitedly explained it to him.

"Happy birthday Sakura, I'm very sorry, I didn't know", he said as he walked to take a seat with them.

"No, please, don't worry…", she said, suddenly feeling the centre of attention. "Thanks"

She didn't exactly know why her belly twisted when he looked at her, or why she felt shyer than usual, but she made an effort to avoid his gaze for the rest of the evening.

After thanking Mikoto for the wonderful dinner and complimenting her on her amazing cooking skills, she left the Uchiha house in the company of Naruto.
They got to her apartment to find the party already started. A loud "happy birthday Sakura" received them as she opened the door, and seconds later she spotted Ino loudly making her way through the crowded little flat to approach her with a strong embrace and a bottle of beer. Sakura looked around and saw familiar faces; all rookie nine were there to celebrate, Kakashi was also there, next to Genma and Shizune.

She mixed within the crowd, talking and drinking and even dancing as she slowly got herself drunk. A while later Sasuke appeared and in her inhibited state she threw herself at him in a clumsy hug.
She felt so happy and excited that she didn't even worry about the positive hangover she would be feeling in the morning.
She was talking with a group when the song that had been stuck in her mind for the last week suddenly played. She smiled to herself and moved away from the group to dance to the tune. She knew she probably looked like a fool with her hardly coordinated moves, but she couldn't care less.
A light touch on her waist registered in her dazed mind before Sasuke was in front of her, looking at her with clear amusement. She grinned at him and exaggerated her clumsy moves, earning a soft laugh form her black haired teammate.

"Dance with me Sasuke kun!", she yelled through the noise, and against all odds he approached her and started lightly moving to the music as well.

She noticed his hand was still on her waist, and it was probably because of the alcohol, but she felt compelled to bring him closer. She rested her arms around his neck as his free hand came to hold the other side of her waist.

She lost track of time, slowly moving to the rhythm in the arms of the boy that had once plagued her mind and claimed her heart.
That had been a long time ago, but for some reason she was feeling warmth well up in her chest and as he moved slightly closer, his scent felt suddenly strong in her senses and his gaze deep on hers.

She smiled at him, humming the song and never leaving his eyes.

She heard Naruto calling her from behind and released Sasuke when she turned to face him. The blonde was happily singing the song Sakura could only hum and they ended up loudly singing it together and dancing to it.

After several hours the party had died and only Team Seven remained, sprawled in her couch, barely clinging on to consciousness. She couldn't help a weak laugh when she looked at her left and saw Naruto's head lazily hanging from the arm of the sofa, his mouth fully open and a trail of saliva running from it.

To her right was Sasuke, who was as wasted as their blond friend but with some more dignity to it. He was cornered on the other side of the couch with his arm bent over, supporting his groggy head. His lips were slightly parted and his eyes were shut.

Sakura took a moment to look at his oblivious form and slowly scanned his features.

With the passing of the years he had become a really handsome man; his face was more angular, his hair was a bit longer and though his overall frame was still lean, it was wider and more manly.

She bit back a soft chuckle when she saw his slightly flushed cheeks; the only evidence of his drunken state.

Sakura smiled to herself and closed her eyes, suddenly feeling unable to fight unconsciousness anymore. She leaned on her side and let her head rest in Sasuke's shoulder. His soft breathing quickly lured her into sleep, but before she completely passed out she felt him stir and lazily move his arm around her in a side embrace.

Sakura was leaping through the trees in the outskirts of Konoha. Early in the morning, Tsunade had asked her to deliver an important scroll to the Daimyo, and now she was coming back. She was glad to notice that it still wasn't noon, so the whole mission had been completed in less than four hours.

She decided she could take it a bit slower and actually enjoy her surroundings. That was until she felt a strong presence followed by the sound of metal clashing.

'A fight?', she thought as she masked her chakra and slowly followed the source of the sound.

She reached a small clearing occupied by a single person.

Uchiha Itachi was in the middle, darting kunais at marks so far into the forest she couldn't even see them.

She lowered her defenses when she saw the black haired shinobi, realizing she had run into him in the middle of his training.

Something about his movements caught her attention and made her want to stay and watch. She saw as he produced a Shadow Clone and started sparring with it, mixing graceful Taijutsu moves with some techniques she couldn't recognize. She fleetingly wondered what would happen if it was her, instead of that clone, fighting the young Uchiha.

Itachi suddenly stopped and reached for a bottle of water in his back pouch, all the while Sakura stared at him from behind a nearby tree. She saw how his long ponytail was loose and some strays of hair were falling free around his face and down his chest. She also took in the way his strong hand held a grip of the bottle, or how his muscles would flex under his skin when he saved it a few moments later.

His breathing was slightly laboured, but apart from that there was no evidence of fatigue in his stance.

He suddenly reached for the tie restraining his hair and pulled it out, letting the midnight locks fall free down his back.

She felt her cheeks growing warmer.

He then proceeded to comb it with his hands and then pull it back together in a tight ponytail at the base of his nape.

She had known Itachi for almost as long as Sasuke, and from the moment she met him she knew he was probably one of the most handsome men she had seen, but now that she was older and not a silly little girl dreaming about love, she couldn't really explain the sudden butterflies she felt in her belly, or why she was standing here practically stalking him in the middle of his training, when she knew she had much better things to do.

Sakura suddenly felt ashamed, and was even more so when she noticed his eyes moved in her direction.

She had been caught.

Her feet quickly moved in the direction she had come as she prepared to resume her travel back to the Hokage tower, until she was suddenly stopped by the sharpest tip of a kunai pressed against her throat.

"Sakura, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you", Itachi said from behind her as he removed the menacing weapon.

Mortified, she slowly turned around, hoping he wouldn't notice the furious blush in her cheeks.

"Itachi san! I'm sorry, I was on my way back to the Hokage tower from a mission when I heard fighting sounds", she tried to put on her coolest attitude. "So I came to investigate… That's when I realized it was you", she gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry to have disturbed your training".

He nodded and smirked minutely before falling silent for a while. She felt the need to say something to break the awkward silence, but it was he who spoke first.

"Perhaps you would like to join me?"

Sakura struggled to get past the shame of being caught stalking him and tried to understand what he was saying.

He was offering her a spar?

She quickly shook her head and bowed politely.

"No! I mean, thank you but I'm already late for reporting back to Tsunade sama", she answered hastily, hoping he wouldn't think her disrespectful.

His smirk grew wider as her blush deepened.

"It's alright, I won't take any more of your time then", with that he turned around and walked back to the small clearing.

Sakura felt relieved to have escaped such awkward situation and as she resumed her trip she hoped she wouldn't have to run into him anytime soon.

Team Seven was exhaustedly laying against a big tree in their favourite training grounds.

It had been a satisfying training session for all of them, one that they hadn't had in a long time and it had taken up most of their day, so now they were trying to regain some strength.
After a while they left the place and as Naruto was the first to deviate from their route to his house, Sasuke took this rare chance to be alone with Sakura.

"Tomorrow I have some business near the hospital", Sasuke started cooly as they walked at a slow pace side by side. "Wanna grab lunch near there?"

Sakura, completely oblivious to his true meaning, accepted eagerly and started rambling about the places they could go that would 'meet his royal standards', as she said.

He gave her a side glance before returning his gaze to the road ahead.

He recalled the night of Sakura's birthday, when they had danced together in a light embrace. He remembered how her eyes were bright and looked straight into his as a wide smile formed in her lips. He could still feel the warmth of her body, closely moving to the music and her scent, lingering on his clothes and body when he woke up the next day.

That morning he had been surprised to find Sakura snuggled against him in her sleep and even more so when he realized he was also holding onto her.

He had left her house feeling an awful headache, but the satisfied clench in his chest was more than enough to go through it.
He had decided on that moment that he was going to win her back, no matter how much it took him.
Soon they separated their ways and he continued walking to his house.

Later that night, after he had showered and laid comfortably in his bed, the idea that he should have walked Sakura home popped in his head.
But of course he excused his lack of common sense by telling himself that this whole 'courting' thing was an absolute novelty to him.

Sakura was having a busy day. For some reason, half of the shinobi population of Konoha decided to get themselves nearly killed, to the point where they were running out of beds to treat them.

It was chaos.

So, being the diligent and organized little girl she was, she took onto herself to coordinate the rooms and the patients, prioritizing the potentially life threatening injured ones and in a few hours she had mostly everything under control.
With a long sigh she put some coins into the vending machine and patiently waited for her fourth coffee of the day.
Tsunade walked past her in her usual stormy pace and entered a room not far from her.

Her shishou had also had to come to help put the chaos in order, as there were too many critic patients for Sakura and Shizune to handle them by themselves.

The Hokage reappeared a second later at the threshold of the door.

"Sakura, I need to have a word with you, so take that coffee and get your ass in here", she said and disappeared again.

She sure was cranky.

Sakura did as she was told and entered the main office, which was currently occupied by Tsunade.

"Sakura, as much as I like you being in the hospital, a request has been made to me that I cannot refuse", the busty blonde spat without looking at her, rummaging in some files directory. "Recently, one of the best medic nins in ANBU was deceased and left a vacant that must be refilled as soon as possible".

"Given the importance of this position, choosing among the available options was impossible, and since you're trained as a field medic," she paused and looked at Sakura straight in the eye, "I am offering this position to you",

Sakura stared at her mentor for the longest time before registering what was really happening.

"So, Haruno Sakura, you're being offered the position as head medic of the ANBU forces", Tsunade finished.

The pinkette moved her mouth without any sounds coming from it. She looked like a fish out of the water.

"Tsunade shishou….", she could muster after some seconds, "this is incredible, thank you!", all of a sudden a huge smile was plastered on her face. "I would gladly take the position", she bowed enthusiastically at her master.

"Perfect, then you are to meet in fifteen minutes with Uchiha Itachi for the details of your first assignment", the blonde said in a dismissive way before turning to the files again.

"Thank you again, Tsunade-shishou, this means a lot to me", Sakura bowed once again before leaving the room.

She couldn't believe how her crappy day had turned into the most wonderful one she had had in a long time.

After attending one last patient, she retreated to her office where she found the Uchiha heir waiting for her.
He was casually leaning against her desk, fully clothed in ANBU attire and his mask hung from the belt at his hip. His long midnight hair was tied in a loose ponytail and the soft-looking tresses rained down his front.

Sakura blushed before she quickly turned around to close the door and hide her flustered face. She mentally slapped herself for ogling at Sasuke's brother, although it was quite impossible not to.

"Itachi san, sorry for the delay", she said as she successfully tamed her expression and stood by the door.

Something akin to amusement played on his features before being quickly replaced by his usual serious expression.
Itachi carefully explained the nature and responsibilities of her new position, and informed her of her first mission.

"Tomorrow at 6 am on the front gates", he said and Sakura nodded. "I left your ANBU uniform on your desk", he slightly turned his head to his side, pointing to where said clothing was neatly folded into a package.
Sakura looked at the mask on top and couldn't help but wonder why hers was in resemblance of a fox. Was it random? Could she get to pick her own mask one day?
The odd look that the Uchiha was giving her made her feel ashamed of her childish train of thought, so she cleared her throat and thanked him for everything.
She glanced at the clock on the wall and realized it was time to meet Sasuke for her much desired lunch. So they walked to the exit of the Hospital as Itachi was also leaving. When they stepped outside he paused and turned to her.

"Congratulations Sakura, I'm looking forward to see your abilities in the field", the Uchiha said to her in that velvety voice of his before nodding his goodbye.

Maybe it was the mid summer sun or the way his smooth voice did funny things in her stomach that made her furiously blush. She couldn't help a smile creep up her lips as she thanked him, feeling all of a sudden like a giddy teen.
She watched his retreating figure with that dumb smile still plastered on her face when she heard someone calling her name.

"Sakura", the younger Uchiha brother came walking to stand in front of her, effectively blocking Itachi's back from her view and erasing that shameful expression off her face.

"Sasuke kun, were you waiting? I'm sorry, I just had the busiest day…", she said with some exasperation. "Shall we get lunch? I'm starving!", as if on cue, her stomach growled with hunger and she gave him a small apologetic smile.
Sasuke gave her a small smirk as well and they went to a nearby restaurant.
As Sakura ate her shrimps with utmost satisfaction, she chuckled lightly and caught Sasuke's attention.

"It's so good that Naruto is not here to force us into Ichiraku", she joked.

"Yeah, that dobe probably has ramen stew running into his veins", Sasuke said before skilfully grabbing a fried shrimp with his chopsticks.

The mood felt really light and comfortable, something that was kind of usual when in the company of her dear teammates, but the times she got to spend alone with Sasuke were seldom, and even if he had acquired more vocabulary than 'hn' over the years, he was still usually very quiet.
This felt like a nice change. There was a time when Sakura would have fainted over the idea of having lunch alone with Sasuke, but that felt like a lifetime ago.
It was true that she still found him very attractive and he could still pull out some blushes out of her, but after years and years of blind devotion, she had come to realize that it just wasn't meant to be. So one day she decided that she wouldn't waste more time dreaming about someone who clearly didn't feel the same.
After some time, she had managed to transform all the love she felt for him into deep brotherly affection, the same as she felt towards Naruto and after that, everything felt more balanced.
That was when she actually started realizing about the existence of other men. She had never considered the fine level of male specimens Konoha had to offer, which had leaded her to commit the catastrophic mistake of voicing her thoughts to Ino.
The loud blonde female was the only one to blame for her awkwardness towards the older Uchiha brother, as she had once pointed out to Sakura each and every one of the features that made him the most gorgeous man alive.
Inner Sakura couldn't agree more, but in the end she figured that it would be a lost cause, just as it had been with Sasuke.

Both jounin resumed their meal in comfortable conversation, and when it was time to leave, Sasuke offered to pay for it.

"My treat", he said in a tone that left no room for protests.

Sakura thanked him, enjoy his attentions for a change.

"I have to return to the hospital", she said while stepping out of the restaurant, "Thanks for the lunch, next one is on me"

They both stood face to face and a sudden air of awkwardness filled the space in between.
She didn't exactly know why.

"See you soon, Sakura", he said with the oddest look in his eyes and a strange lopsided smirk.

She brushed it off and said her goodbyes before returning to the hospital a few blocks away.

"Strange", she said to herself. If this wasn't Sasuke we were talking about, she would have almost believed that he was…flirting with her.

The pinkette snorted a short laugh. The idea of a flirting Sasuke was as ridiculous as Naruto eating vegetables, so she just dropped it, convinced that he might have felt ill on the stomach or something like that.

A/N: This story was more of a personal project. I never intended to publish it until today, when I finished it and re read it many times and wondered if it was any good. So basically, I'm publishing this to know if it's good or it just sucks. It hasn't gone under the meticulous inspection of a beta reader, so expect many mistakes.