A sharp, quick double knock sounded on Sakura's door one evening. Placing a bookmark in her book, she stood up to answer the door. She was mildly surprised to see Sasuke on the other side of the door.

"Hi, Sasuke!" she greeted, leaning lightly against the door.. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "I was just passing through."

"I'm flattered," Sakura chuckled, stepping aside to let him in.

He followed her through the door, sliding off his sandals in the entryway. After taking two steps further, he slowed to a stop, and turned towards Sakura, his brow furrowed. "Is this a bad time?"

"What do you mean…?" She followed his eyesight and saw the trail of clothes she had thrown off in her rush to get to the shower after getting home. There were piles of dishes in her sink, the pile of clean laundry waiting to be folded on her couch, or the junk on her table from the backpack that had tipped over, the contents spilling out. Mortified, she turned to him to try to explain away the mess, knowing she didn't have much of an excuse. "No no no. Just me being a slob. I got called in for a last minute mission during my 'chore' day when their medic came down with a stomach bug, and I was so tired when I got home that I haven't had a chance to get to any of it-'" She cut herself off when she realized she was rambling and way over explaining the clutter in her apartment. She turned to face him again and his face looked completely indifferent and uninterested in what she had been saying.

She realized she never would have overexplained how her apartment had gotten so messy if Naruto or Kakashi had been the ones to comment. Sasuke still had the ability to make her so nervous and act like a lovestruck teenager. Which, she supposed technically speaking, at eighteen, she was a lovestruck teenager. "Tea?" she asked, trying to get over the awkward lull she had pulled them in.

"Aa," Sasuke said, following her into the kitchen.

"Any preference?" Sakura asked, going to the cabinet where she kept her tea leaves.

"Anything is fine."

There were small moments like this that reminded Sakura how little she knew of this new Sasuke. As children they hadn't really enjoyed tea, being too young to appreciate the flavor. Back then, Sasuke would always politely ask for water instead. Now that they were older and their tastes had grown more refined, she had no idea what his preference was.

Well, it would be easier to know if he had just told me… She thought. But, maybe he thought he had inconvenienced her enough for a lifetime, and just wanted to make things easier on her now. She realized she may have been reading way too into a simple exchange of him telling her any kind of tea was fine. But it still kept bothering her that she didn't know his favorite.

In the end, she settled on Sencha tea. It was a classic and most everyone liked it. It was also her favorite. As it steeped she glanced towards him out of the corner of her eye. He had his chin in his newly healed left hand. His right right arm was resting on the counter, his fingers drumming idly as he stared out the window. A mannerism she didn't recognize. It bothered her more than she cared to admit that she didn't really know this Sasuke and his mannerisms or his preference for tea. He had come and gone so quickly after the war, she hadn't had a chance to learn them.

He was completely unaware of the inner turmoil Sakura had spiraled into over his tea preferences. It suddenly felt like a very silly thing to be worried about. But he always had a way of making her feel silly and self conscious.

"How's probation going?" Sakura asked, bringing his cup of tea to him. She took the seat next to him at the island.

Sasuke accepted the cup with a slight nod. "It's…" he tilted his head to one side in thought. This mannerism she recognized, but not as one he had during their childhood. This she knew had been picked up from Orochimaru. The thought made her bristle. "... surprising."

His response shook her from her thoughts and brought her back to the present. "In what way?"

He took a sip of the tea and went back to staring out the window. She was about to think he wouldn't answer the question when he finally responded. "People don't seem to hate me."

His answer made her heart squeeze. This boy had been through so much and had even gone on his own redemptive journey. And yet, even though he had come back from his journey more at peace, he still seemed to believe he deserved every bad thing. If he was anyone else, she would have reached out and squeezed his hand. When they were younger, she had gotten close enough to him that small, physical affections towards him weren't pushed away. But she wasn't sure if he'd appreciate it now. Instead she said, "And why would they, Sasuke…?"

He looked at her with one eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"You've done very little against the village."

He let out a snort into his tea. "Does killing the Hokage count as 'very little'?"

"Yes, well, I think we all know you did us a favor," Sakura chuckled. "Besides, didn't he technically kill himself trying to kill you? You give yourself too much credit."

Sasuke looked at her out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing else.

"People here are a lot quicker to forgive than you think, Sasuke. In everyone's eyes, you're a hero. The man who turned the tide of the war. Everyone knows your probation is really just a formality to appease the council."

"Formality or not, I deserve to atone for what I've done."

"I think you've done more than enough atoning, Sasuke."

Sasuke picked up his cup and downed the rest of his tea like a shot. He stood up quickly and gave Sakura a quick bow of his head. "Thank you for the tea." He was already at the door putting his sandals back on before she could blink.

"I mean it, Sasuke," Sakura called after him, rushing to catch up with him before he could leave. He stood up and looked at her. She didn't shy away from his stare as she continued. "It's all over now. It's time to start living again."

When he had left, and Sakura began cleaning her house, she told herself the same thing. He was back. This time for good. This probation was his final "atonement." She had all the time in the world to get to know Sasuke again - really know him. The thought sent a thrill through her.

Starting with figuring out his favorite tea.

After his first visit and abrupt exit, Sakura didn't expect Sasuke to come by her apartment again. But to her surprise, he did at the exact same day and time the following week. This time he told her Naruto had sent him over to pick up a set of kunai she sharpened for him.

"You're more patient and meticulous, Sakura! And Sasuke would just threaten to sharpen them only so he could use them to gut Kurama out of me," Naruto had whined, the threat from Sasuke so specific she knew Naruto must have gone to him first.

"Apparently he's 'too busy' to come get them himself," Sasuke scoffed. "If cancelling training with me so he can go get ramen with Hinata counts as 'too busy.'"

Sakura chuckled. "They're in my room, I'll go get them."

When she returned, Sasuke was still standing in the same spot next to her door.

"Tea?" She asked.

"Aa."

Sasuke slid his shoes off before walking to her kitchen. Sakura placed the bag of kunai next to his shoes and followed him

"Sorry Naruto blew you off and stuck you with me."

"I'm not stuck with you," Sasuke said, sounding mildly offended.

"You'll have to forgive him. Ever since the war he's been flakey. When Hinata calls, Naruto answers."

"Hn." Sasuke said, taking a seat at her bar as she busied herself with making the tea.

"As he says 'coming close to death really makes a man think about what he wants in life,'" Sakura continued in her best Naruto impression. "I think he's full of it. He never really came that close to death. He just thinks it makes him sound cool."

"I almost died right after joining Akatsuki. Did I ever tell you that?" Sasuke asked quietly. Sakura turned towards him in surprise. His chin rested on his palm, his fingers drumming on her counter like they had the first time he visited. But this time, his gaze was directed at her.

"Who…?"

"Killer Bee. My first assignment was to capture him."

Sakura nodded slowly, pouring boiling water into two cups. "I remember. He teased you about that fight a lot right after the war."

"Aa," Sasuke nodded, reaching to grab one of the mugs. "He blew my neck and chest cavity out."

Sakura felt a shiver run down her spine. "How did you survive that?

"Juugo," he said simply. As if that was answer enough. Maybe another time she would ask him for more details, but she was afraid to interrupt this sudden urge Sasuke had to share with her. "Even after he saved me, I still thought we were all going to die there…"

"Ah, Bee can be terrifying when he puts his mind to it." Sasuke had lived so much life in the time he had been gone. It was chilling to hear of him coming so close to death and her having no idea about it. How long would it have taken for them to be informed of his death? How would they have ever recovered from the knowledge he had died a traitor?

Sasuke took a sip of his tea - Matcha -, and Sakura watched his reaction closely. Nothing. His gaze stayed on her, intensely. Whatever he was saying, she could tell it was important to him that she hear it.

"Before we managed to escape, my thoughts were of you, Naruto, and Kakashi."

Sakura had no response to this. What did one say when the man they had loved for almost the entirety of their life admitted to thinking of them at what he believed to be the end of his life?

"I was so angry about it."

This shocked her so much she let out a bark of laughter. "Angry? Why?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I had just found out about Itachi. I hated everything about Konoha, including the three of you. I got angry at myself for thinking of you when I was so close to death. I think maybe that's what fueled so much of my actions when I saw all of you the next time."

Sakura said nothing. What they had now was still so fragile. Sasuke had only recently started opening up to her in this way. She didn't know if it was okay for her to push too much.

"Maybe Naruto's right."

"What?" Sakura laughed. "Did the Sasuke Uchiha just admit to Naruto Uzumaki being right about something?"

Sasuke shrugged again. "Coming close to death really does make you think about what you want in life." Again, Sakura had no response to this. Had he just implied in some small way that she was what he wanted in life? "I think subconsciously I knew even then that I would be returning home. That I wanted to return home."

Sakura smiled over at him at the revelation. Sasuke cared about them. He always had, even if he had shoved it so far down he was no longer able to recognize it.

"I don't think I've ever come close enough with death to have that sort of epiphany," Sakura mused. "Who knows, maybe if I did, I might realize I've wanted to be with Kakashi my whole life."

Sasuke let out a snort, and Sakura's heart warmed. She had amused him.

"You've never been one to not know how you feel, Sakura," Sasuke intoned. "Or to not let everyone else know as well."

Sakura didn't really know how to take that. Was he making a joke or making fun of her? Or just stating the obvious? "Yeah, I know. I was a really annoying preteen, wasn't I?"

"That's not…" Sasuke said quickly. "I didn't mean it like that."

They slipped into a comfortable silence then, as they finished their tea.

"I am sorry, Sakura," Sasuke said, after a minute, breaking the silence. "For all of it."

Sakura smiled softly at him. "You've already apologized, Sasuke," she reached out for his hand on instinct. He didn't pull his away, but kept it still under hers. "And I've already forgiven you. I'd hardly allow you into my apartment for tea if I hadn't."

Sasuke looked down at their hands and nodded, but said nothing else.

"Well, since Naruto cancelled on you," Sakura hedged. "How about training with me instead…?"

Sasuke looked up at her with a smirk on his lips.

"Aa."

Every week, Sasuke came at the same time like clockwork. Sometimes when he would have Naruto, or Kakashi, or both in tow. Mostly it was just him. Everytime he showed up, he had some excuse as to why he was stopping by. He was "just in the neighborhood." "Naruto wanted to get ramen with everyone." "Kakashi insisted." Someone gifted him a sweet, and he "didn't want it to go to waste."

Sakura would welcome him in with a smile, and they would always have tea together. She would always ask if he had a preference, and he would always tell her anything was fine. Everytime, she would try a different flavor and watch his reactions to figure out if he preferred one over the others. This was difficult, as he gave no indications of how he felt about any of the tea.

Somewhere along the way, Sasuke stopped coming up with an excuse as to why he came over without Sakura even noticing. She slowly became accustomed to this new Sasuke, beginning to recognize the mannerisms he had formed while away from her.

And before she knew it, three months had passed. Sasuke's probationary period was over. He joined the police force, accepting odd missions in his free time. Naruto began sitting in on council meetings and being allowed a vote. She took on more behind the scenes managerial tasks at the hospital. Sakura still didn't know what Sasuke's tea of choice was, but it no longer felt like the chasm it had before.