WARNING(S): N/A

A/N: I'll admit it, I have a very big soft spot in my heart for "older adult" SasuSaku meetcutes.

Sakura heaved a weary sigh as she flopped into her office chair, the ratty old thing squeaking in protest at her sudden weight. A pile of papers hit the desk with a hearty smack, and she wheeled herself closer so that she could get a head start before the holidays started.

"Isn't this the pits," she groused to herself as she reached for her reading glasses. "I should be making rounds at the hospital and checking on my nursing students, not grading useless essays that they'll never use. Damn education committee."

Grabbing the first stapled bundle from the stack, she leaned back and peered at it through her lenses to begin reading.

As she went through, making notes here and giving feedback there, she mused to herself. With the first part of the year over, her students were no doubt eager to get back to their families and get their holidays started. That's how it had been when she'd gotten into med school, at least; she was no starry-eyed first-year anymore, instead a thirty-five-year-old that somehow got herself roped into teaching for a year while her mentor ironed out some kinks in the hospital she primarily worked at.

"Just for a year," Tsunade had said. "I'll even pull some strings to give you a raise and three weeks' worth of PTO if you can do this for me."

And, well, who was she to refuse? Workaholic she may be, but even she wasn't immune to unfortunate incidents and circumstances. Hell, she'd been schmoozing for a raise for three years now - there was no chance that she wasn't going to take it when it was practically offered on a golden platter.

So here she sat, grumpily going through immaculate essays that would have no doubt earned them some praise if she knew it was going to mean something in their field. Something about extra credit work from the education committee - as if they all didn't have enough on their plates yet.

Deep down, she did feel bad; several times some of her students had come to her office begging for some leniency as laptops broke, or printers jammed (that one she shared their frustrations with; it wasn't just the lab printer that had been out of service that afternoon, but the staff one as well), or they had to miss days of class due to illness. It was right smack dab in the middle of flu season, for heaven's sake. There was no way she was going to tell them to suck it up and risk the quality of their classwork. If there was one thing she prided herself on, it was being a little more lenient than her mentor, yet no less expectant of excellence.

As she got halfway through her fifth essay, there was a gentle rapping at her doorframe. She turned, an irritable look on her face, before she recognized the man standing there and her expression softened.

"Dr. Uchiha, hello," she greeted as the dark-haired man strode into the office. Something smelled delicious - two to-go cups of coffee. "What brings you to my neck of the woods this afternoon?"

Uchiha Sasuke, the biochemistry professor, was only 8 months older and yet seemed years ahead. He was quiet, intense in the way he perceived and spoke. He rarely smiled, rarely permitted excuses, and yet here he was holding out a cup of coffee with two creams, one sugar, and a pump of caramel - exactly the way she liked it, with the barest of smiles threatening to spread across his lips.

"I figured you'd need the boost," his deep voice intoned as she took the cup and set it down on the desk next to her textbooks. There was a twinge of something, something she couldn't quite pinpoint. Maybe amusement?

"Well anything that has to do with caffeine is winning you brownie points right now." Hesitantly, she took a sip of the hot liquid and hummed in delight. "This is from the staff lounge, right?"

"No, from Cuppa Joe's."

She stared at the taller man in astonishment as he took a seat across from her. "You serious? That's off-campus. You didn't have to…-"

One knowing look from him made her words die on her tongue, and she ducked her head in gratitude.

"It's the end of the semester. Why not splurge a little?" He shrugged his shoulders loosely, taking a careful sip of his own. It was probably strong as hell; the one time she accidentally drank his order she nearly spat it back out on his brand new white button-up.

She let out a tired chortle and nodded. "I suppose so. Why the hell not."

The two sat in silence as she returned to her grading. Despite the unfamiliarity that still hung between them, there was something comforting about his presence. It was ironic; one of the strictest teachers on campus was a comfort during one of the most stressful weeks of the year. Had things been slightly more calm, she might have laughed at the thought.

Sasuke sipped at his cup, head tilted down to look at his phone screen through his bangs. Soft taps and scribbling noises filled the little office.

Time seemed to slip by; by the time she had gone through her last one and placed them all in a pile for her TA to sort through later, her coffee cup was empty and Sasuke has resorted to reading one of the books in her personal collection. Her eyes crinkled into an amused smile as she caught the spine before he put it away - Jane Austen. She'd never pegged him for a fan of Pride and Prejudice.

"Are you heading out?" He inquired, smoothly rising from the chair as she did.

She hummed a reply, nodding her head as she picked up her jacket from the back of the office chair. "Yes. Are you finished for the day, Dr. Uchiha?"

"I suppose." His dark eye studied her weary face for a moment before he fell in step behind her, following her out of the room.

She made sure to flick off the lights, bathing the room in the orange early-evening glow from outside. As soon as the door was locked she turned to him with a polite smile. "Thank you for accompanying me. You didn't have to, but I'm glad you did."

"It was nothing." He dismissed it with a little wave of his hand. "Well, I have to get going. I trust you'll get home safely?"

Sakura smiled, a pretty pink flush clouding her face. "Thank you for your concern. Yes, I'll be safe."

With another nod, he bid her a quiet goodbye and walked off down the hall. His shoulder-length dark hair swayed slightly behind him, and the last that she saw of her sullen colleague was a peculiarly-soft expression before he turned and disappeared around the corner.