Sakura is running behind. Today, Friday, is going to be busy, anyway, and now it's even worse. She calls Tsunade while in a cab on her way to work. The doctor answers after a few rings, "Is there a reason you're not in the waiting room right now?"
"I'm so sorry, but I slept through my alarm! Can you just give me the results over the phone?" It's much less professional, but she hopes the blonde will make an exception.
Tsunade sighs, "Let me put you on hold so I can check my email for the results."
The pinkette waits on hold for so long that she arrives at the Uchiha Corp. building. While she's digging into her purse for her wallet to pay the patiently waiting driver, the line is finally picked up.
"Finally! I was starting to think you forgot me!" She's felt relatively fine since the fainting spell, so she isn't particularly worried about the test results, especially since the doctor said it's likely nothing serious.
"Sakura, you should come see me right now." Tsunade says after a long silent moment.
The nonchalance in the woman's being fades. Obviously, something is wrong. She hesitates before glancing at her work building, "What is it?"
"This isn't something I-" "I'll drive myself crazy with worry if you don't!"
Another long pause occurs before she hears a sigh from the line, then she's met with terrible news, "You have AML, Sakura."
The pinkette's purse falls from her hands onto the floorboard of the cab, its contents spilling. This can't be happening. Not to her.
AML stands for Acute Myeloid Leukemia. It's often considered one of, if not the deadliest diseases that a person can develop. The survival rate at five years is less than thirty percent, granted it is diagnosed early and treatment is immediately begun.
"How…H-How long do I…?" Sakura can barely speak, her voice shaking.
"More tests are needed to narrow it down, but it seems further along than I'd like. With the information I have, I'd say two years, three if we're lucky."
Just like that, everything Sakura has ever hoped or strived for seems like a waste of her precious time. If she knew her days are numbered, she'd have spent time with her parents and friends rather than spend all-nighters studying. She would've gotten that second piece of cake. She would've been more honest with others and herself about her feelings. Tears well in her eyes as she glances at the Uchiha building again. She never would've gotten involved romantically with Sasuke, or anyone for that matter.
"Are you alright? You haven't fainted again have you?" Tsunade hesitantly asks.
Sakura snaps out of her gut wrenching stupor and blinks away her tears. She takes a deep breath and forces herself to get a grip, "I-I'm here. Thank you for telling me."
It's obvious from the doctor's tone that she understands just how much of an impact such a diagnosis can have on a person. Her words are softer and more comforting, "I'll call you later to schedule a follow up appointment so we can do more testing, okay?" A sound of affirmation leaves Sakura, and then the call is over.
With trembling hands, she gathers her items, pays the cab driver, and steps out of the car. She has no idea what she should do. Does she continue living her life as though nothing is wrong? Does she quit her job and sell all her things to travel the world in her final days? What if…. What if she just moves the timeline up so her family and friends don't have to watch her deteriorate in front of their very eyes? Sakura shakes her head. No, she can't do that. She won't. Whether refusing to consider suicide is brave or cowardly, it isn't an option.
Somehow, she manages to gather herself to seem relatively composed before entering the large building. It simultaneously feels like everything is a giant blur while all of her senses seem to be in overdrive so that each sound is deafening, each scent is nauseating, and the slightest bit of light is blinding. Sakura is overstimulated. Once on the correct floor, she steps out of the elevator, breathing heavily with effort to remain outwardly calm. Her mind races with numerous half-baked plans on how to live out her limited time left on Earth, none of which she can bring herself to actually consider.
Sakura doesn't want to die.
She wants to finish school and become a world-renowned surgeon like she's always dreamed. She wants to some day get married and maybe even have a couple of kids for her parents to spoil. Her chest tightens as she nears the office door. The woman wants to experience so many more things than she has time to do now.
The walls very much feel like they're closing in as she enters Sasuke's office. The man turns to meet her gaze, having been standing near the file cabinets with a few documents in hand. Seeing the subtle warmth meet his gaze upon realizing it's her should've made her heart ache because she doesn't want her death to hurt him, but it doesn't. No. Instead, everything becomes softer, more palatable. Tears well in her eyes. She sniffles while hurrying across the room without so much as taking off her coat.
Sasuke turns toward her with obvious concern, "Sakura?"
Her voice cracks as she throws her arms around his middle and buries her face in his shirt, "I know you don't like this type of thing, but please…. Just let me stay here for a moment."
The Uchiha man is stiff for a long moment before he sets the documents on top of the cabinet and cautiously wraps his arms around the stressed woman. When he speaks, his voice is much quieter, not to mention tense, "Did something happen?"
Sakura can't bring herself to admit to him the horrible truth she learned just minutes ago, so she makes a negative sound and hugs him more tightly, "I've just had a rough morning. I'm alright."
A short sound vibrates Sasuke's chest. He doesn't move and continues to allow the embrace, but he also doesn't demand a different answer, so Sakura is satisfied enough to focus on the feeling of his helps, his awkward comforting. Her pulse slows to a manageable level, and the lump in her throat is finally capable of being swallowed.
Just as she's about to pull away and thank him for entertaining her out of character selfishness, the door to the office opens and closes, signaling the arrival of their other co-worker. "Oh my! What do we have here? PDA! At the office?!"
The duo quickly jumps apart, the pinkette's face burning hot as she quickly gets to work while avoiding looking in her boss's direction.
Karin snickers, "Don't stop on my account."
Sasuke clears his throat. He speaks sternly, a subtle threat to drop the topic, "Here is what we need to accomplish today…."
The day passes in a blur for Sakura. By the time six o'clock rolls around, she glances at Sasuke, only to lock eyes with him. Surprised, she tries to mouth words at him that he fails to understand. Sighing, she points at her phone and texts him so Karin won't be aware of their communication. 'Your dad asked me to visit his office, but we're still on for dinner at eight, right? I should be home and dressed by then.'
The Uchiha man's eyes narrow when he receives and reads the message, lifting onto her briefly before lowering to the screen again so he can respond, 'Why are you just now mentioning this to me? What does he want to speak about?'
Sakura shrugs with a pout, 'I'm sorry! You're right. I should've said something sooner, but you've been stressed enough as it is this week. I didn't want to add to it.'
Sasuke scoffs, earning a glance from Karin, who glances between the pair before shaking her head with a smirk and gets back to work. 'Tell me what he says later.'
Sakura rolls her eyes with a tiny grin, 'Yes, sir!'
Being near him all day has done wonders keeping her mind too occupied to fret over her medical condition. She isn't sure what she'll do yet. Tonight, at dinner, though, she'll make a decision on how to proceed. It's only fair not to string things along.
So, the woman gathers her belongings and excuses herself earlier than she usually would. The elevator is full when she enters it, but it's empty by the time she reaches the top floor, where the CEO's office is located.
She walks down the elegantly decorated hallway and stops at the massive double doors.
She takes a slow, calming breath.
Then, she knocks.
…..
Sasuke can't stop himself from glancing at Sakura all throughout the day, which isn't all that abnormal. What is, though, is how she acted this morning. Sure, he's not new to physical contact, especially with her, but up until now it's solely been for sex. He has never, not once, attempted to comfort someone in person. Any time a colleague or family member experiences something bad, he's the type to send flowers with a generic letter because he doesn't know what else to do.
The man refused to push the emotional pink-haired woman away when it was clear she was about to burst into tears. Afterward, she returned almost entirely to her usual, focused self. He doesn't believe her reassurance that she simply had a bad morning. He himself has gotten into yelling matches with her that could make a grown man cry, so he knows a little stress isn't enough to bring such an expression to her face. Rather than argue about it at work, though, he decides to save that interrogation for dinner.
He glances at her empty desk with a frown. Just what does the CEO want to speak to her about? It can't be good, whatever it is.
"I'm glad you two are giving it a try," Karin suddenly interrupts his train of thought.
He glares at her, already knowing she's going to tease him about catching them hugging this morning.
As expected, the redhead grins amusedly while typing away at her computer, "I was getting tired of you guys pretending to hate each other."
"Quit talking about personal matters at work," the man bites.
Karin's eyes leave her screen to lock onto his before narrowing, her painted lips curving into a confident smirk. Sasuke doesn't need her to say anything. She knows it. It makes no sense saying that to her when she caught him being even more inappropriate just hours ago.
He sighs, shaking his head, and waves a dismissive hand in her direction, "Go home."
The woman obeys, albeit with a victorious glint in her smug eyes.
For the first time in a long time, Sasuke leaves work before seven in the evening. It's a special occasion, after all. He can't believe how his pulse is quicker than average as he freshens up and changes clothes. It's been a very long time since he's looked forward to something that isn't work related.
A slight thrill meets the pit of his stomach as he drives through town toward Sakura's apartment to pick her up. There's something special about tonight. It'll be the start of something he's never considered even trying and that's to work on something he wants for himself. He feels lucky to have met someone as understanding and beautiful as Sakura. Another woman would've given up on him long before this point, but no. She's demanded respect, rightfully so, and calls him out when he's out of line. She's also forgiven him and been an empathetic ear time and time again. Now that he's sorted out how he feels about her, he intends on showing his appreciation in the form of trying to become less awkward when it comes to…well, everything.
Sasuke parks out front before jogging up the steps to Sakura's floor and pausing outside her door. He feels uncharacteristically anxious and runs a hand through his hair before taking a calming breath and knocking on the door. His pulse quickens, sounding loudly in his ears as he awaits an answer, only to slowly quiet down the longer he stands there with no response. Frowning, he knocks again. Again, there's no response. There isn't even a peep of sound from within the apartment.
Sighing, the Uchiha man pulls out his phone and dials the woman's number. The meeting with his father might've run over. That's what he assumes has happened.
"The number you've dialed is not in service. Please try again later."
It then feels as though the man's heart has stilled in his chest. Before he can form an intelligible thought, a gruff voice comes from behind him, "That was quick. I literally just posted the ad. You'll have to wait until next week to look at the place. We haven't had a chance to get rid of the last tenant's stuff they left behind."
Sasuke turns to see a short, stout man with a tag on his shirt that states his title of "Building Manager". It's obvious what the situation is, but the Uchiha man is too bewildered to properly comprehend the truth. "...What happened to the woman who was in this unit?"
The building manager shrugs, "How should I know? I just do what the higher-ups tell me." He looks over Sasuke with some sort of judgment that is undefinable, "Anyway, come back on Monday if you want to look at the place."
Then, the Uchiha man is left alone, standing in front of what used to be Sakura's apartment.
His blood then begins to boil as he stalks back downstairs.
This is obviously his father's doing, and he'll do whatever it takes to figure out what happened during that meeting.