So this one shot is turning to a three or four shot lol. I need to work on being more concise. This chapter is a bit of a transition into the next. There will probably only be one more, but given my track record of prolonging stories, there could be two.


When Naruto hugged Sasuke tightly, Sasuke hugged him back. It was something he never would have done when he was younger, but he tried harder to express his positive emotions now. Showing the negative ones had always come so easily.

As he pulled away, Naruto's gleeful expression turned more serious, though he maintained a ghost of a smile on his lips. His brows furrowed as he took Sasuke in, "What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping I'd find you, actually," Sasuke said, glancing over to the dark-haired woman who was now staring at him with wide eyes and the baby strapped to her chest.

"Oh, shit, right!" Naruto exclaimed, rubbing his head sheepishly. "You remember Hinata, right?" He turned around and waved the woman over. Recognition dawned on Sasuke when he heard the name. The shy Hyuuga girl looked much different now.

"Hi, Sasuke," she smiled kindly.

"Hinata, hey," Sasuke nodded, "um, congratulations." He tried to act genuinely enthusiastic, but babies had always made him feel awkward and slightly terrified.

"Thank you," She looked down happily at the tiny sleeping infant.

Naruto beamed and pulled his wife to his side proudly. She smiled back up at him, "I'm gonna grab my latte to go, and Boruto and I will walk around the shops. You two should catch up," She said to him quietly, giving his shoulder a squeeze. Naruto nodded and gestured to Sasuke's table as she walked away.

"Mind if I sit?" He asked, even though they both knew he'd sit regardless of Sasuke's response. Sasuke nodded, and they both took seats across from each other. A waitress placed a cup of coffee in front of Naruto, and Sasuke watched in horror as he added no less than ten sugar packets to the cup.

"Some things don't change," Sasuke smirked.

"You're a real fucking bastard, you know that?" His words were double-edged and harsh, but the edges of his lips were turned up in a smirk, and his eyes were bright with excitement. Still, his words clearly referred to more than Sasuke's comment about his coffee.

Sasuke nodded, and the the subtle upturn of his lips faded, "I know."

They sat silently for a moment before Sasuke cleared his throat, "So, how old's your son?" He didn't actually care much, but he knew it was what a decent human being would ask.

"Six weeks," Naruto smiled softly, "do you have kids?"

Sasuke grimaced. He'd always thought he'd make a terrible dad. Still, maybe one day he'd be healed enough to be a proper parent—to have a family. He shook his head, and Naruto nodded.

"It's goddamn exhausting but incredible."

"I can't believe you're someone's parent," Sasuke snorted, reminiscing what a profound idiot Naruto had always been. Loud, destructive, hyperactive, and ill-mannered. He didn't know what to think of the more mature version in front of him.

Naruto laughed sheepishly, "Yeah, thank God for Hinata." He rubbed the back of his head and looked around the café before meeting Sasuke's gaze again. "So, are you gonna tell me why you're here? Or what you've been up to for the past decade?"

Knowing the former would be more delicate, Sasuke began with the latter: the shit show that had been his twenties.

Sasuke wouldn't relive the last ten years if someone paid him, but he supposed he was grateful they had happened.

Sasuke began telling Naruto the abridged version of his life since leaving Konoha.

College had started out okay. He focused on school for the most part. He hadn't been interested in dating or making friends. He screwed around his first semester freshman year to try to get his mind off of Sakura, but when that hadn't worked, he stopped.

"I've been in Oto. Went to the University of Otogakure. Did business and finance,"

He took rigorous courses, interned over the summer, and forced himself to go along with the schmoozy banter necessary for the business world. It was the first time he'd forced himself to be a bit more pleasant around people. He worked his ass off to get into a master's program directly after college. By the time he was 24, he'd gotten a job at Goldman Sachs and attempted to gain footing as an investment banker.

"I went straight into an MBA program and got a job in investment banking," Naruto raised both brows and took a sip of his coffee.

"Damn, man, I should have made you pay for my coffee,"

Sasuke shrugged, "Yeah, well, I'm not doing that anymore,"

Naruto nodded in understanding, "I hear it's pretty cutthroat. 80-hour weeks and stuff…. Did you just burn out?"

It would have been a lot better if he had simply burnt out. Instead, Sasuke made up all the partying he missed in college when he joined the real world. To be fair, it wasn't exactly partying all the time. He fell in with a sordid group of bankers and spent several years fucked up on coke, using the high to stay up all hours of the night working.

Those coked-out years were the first time he dated anyone since Sakura (and they hadn't truly even been dating). He met Karin at the bank, and within months he found himself in a hideously dysfunctional relationship. They spent horrifying sums of money on cocaine and top-shelf liquor and worked constantly. When they weren't working, they fucked, ordered takeout, and argued. Typical couple stuff.

Sasuke didn't want to admit any of this to Naruto, but he had come to Konoha to be honest. He was there to make amends and be a better person. He sighed and ran a hair through his dark locks before turning back to Naruto.

"I got arrested," he admitted watching Naruto's expression shift into a look of surprise.

It was a blessing in disguise when Sasuke ended up getting arrested. At the time, it was rock bottom. He'd had enough coke on him for a class F felony, and though what remained of his inheritance was protected, he had lost the hundreds of thousands of dollars he had made since starting his career.

"Uh, wow," Naruto gaped, "what the hell happened?"

Sasuke grimaced. He was still ashamed of the truth. He always would be. "It was possession. I got in too deep with the drug culture there."

"Shit," Naruto muttered, "I can't even imagine you doing drugs,"

Sasuke nodded. It still surprised him, too, that that had been the outcome of his hard-earned career. Still, his arrest forced him into rehab and away from Karin, which was the best thing that could have happened to him.

He thought about his family a lot in those days. They would have been so disappointed in him—so embarrassed. His dad had been in law enforcement, and his own son was a felon. He thought about what his parents would have wanted from him. His father would have been most troubled by his legal troubles, but his mother and brother? They would have been most distressed by how profoundly unhappy he was. There had been times when Sasuke had wished he'd never wake up—saved from his nightmarish existence by fentanyl-laced coke.

"It was probably for the best, though. It forced me to get help."

Forced into rehab and sobriety, things began to change for Sasuke. He hadn't realized how unhappy he'd been—how much he hated himself. With no career, no family, no girlfriend, dwindling money, and no purpose, Sasuke decided he had to clean up his life.

With several rich connections, money, and what was undoubtedly white male privilege, Sasuke had been able to get his felony expunged. He knew he was fortunate. If he hadn't had money, he wouldn't have been able to afford months of rehab and the years of intervention after.

He did things he never would have dreamed of. He found a therapist, joined a support group, got a lower-paying job with a better lifestyle, and thought more than ever about what he wanted in life.

The only time he'd ever been happy had been when he was a child before he lost his family. After that, he'd had glimpses of happiness with Naruto and Sakura. She'd made him happier than anyone. Still, he had been encumbered by tremendous grief, and he had never truly been able to allow himself joy. Even worse, he took hers away from her too.

Sasuke fiddled with the handle of his mug, feeling uncomfortable and vulnerable, but he knew that meant he was being honest like he'd wanted to be.

"That was a few years ago, and I've been trying to… get back on track since," he struggled to continue the awkward steps of baring his failure to Naruto. "I'm a lot better than I was. I've been able to look back at things—reflect—that's kind of why I'm here,"

A step in Sasuke's support group was to make amends—to apologize to those he'd hurt. To him, that meant Naruto and Sakura. Sasuke had never been terrified of facing Naruto. It was uncomfortable, but he could own up to his mistakes with Naruto. He knew the bigger task would be seeing Sakura. With all the shame, guilt, and unresolved, deeply buried feelings he'd been working through, he was terrified at the prospect of seeing her. That was part of why it was two years before he allowed himself to make the trip to Konoha.

He wanted to apologize to her, but he didn't want her to see him at his lowest. It was one thing for him to be a bratty teenager but quite another for him to be a complete fuck-up as an adult. He had wanted to make progress before he saw her again and to be honest, it had taken a lot of practice opening up. Sasuke would have been entirely incapable of making amends with either friend if it hadn't been for ongoing counseling. For two years, he used the idea of reconciling with Sakura as motivation to work through his pain.

Now 28 years old, Sasuke's soul still bled, but it was beginning to scan over. For once, he had hope. He hoped one day he might be happy. He hoped he could become someone his family would be proud of. Someone he could hate less. A small part of him hoped Sakura might forgive him (though he still doubted this was possible).

Naruto was giving Sasuke a sad smile, and Sasuke could see that a decade had changed Naruto as well. The amount of quiet listening he'd done was proof of that. "What do you mean that's why you're here?" The blonde prompted.

Taking a moment to pause and collect himself, Sasuke looked down at his hands and noticed them shaking slightly. He'd been thinking about this moment for years.

"I'm here because I know how messed up it was that I left without saying anything. And I'm sorry." Sasuke sighed.

Naruto's mouth parted in surprise, and he nodded quietly for a moment. "Yeah, I really hated you for a while," he said solemnly.

Sasuke stiffened slightly but nodded. Of course, he understood that. He had expected that.

"I knew you weren't doing well, so we were scared when you dropped off the face of the earth."

Sasuke grimaced when he heard Naruto say 'we.' Although they grew up with the same people and had many shared acquaintances, 'we' could really only refer to one other person.

"At first, it was worry, then when I found out what you did to Sakura… I could have killed you," Sasuke's stomach clenched, and he saw Naruto's cobalt eyes bore into his own. He had wondered if Sakura had told Naruto about their relationship. Now he was getting the unpleasant confirmation that she did.

"When did she tell you?" Sasuke asked tightly, shifting his gaze away from Naruto's. He was suddenly too ashamed to meet his eyes.

"Uh… I guess I found out you, er, slept with her a couple years into college. She didn't tell me the extent of things until maybe five years ago." Naruto sighed and tried to pin Sasuke with his gaze. "It made more sense, though. She was so devastated…"

Sasuke could only nod, his stomach churned, and his lungs felt tight.

"You know she was in love with you, right?" Naruto asked, making it even more difficult for Sasuke to speak. He nodded, still unwilling to meet his old friend's blue eyes.

Slowly he exhaled, "How is she now?"

Naruto sighed and leaned back in his seat. He seemed caught up in his thoughts for a minute. Finally, he swallowed another sip of his sweet coffee and continued, "She's always busy. She's a doctor now— a second-year resident over at the Konoha Hospital.

A flicker of pride for his old friend and first (only) love emerged as he nodded. He looked down, eyeing the dark liquid in his cup, as a quiet smile touched his lips. Of course, she'd done it. Sasuke knew residency could be as demanding as his own job had been. She had probably worked terrible hours in high-stakes conditions while making less than a tenth of the money he had made. She'd always been amazingly tenacious, and he admitted to himself it made sense she'd succeeded in ways he'd failed. He thought of his strung-out days and how he'd tried to cope with the pressure. The drugs, the alcohol, his hideous relationship. He drew in a sharp breath at the thought of Karin.

"Is she, uh, with anyone?" Sasuke unwittingly held the air in his lungs, waiting for Naruto's response.

"Nah, no one lately that I know of,"

Sasuke exhaled and tried not to let the relief show on his face. Instead, he asked,

"Do you know where I can find her?"

Sasuke saw Naruto's jaw clenched, and his brows furrowed slightly. He knew what he was thinking. He was worried Sasuke visiting would only hurt her and dig up old wounds.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Naruto asked in a low voice, looking out the windows of the café.

Sasuke felt defensive and frustrated, but he knew Naruto had a right to be concerned.

"I-I have to see her. I've thought it through. For years. I have to" he swallowed and suddenly felt utterly exposed in front of Naruto. He braced himself for more questions, but instead, Naruto sighed resignedly.

"She usually works pretty late. It's kind of a toss-up when she'll be home. If she's on a clinic rotation, she'll be home closer to six. If she's on L and D, she could be gone all night. I'll give you her address, though."

After that, their conversation became less tense. Naruto told Sasuke about his life since high school. He beamed when he told him the story of how he ended up with Hinata. He talked about other people in Konoha they'd grown up with and what they were doing. They exchanged numbers, and Sasuke promised not to disappear for another ten years. Then they left, and Sasuke stared at the address Naruto had given him.

He was finally going to see her.


Around 5:30 that evening, Sasuke pulled into the parking lot of Sakura's apartment building. He wasn't sure how long he'd have to wait, but he was committed to staying there until she came home.

He scrutinized each car that drove into the lot because he had no clue what she drove anymore. He tried to see through the windows of a white Jetta and, a few minutes later, a black RAV4, but he was disappointed when he didn't see her signature pink head of hair emerge from the car either time.

It wasn't until 6:45 that he saw a familiar forest-green Jeep pull up. He couldn't believe she still drove it. It had been old ten years ago. Now, it had to be a hazard. When he saw her form through the window, his heart stopped. He had been nervous before, but now it was real. His throat was instantly dry, his hands clammy. When his heart finally restarted, it pounded in his chest.

Slowly he opened his car door and walked a few paces closer, freezing when he actually saw her get out of her car. He couldn't believe she was right there in front of him.

She was wearing blue scrubs with a long sleeve pink shirt underneath, looking every bit like the accomplished doctor. Her hair was longer now, and she had curled it loosely. She leaned back into her car to grab a large tote bag and turned to walk toward the staircase outside of her apartment.

Heart racing, Sasuke moved to approach her, but with his nerves racing, he couldn't wait until he reached her. Instead, he yelled from twenty feet behind her as he caught up, "Sakura!"

He watched her turn around with a glistening, friendly smile as if about to greet a neighbor. He watched as her eyes went wide, and her expression turned into one of shock. Neither moved or said anything. It was probably only a brief silence, but it felt like it dragged on. His breath caught in his lungs when he heard her familiar voice whisper his name, "Sasuke??"


As always, please let me know what you think. I always excited for feedback, criticism, and recommendations.