Lying on her own bed for the first time in months made her feel as if she was in heaven. Sure, the other villages have treated her well and paid for her to stay in their nicest inns while she helped at the hospital, but nothing could beat the warmth of being home.

The bright sunlight pouring through her windows lit the room a comfortable gold and she couldn't help but wish she could go back to bed even though it was almost noon. Sakura was on her back on the mattress, arms spread eagle and eyes glued to the ceiling. It felt silly to think so, but she even missed the old, slightly mismatched ceiling tiles of her tiny one-bedroom apartment. Something always felt off when she couldn't count them as she drifted off to sleep.

Several hard knocks at her door disrupted her musings. She quickly leapt to her feet and donned her clothes which were haphazardly tossed on the floor the night before. She had slept in nothing but her underwear when she arrived home and realized she was too exhausted to even shower, much less change.

The knocks came again, harder this time as whoever was at her door grew impatient. Sakura smiled as she knew there was only one person who hated waiting this much.

"Coming!" She shouted, as she finally finished pulling her green sweater over her head and buttoning her jeans. She only prayed her hair looked at least a little presentable but there was no time to fix it now. It was too early in the day to be nagged by a certain fiery and impatient blonde.

"You look like shit," Ino stated matter-of-factly as soon as she caught sight of Sakura behind the opened door.

"Thanks," the pink-haired kunoichi mumbled, deadpan.

"Move over and let us in. We brought lunch," Ino pushed her way past as if she owned the place, and Sakura finally caught sight of the person who was standing behind her.

"Hi, Sakura. We've missed you," Hinata greeted, her hands clasped a small basket in front of her and lips upturned in a gentle smile.

"Hinata!" Sakura swept her up in a tight hug, which she had to temporarily release the item in her hands to return. "Come on in, I have so much to ask you," she winked.

"Oh, is that so?" Blushing slightly, the black-haired woman made her way past the door and began removing her sandals before placing them neatly on the shelf in the entryway.

Sakura frowned when she realized Ino's sandals were thrown carelessly on the floor beneath the shelf, one shoe even flipped upside down. With a sigh, she bent over to pick them up and arranged them beside Hinata's shoes.

"Hurry up, forehead! I'm starving!"

"I would be faster if I didn't have to clean up after you," Sakura scolded as she pointed towards Ino's shoes.

"Yeah, yeah. What's the point of putting them away when I have to take them off the shelf to put them back on later anyways?"

Hinata giggled quietly and Sakura rolled her eyes as the two made their way to the dining table where Ino had already claimed a seat and was drumming her fingers restlessly on the wooden surface. Ino licked her lips as Hinata began to unpack the basket, laying dish after dish on the table.

As Hinata finished setting out the meal, Sakura rounded the counter and headed to the kitchen. She filled a kettle with water from her sink and set it on the stove, before carefully scooping tea leaves into the infuser. She then retrieved three sets of utensils and tableware before returning to the table where both women were now seated side by side.

"Ugh, how I've missed your cooking" Sakura mused with a sigh as she eyed the food, the aroma wafting to her nose. She could feel her mouth water at the sight and almost had to restrain herself from immediately digging in.

"Yeah, her cooking's the only thing stopping Naruto from eating ramen everyday," Ino teased with a mischievous grin as her eyes traveled to study Hinata's reaction.

The lilac-eyed woman only blushed a deeper red as she chewed on the end of her chopstick in embarrassment.

"Hey, no teasing," Sakura chastised, tapping her chopstick on Ino's hand as a reprimand.

Ino only rolled her eyes as she began scooping various side dishes and piling them up on her bowl of rice.

The three friends ate in a comfortable silence for several minutes before the whistling of the boiling tea kettle disrupted the quiet. Wordlessly, Sakura retrieved the kettle and three tea cups before returning to the table to serve the drink. As she poured tea into the cup directly in front of Hinata, Sakura finally spoke.

"So…you and Naruto are finally getting serious, huh?"

Hinata nearly choked on the piece of omelet she was munching on and Ino and Sakura shared an amused look.

"Come on, don't be shy," Ino coaxed.

"Yeah, I need to know!" Sakura finished pouring the tea and returned to her chair before resting her elbows on the table to lean towards Hinata. "You guys wouldn't give me any details in the letters you sent me. Even Naruto! Who knew that idiot could keep such a tight lip."

With a hand covering her mouth as she finished chewing, Hinata finally answered. "Well, Sakura, what do you want to know?"

"Everything!" Sakura waved her hands dramatically in the air as Hinata giggled.

"Okay, well you remember when he saved me from Toneri last year, right?"

"Yeah, and you guys started dating," Sakura affirmed.

"It was so painfully awkward," Ino interjected.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura chuckled, "Oh, I remember."

Hinata's blush continued to deepen and it made Sakura worry about whether the poor girl was going to faint in her seat.

"Right after you left," Hinata's eyes settled on Sakura, "he asked me to move in with him and we've been living together for a month now."

With a shriek, Sakura scooped the surprised woman's hands into hers. "He didn't tell me when we talked last night! I'm going to need to yell at him about this."

"No, no I told him I wanted to tell you myself."

"We think he's going to pop the question soon," Ino waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Really?" Sakura was in complete disbelief as she shook her head softly. "I can only imagine the kind of disaster he's going to get himself into trying to plan the perfect proposal."

"Honestly, that kid doesn't know romance even if it punched him in the face," Ino remarked.

"Hey, he's gotten better!"

The blonde and pink-haired woman both shared booming laughter at Hinata's defensiveness. Neither of them would ever understand how she could have loved him for so long, even when he was just a dumb brat at the academy.

"Well congrats, Hinata." Sakura gave her a warm smile and squeezed her hands gently. "I'm really happy for you both."

"Thank you, Sakura."

"And you better be sure to let us know as soon as he proposes because there's no way I'm missing all the wedding planning," Ino huffed and Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't want anyone else helping me when the time comes."

The three exchanged smiles before continuing with their meals, each sipping slowly on the steaming tea.

"So Ino, what about you and Sai?" Sakura finally broke the silence.

Choking slightly on her tea, Ino only looked at her wide-eyed.

"Come on, we all know. I see the way you two look at each other," chided Sakura as she wiggled her index finger in the blonde's direction.

"We—we're just taking it slow," Ino finally stammered out, her cheeks beet red. "Besides, I think he has a lot to figure out with learning about his feelings and all."

"If anyone can teach him about feelings, it's you," Sakura remarked as she sipped her tea.

As she did so, Ino pointed an accusing finger at her, her brows furrowing. "What about you? Meet any cute guys in all your travels or are you still all about Sasuke?"

It was Sakura's turn to choke on her tea now. As she coughed, Hinata worriedly handed her a napkin to wipe her mouth with. From the corner of her eye, she could see the Byakugan-wielder scold Ino with a gentle slap to the wrist. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to stop her.

"Come on, it's been two years, you can't wait for him forever. No letters, no nothing," Ino's gaze steeled on hers as she became angrier. Whether the anger was directed at Sakura or Sasuke was unclear. "He's not worth your time or your energy. Plus, if he was going to come back he would have by now."

When Ino finished her tirade, Sakura unclenched the fist she didn't realize she was making. Blood rushed loudly in her ears and her heart threatened to leap out of her chest with every beat. She knew—with utmost certainty—that Ino was correct, but the heaviness in her bones as she struggled to produce the words to respond was convinced otherwise. Sure, he's been gone for over two years without any communication but the image of him at the gates and the words he spoke cycled through her mind. Wouldn't it be wrong for her not to believe that he didn't mean goodbye—that instead he meant he'll see her another time?

But then she remembered the way he reacted to seeing her in the Kusakagure forest. The way his eyes flashed with anger. Did he really never plan to come back home? Come back to her?

A squeeze on her hand pulled her from her racing thoughts and Sakura looked up to meet eyes of lavender, downturned in worry or perhaps pity. Even Ino seemed to have calmed down now as she eyed the pinkette with careful curiosity.

With a deep breath, she finally braced herself to speak.

"I…" The newfound confidence seemed to drain away as soon as Sakura opened her mouth. Swallowing the lump forming in her throat, she willed herself to continue. "He has a lot of things to think through and it's not like I'm planning on waiting for him forever but he made a promise before he left and I'm choosing to believe him."

Ino scoffed. "Believe him? Like the time you believed he wouldn't actually try to kill you?"

Sakura shot her an icy glare at this and Hinata looked like she was ready to bolt out of the apartment.

As if Ino saw the hurt that briefly flooded the pinkette's eyes, she continued more gently. "Look, I'm sure he's a different person now and that he's trying to change—even if it's hard to believe. But do you really think he has enough room after all that for love?"

Sakura opened and closed her mouth several times as if to speak but any words she tried to grasp slipped immediately away.

Ino took her silence as annoyance and softened her tone even further. "Please don't take this the wrong way, Sakura. I don't doubt his feelings for you. In fact, we all—" she gestured between herself and Hinata "—know that he's…different…with you, but we also don't want to see you put your life on hold just for the hope that he'd come back."

A thick silence settled in the air and the tension was palpable. Sakura struggled to speak and the heavy look in Ino's blue eyes as they bored into her green ones made her mouth run dry.

After several minutes of the three friends sitting at the table, their hands clasped together in the center, Sakura finally spoke through a vacant smile, "Thank you for looking out for me, both of you."

The women exchanged sympathetic looks and Sakura prayed that they would change the subject. Just as Ino opened her mouth to continue, Hinata suddenly shot out of her seat, her chair sliding back against the floor with a loud squeak.

"I have dessert!" She announced, louder than she should have.

Sakura met Hinata's eyes and sent her a look of gratitude. The Hyuga always expertly read her mind, unlike Ino. Although it's not like Ino was particularly inept to Sakura's feelings, it was just that sometimes she was so caught up in her own motivations that she missed the subtle cues.

The remainder of their lunch was pleasant, with each of them enjoying the sweets that Hinata so carefully baked. To Sakura's relief, the conversation steered clear of mentions of Sasuke and instead consisted of gossip about how Shikamaru and Temari were too stubborn to admit that they had feelings for each other. Sakura was particularly amused when Ino dramatically retold the story about how she and Choji sabotaged their reservations at an inn during a mission to force the two to share a room only to find Shikamaru asleep outside the door the next morning.

"I can't believe him! So smart yet so stupid," Ino complained, head shaking in disapproval.

"You know, sometimes it might be best to just let them figure it out on their own," the pinkette chided.

"But it's so agonizingly slow," Ino cupped her cheeks with her hand and dragged her skin down in an effort to emphasize her frustration.

"I think they're moving faster than you think," Hinata's mutter was so low, the other two women would have surely missed it if they weren't trained ninja.

Sakura and Ino stared wide-eyed at her as they begged her to elaborate but she only laughed mischievously and shook her head, promising that Temari will probably tell them the next time they all get together. At the mention of a future social event, Sakura finally remembered to mention her upcoming mission.

"Actually guys…I'm leaving again the day after tomorrow and before you ask, it's classified." Sakura held up her hands as Ino began to protest. Hinata just looked disappointed. "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone but I promise to write back as often as I can, okay?"

At that, her two friends nodded solemnly.

"It's not a dangerous mission, is it?" Hinata finally asked hesitantly.

"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei wouldn't assign me this mission if he thought I couldn't handle it," Sakura reassured, the corners of her lips upturned into a comforting grin which both of the other women returned.

"Alright, enough of that," Ino piped in. "We're going to get out of here and let you take a break but we'll find you tonight!"

And like a surprise storm on a sunny day, Ino was out the door and down the street in a matter of seconds, dragging a relenting Hinata along with her. As Sakura watched their retreating figures, she couldn't help but wish she never went out to the forest that day and that perhaps ignorance was better after all. But she quickly swiped that thought away. It was her job as a kunoichi—nay, her duty as a protector of the village—to track those criminals down.

Shutting her front door, Sakura leaned with her back against it and took several calming breaths. Ino's words from earlier continued their endless cycle in her head. Do you really think he has enough room after all that for love? That question haunted her.

It haunted her because Sasuke had echoed the same sentiment before; albeit it was when he was yearning for revenge. But, Sakura reasoned, isn't this journey for atonement almost the same? He may not be the bloodthirsty rogue ninja he once was, but this journey seemed to be a concealed way for him to exact revenge upon himself on behalf of the village—to punish himself for the sins he committed. So was Ino right? Would Sasuke have any room in his mind for her? Would he ever?

Sakura slid to the floor and pressed her forehead to the top of her knees before wrapping her arms around her legs. She'd be lying if she said her feelings for him have dulled—even just a little bit—after all these years. But truthfully, she wanted to give up. She wanted to dig the valley between them deeper and deeper until they were separated completely.

It would hurt less then, she used to tell herself. Each time another man offered her flowers or asked to treat her to a meal, she couldn't help but wonder how easy it would be for her to accept. How easy it could be if she would just accept. But as soon as she even considered it, the way Sasuke looked at her—sincere, apologetic, affectionate—would flash through her mind, breaking down whatever conviction she had built up to agree to a date with another man.

Sighing loudly, Sakura pushed herself off the floor and began to clean up what was left of the lunch Hinata brought. As she trudged to the kitchen, her chest weighed heavy with the memories of Sasuke standing there. Lips upturned, she allowed herself to revel in the image of him carefully making tea during one of Team 7's many dinners.

She could almost see the look on his face as he concentrated—much too hard for only tea—and measured out the loose leaves. It was moments like these when she caught herself admiring him most, brows knitted and lower lip held between his teeth. It was moments like these when she realized her love for him wasn't some continuation of a childish crush after all. That instead, she loved him—truly, deeply loved him—so much that it almost hurt.

But it was in this same apartment that he first raised his voice at her. It was merely two months after the war and he was finally released from his prison cell. Weak and barely coherent from skipping meals and enduring arduous interrogations, Naruto had dragged him to Sakura's apartment to be healed.

That night, she woke to sounds of him thrashing in his sleep where he lay on her couch. Desperate to rouse him from the nightmare, Sakura had cupped his cheeks gently in order to coax him awake. But when he finally opened his eyes, they glowed red in the dark and the chirp of electricity sounded from his hand. Terrified, Sakura had leapt out of the way with a shriek.

When Sasuke finally realized he was safe and that it was Sakura who touched him, he looked horrified. His gaze snapped between his own hand and her face several times and she remembered thinking how she had never seen him so confused and unsure. It made him look so much younger for a moment, so much like the boy she remembered and not like the avenger he had become..

But his horror quickly turned to anger. Sakura could recall the seething rage his eyes held as they bored into hers. He had questioned why she would come near him, yelled at her to stay back, and warned her to never touch him again.

As terrified as she was at his outburst, she had been certain that he wouldn't hurt her. So against her better judgment, she drew closer until she was kneeling beside the couch where he sat with his face in his hand. As she placed her hand gently on his knee, he recoiled from her touch.

"Sasuke…" Sakura remembered whispering, voice barely audible. "Please look at me."

She was only met with silence. But finally after several minutes, he lifted his head and she gasped at the sight when their gazes met. There, looking back at her, was the most despair she had ever seen in his mismatched eyes. And suddenly, it dawned on her. Sasuke Uchiha was unraveling right before her eyes.

She couldn't remember how they ended up that way, but she held him in her arms that night, whispering almost incoherent lines of "it's okay" every time he repeated his desperate apologies. She remembered the feeling of his hair between her fingers and the way he tightly fisted the back of her shirt, as if afraid that he would lose her if he let go. By the time sunlight broke through the sheer curtains of her living room, Sasuke was gone, leaving only a lingering heaviness in Sakura's bones to signify that his moment of vulnerability was real.

They never spoke of that night again but Sakura felt there was a shift in their relationship. He seemed more gentle—more open around her. And while they didn't have another moment of such close physical contact, she was sure that his walls were finally breaking down. If she only had more time, she could heal him from the tragedies that haunted him as well as she could heal his physical wounds. And that realization made it hurt all the more when he announced his plans to travel several months later with no estimate of return.

For a fleeting moment, Sakura felt as if he would take her with him. Besides, they had spent months almost constantly at each other's side, relearning the parts of one another that they discovered when they were apart. But she understood that this journey was something he needed to do on his own. So for the years after he left and even now, Sakura held onto two things: his simple promise of another time and the way he felt that night, caged in her arms.