The sun was slowly setting behind the horizon. Orange streaks of light reflected in Sakura and Naruto's irises as they prepared a surprise picnic.

"Naruto, move the blanket more under the tree." she commanded and leaned over the wicker basket.

At an express pace, the blonde boy got to grips with the task. He sat down, watching his friend carefully. Sakura was setting out baked buns, cakes and tarts, arranging each piece of baked goods on decorative plates. She had put in a lot of work for the occasion.

"Do you think Teme will show up?"

She looked at him, pulling down her eyebrows.

"I told him to come because we're doing an organizational meeting or something." She muttered, blushing "I hope so."

"If I had asked him to, he wouldn't have come."

Sakura laughed quietly, covering her face with her hand. Naruto blushed at the sight, burying his head in the collar of his sweatshirt.

They went back to setting up the rest of the things brought by the girl, so absorbed in the activity that they didn't even notice Sasuke's arrival. The black-haired boy stood beside them, making his presence known with a cough.

The first to raise her head was Sakura. Her eyes made contact with his, and the moment was prolonged enough that Naruto had to nudge Sakura with his elbow to wake her from her strange trance. Only then were they able to shout joyfully:

"Happy Birthday, Sasuke-kun!" their voices blended into unison.

Sasuke sent Naruto a sidelong glance at adding the ending, but said nothing more as Sakura walked up to him happily and handed him a small package. She carefully followed his movements and facial expressions. She only wished that her gift would please him. It would mean a lot to her.

Sasuke stared at the gift for quite a while, causing Sakura momentary stress. But when he put the gift back in his bag and a small smile appeared on his face, she felt relieved. It was the most beautiful sight she had seen today.

"Hn, thanks."

"Come, come, look what we did."

She pulled him towards the blanket and Sasuke didn't look angry when she dragged him that way. Naruto could tell he was more relaxed and maybe a little amused at the situation. It must have been his first birthday he had celebrated with someone since that day.

"Try this, it's really good!"

Sakura put the tomato tart on a plate for him. Sasuke accepted it and took a piece into his mouth. He chewed slowly until he swallowed it and looked away from the girl.

"You're right." He said more quietly than usual, " By the wa, thank you for..." Naruto saw his ears redden "for this, Sakura."

The pink-haired girl embarrassed herself sweetly. Strands of hair covered her face.

"You're welcome, Sasuke-kun."

"I was doing it too."

"Whatever, Dobe."

i know it's been a while since i've been here, but i felt like writing this, so i did

hopefully i'll be able to post something here from time to time and i'll eventually write the rest of the chapters to my other stories

for now, this is as much as i can give you guys 3