A few people mentioned that Sasuke was being too nice, so I thought I’d address that. Although part of that is my fault – my own poor characterization, which I’ll keep in mind for the future – part of the reason is because, remember, this is a three-shot. I don’t have much time to turn him from snot to not. I have, however, adjusted his character a bit this chapter in response.

Also, just a reminder that this fic is, primarily, about Sakura and Sasuke. so everyone else is kind of pushed to the side. The style remains choppy and fragmented and, yes, a lot of this is unrealistic. But, it’s SasuSaku. So what do you expect, right?

A Highly Contested Topic

Sakura did imagine, sometimes, that when Sasuke came back she would be cold. Aloof. She would be angry and she would never back down from his attitude. She could – she would – hold her own against Sasuke. She wasn’t twelve anymore.

But then, neither was he.

Even at twelve – even at eight – Sasuke had seemed so mature. The tragedy that had warped his childhood had made him grow five years in one night, it seemed, especially when all she had to compare him to was goofball Naruto.

It was only when he returned at age sixteen, more composed and distant, less inclined to snap at her for being too affectionate, that Sakura realized that the Sasuke she had known and loved had been emotionally stunted – younger in mind than both her and Naruto. She didn’t know what had changed him now, if he had grown up, or just grown a stronger hold on his emotions. Maybe both. That was fine; Sakura had grown too. Or so she thought.

Because when she was actually faced with Sasuke, Sakura was at a loss. She babbled. She was awkward. And she let him get away with everything. She didn’t know if that made her weak – she knew everyone else thought it did – or if it just meant that she cared about Sasuke enough to forgive him for his faults.

She liked to think it was the latter, if only because Sasuke, when she brought him a plate of freshly sliced apples in a fit of nostalgia, actually took one.

-x-

If she was honest with herself, Sakura could admit that she didn’t need to see Sasuke daily any more. If she was even more honest with herself, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to.

On the one hand, she never knew how to act around Sasuke. She fumbled and stuttered and made a general fool out of herself in front of him, and she hated that. And yet… he was Sasuke. She just couldn’t stay away.

And so she went. She visited Sasuke every day to clean his wounds and change his bandages and, more importantly, keep him from being entirely alone. Yes, Naruto visited him every day, but if Sakura knew anything, it was that Naruto as a constant companion was enough to drive anyone mad.

And besides – she couldn’t give Sasuke up to him again.

Something grew different, however, in their interactions after the first few weeks. Sasuke grew quiet and cold, once again. At first, Sakura despaired over his attitude. After so much progress, was he reverting to his twelve-year-old ways around her?

But no. Now, Sasuke watched her. She had first noticed once, when she asked him if she could get herself a drink of water, and he followed her to the kitchen.

“I’m not going to steal anything, Sasuke-kun,” she had said, irritated by his apparent paranoia.

“Hn,” was all the response she received. But he didn’t take his eyes off her.

At first, this was disconcerting. Then it became reason for Sakura to stand a little straighter, to brush out her hair before visiting Sasuke, to smile a little more fully in his presence.

And then, one day, he asked.

“Why do you still worry about your appearance?”

His voice was flat, expression blank, and yet, there was a spark in his eyes that told her he wasn’t happy. Sakura shrunk back from him, pressing back against the bathroom counter, where she had been washing her hands free of blood.

“I don’t—”

“I see you from the window, standing outside my door. Naruto told me you had been training hard.”

“I have,” she said. “I healed you, didn’t I?”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. “That isn’t very impressive. Is that all you can do?”

“No! I can fight – I’ve trained under the Hokage, I can crush—” Sakura cut herself off. She didn’t need to explain herself to him. A list of her abilities and accomplishments would mean nothing to Sasuke. “I mean… why can’t I be strong and try to look pretty at the same time? It doesn’t have to be one or the other. I mean, look at you.”

Abruptly, Sakura sucked in a breath. She felt her face warm and had to turn away from Sasuke’s penetrating black gaze. Somehow, it was so much more embarrassing to tell Sasuke she found him good-looking than it was to tell him she loved him.

Sasuke, for his part, didn’t seem to notice the compliment. He didn’t reply, and Sakura went on.

“I have trained hard, Sasuke. I learned my lesson when you left. I just…” She touched her hair self-consciously. “I don’t know. I just want to make myself presentable.” When he continued to watch her, silently, she said, “Don’t take everything at face value, Sasuke-kun. Okay?” And then, with a brief word of farewell, she brushed past him, down the hallway, and out the door.

-x-

Naruto invited himself along one day, to see Sasuke with her. Sakura didn’t protest; Team Seven needed their time together.

When Sasuke opened the door and saw Naruto there, he made to close the door immediately. Naruto elbowed his way in before he could.

“You need to try harder than that to keep me out,” he said.

“Sorry,” Sakura said to Sasuke, “But you know how he is.”

“Unfortunately,” Sasuke said.

“You’re not funny,” Naruto said. “That’s the thanks I get for bringing your ass home? No gratitude. Even Sakura-chan didn’t thank me!”

“Thanks, Naruto,” Sakura said, fumbling through her bag.

“A bit late, Sakura-chan. Hey, Sasuke, got anything to eat? I’m starved.”

“Go to Ichiraku,” Sasuke said. “And don’t come back.” He was watching Sakura. She didn’t notice; Naruto did.

“And leave the two of you alone? No way.” He smiled, though it was strained. “Let’s go out for lunch! My treat?”

“You’re broke,” Sakura said, finally looking up. “And I have to heal Sasuke first. Why don’t you go on ahead?” Naruto hesitated, and Sakura added, “We won’t be long. We’ll still end up finishing at the same time, right? Go find Kakashi-sensei, too. And Sai – Sasuke hasn’t met him – I mean, on friendly terms – yet.”

Naruto brightened. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll do that!” With a snicker, he added, “You’ll like Sai a lot,” to Sasuke, who raised an eyebrow. And then he was gone.

The apartment was silent for a long moment. Sasuke studied Sakura as she moved around his apartment, preparing to change his bandages once again, even though he didn’t think it was necessary anymore – not that he was going to tell her that.

Finally: “Why are you mad at Naruto?”

“I’m not,” Sakura said immediately.

“Sakura.”

“Sasuke-kun.” She smiled. “I’m not mad at Naruto.”

“Sakura,” he said again, and she wavered. It was amazing what her name from his lips could do to her.

“Because,” she began slowly, then stopped. Then, in a rush: “Because he went and brought you back and left me here! He wouldn’t tell me he was coming to get you, and he completely ignored all the training I went through for you. He doesn’t get it!”

“Get what?”

“That I’m the one in love with you!” Sakura stepped back from him, tossing away the roll of bandages in her hands. It hit a table, bounced off, and rolled into a corner. It was becoming easier, she noted, to admit how she felt about him in conversation. “You’re as much a part of me as you are of him! I did so much to help bring you back. And it all came to nothing.”

“So you’re taking it out on Naruto,” Sasuke said, still infuriatingly impassive.

“Yes, Sasuke-kun. Because I told him we would bring you back together, and instead he went behind my back to get you by himself. Like I wasn’t strong enough to help him!” She took a breath.

“You, of all people, should understand, Sasuke-kun,” she went on, imploring him to see her side. Sasuke was the only one who ever did. She remembered the Chuunin Exams, when Sasuke had been the only one to encourage her. “You had a goal, and you betrayed our whole village to fulfill it. I had a goal, too, and it was taken away from me.”

“My goal…” Sasuke stood up. “It didn’t quite work out, either.” Sakura stared up at him, shocked, as he approached her. “I have some idea of how you feel.”

“Is there a reason you’re being so talkative?” Sakura asked. Her voice broke on the last word, and Sasuke stopped only a few inches from her. Her lip quivered. “I wanted to help.”

“I know.”

“I couldn’t make you stay,” she went on. “I let you go. So I wanted to – to prove something, I don’t know…” She was shaking now, cheeks blooming red with anger. “To prove that I could bring you back, at least. I wanted to fight for you.”

She slumped suddenly, peering up at Sasuke through her bangs. “Don’t tell Naruto,” she said. She offered a wan smile that didn’t touch her big, sad eyes. “I’m just being a brat.”

Sasuke nodded, waiting silently as she rubbed at her eyes, trying to get herself under control. When she had composed herself, he spoke.

“You didn’t let me go.”

“No,” she agreed. “You let me go. But I didn’t give you a reason not to, did I?” She stared, hard, at him, and Sasuke could imagine her new resolve, even before she said it:

“I’ll give you a reason this time. You won’t want to leave again.”

Sasuke didn’t bother telling her that his leaving had been a matter of necessity, not desire. She would just get the wrong idea.

-x-

“I’ve killed people,” Sasuke said, out of the blue, one day.

Sakura remained blank-faced as she administered the painkiller. “So have I. You don’t believe me,” she added sourly at his expression. “But I have. When you and Naruto were gone. I went on assassination missions.”

“By yourself?”

“No. I wasn’t quite that experienced.” She shrugged and turned away. “I went with people. Once I was put on Team Gai. Once I went with Kakashi-sensei. I’ve done the actual assassination myself, though. I know all the vital spots.”

When she looked back at Sasuke, she wasn’t surprised to see his eyebrows furrowed with disbelief. She smiled.

“I know, you don’t believe it. I guess I don’t blame you. But, honestly, Sasuke – you don’t really know anything about me. Only about as much as I do about you.” There was something very lonely about the fact that she knew nothing about the man she had given everything for – something even more painful about the fact that he had no desire to know anything about her. Sakura cleared her throat and banished the thought. “But anyway. Why do you bring it up?”

Sasuke just looked at her. Even though her expression was carefully composed, her voice cheerful, her words deceptively casual, Sasuke could see the tension in her muscles, the slight tremor of her fingers. She was bothered by the assassinations, as much as she tried to hide it. It was a part of her job. Sakura knew her job.

“It doesn’t bother you?” he asked, ignoring her question. If she didn’t know, he wasn’t going to tell her. Better for both of them if she didn’t figure it out.

She blinked, taken aback. “Why would it matter if it did? Anyway, that’s in the past now…” She paused. “It does bother me. Not just that you killed, because that would make me a hypocrite. But I…” Her voice shook; she curled her hands into fists. “I’m not proud of myself for what I did. I just—” She stopped again, turned away. “Naruto’s never killed someone. Not yet.”

Sasuke wasn’t surprised.

Sakura smiled at him again, tight-lipped and weak. “I guess that’s the one thing we have in common, isn’t it, Sasuke-kun? Is that painkiller working yet?”

And then she was back to business, back to healing. But as she pressed her healing hands to his abdomen – hands that, like his, were covered in blood that would never wash away – Sasuke had to admit, Sakura was right.

He had never thought they would have anything in common – and nothing like a past crime.

Really, he didn’t know her at all.

-x-

Tsunade finally let Sasuke see his teammates, but only for a few moments. Then, she informed him, they would be expedited to their respective countries, who would decide what to do with them.

“Sasuke!” Karin exclaimed, as soon as he had entered the guarded stone room. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, and Suigetsu said, “Better without you.” Karin cursed him, but he ignored her. “I met your teammates, Sasuke.”

“So did I,” Juugo said. “One of them. She was surprisingly polite, considering…”

“Not to me,” Suigetsu said. “She was a bitch. I like her. The blond’s okay, too. How did you get along with them?”

“They’re annoying,” Karin said, before Sasuke could reply – not that he would.

“I know,” he said wearily. He wasn’t here to discuss his teammates.

“So, what’s the plan now?” Suigetsu asked, and all eyes turned to Sasuke, wide and expectant.

“No plan,” Sasuke said. “Our partnership is over.”

Silence. Then:

“But we’re in prison.”

“That’s it?”

“You’re staying home now, Sasuke?” Only Juugo’s tone remained even, almost pleasant. Sasuke stared at him for a moment, conscious of the two masked guards watching them. Neither of them were his teammates; the Hokage wouldn’t risk that. He wondered how she had ever agreed to let him even meet with them.

He didn’t answer Juugo.

“You helped me achieve my goal. I appreciate it.”

Suigetsu scoffed. “Not even a thank you? Man, Sasuke.” He shook his head. “I’m disappointed in you.”

“Come with us, Sasuke,” Karin said, leaning close and speaking in a low voice. “Why are you returning here? We’re your teammates too.”

Suigetsu snorted. “But we’re not the originals,” he said. “Right, Sasuke?”

“You helped me capture and kill criminals,” Sasuke said, pretending to not have heard. “I’ve told my Hokage about this. She’ll inform your leaders, as well. It’s all I could do. The rest is up to you,” he added, knowing how Suigetsu, at least, would take it.

That was all that needed to be said. Sasuke turned and left the room. His guard went with him, and another pair of guards disappeared inside, locking the door behind them.

Sakura and Naruto were waiting for him.

“How’d it go?” Naruto asked, after a moment’s hesitation. Clearly, he didn’t know how to react. “Did you… talk?”

Sasuke nodded.

“Stupid question, Naruto,” Sakura said. “Sasuke-kun never talks.” But she was smiling. “Everything okay?”

Sasuke nodded again, and the three of them began their trek down the hall, to the door of the prison. Sasuke was almost able to ignore the guards trailing behind them. Sakura and Naruto acted as if they weren’t even there.

“Wish we could’ve been in there,” Naruto said. “Sakura-chan asked, but the old hag got all pissy.”

“Naruto!”

“What?”

“You convinced her to let me see them,” Sasuke said. It wasn’t a question. Sakura nodded, and he said, “Thank you.” Privately, he was impressed by her influence.

Sakura smiled, obviously pleased. “You’re welcome, Sasuke-kun.”

Naruto regarded them for a moment. When Sasuke met his eyes, he looked away.

-x-

“If we didn’t bring you back, would you still be with your other teammates?” Naruto asked, when he visited Sasuke the next day. Sakura hadn’t yet arrived.

“Maybe,” Sasuke said. Truthfully, he hadn’t considered any plans for after his attack on Danzo. He would’ve gone his own way eventually, however, he knew.

“I just want to know,” Naruto said, and his voice was pinched, “Who the replacements were?”

Sasuke stared at him. he didn’t answer.

“Was Sai my replacement?” he said instead.

“Of course not,” Naruto immediately. “You’re my best friend. You’re the one Sakura-chan…” He trailed off.

Sasuke didn’t press him. “Well then,” he said.

Naruto smiled, a bit ruefully, and shook his head. “You never give a straight answer, do you? Wanna go get lunch?”

Sakura would be along soon, so Sasuke refused, and threw in a comment on Naruto’s idiocy for old times’ sake.

-x-

Sakura wasn’t happy to find that Sasuke had reopened the wounds on his stomach. “Naruto,” she growled under her breath as soon as she saw the blood. Sasuke didn’t bother defending him, or even mentioning that he had given Naruto a black eye before his guard had pulled them away from each other. It was only because it was Naruto that Sasuke hadn’t gotten in further trouble.

She changed his bandages in silence, and Sasuke wondered what she was thinking. He thought about Naruto’s words earlier.

“Do you hate me?” Sasuke asked, and Sakura glanced at him. She was surprised. Questions like this – they just weren’t ones Sasuke-kun bothered with. Or so she thought.

But since he had asked, she would answer – with the same honestly Sasuke had given her.

“A little.” She snipped the end of the bandage, then knotted it neatly. “You did some pretty bad stuff but, well, you’re Sasuke-kun. My Sasuke-kun.” He shot her a look, and she hastened to say, “Not like that. Just… my teammate. The guy I loved. Love.” She felt herself flush and cleared her throat. Too much honesty.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

He didn’t reply, so Sakura said slowly, tentatively, “I hated you because it made me strong enough to bring you back. And I wanted to bring you back because I cared about you. You were right,” she added quietly, “Hatred can be as much a source of strength as love.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

“Do you love me?” he asked. There was no trace of embarrassment in his voice, in his features, even though Sakura felt her face flame at such a straightforward question.

“Yes,” she said, no fuss.

“…”

“Why?” she guessed. “Everyone asks me that. Because I can, I guess. I like to think I have a right to love you. and…” She hesitated, then plowed on. “When you first received the Curse Seal, you were in a lot of pain. You held my hand.” Sasuke remained blank-faced, and she added, “You probably don’t even remember. But it meant a lot to me. it felt like you needed me, the way I needed you. I felt on your level and I thought… that we could work. Maybe.” She shrugged awkwardly. “I know it’s stupid. But I was only twelve, right? I’ve grown up.”

“And you still love me.” Again, no hesitation in his words, no blushing or fumbling.

“Yeah.”

“But you’ve grown up.”

“What, you don’t want me to love you anymore?” Sakura asked, only half-teasing. Sasuke didn’t reply, and she bit her lip. “What’s with all the questions, Sasuke-kun?”

Sasuke shrugged. “My turn” was all he said.

Sakura laughed.

“I still love you, Sasuke-kun,” she began, “because I don’t know how not to anymore.”

-x-

“So, guess what?” Sakura said. She was almost bubbling over with excitement. She didn’t even give Sasuke the opportunity to guess – not that he would have – before she exclaimed, “Team Seven’s getting back together!”

“No missions yet,” Naruto said. He was standing beside Sakura, on Sasuke’s doorstep. It was evening. She hadn’t come that day – hadn’t needed to, she said. Sasuke had spent the day alone until the two of them arrived, unannounced. “That’s your fault. You suck.”

Sakura smacked him on the arm, not looking away from Sasuke. Her eyes were very bright in the weak light coming from behind Sasuke. “We’re training together starting next week, though, and that’s a start. Just us and Kakashi-sensei!”

“Okay,” Sasuke said, because he didn’t know what else to say. Then he realized the two of them were still standing on his doorstep, and he stepped back, opening the door wider. “Come in.”

Sakura beamed – she was doing a lot of that today – and stepped past him. Sasuke was very aware of the way her arm brushed his chest – most probably unintentionally, though he could never be sure with her – and he stepped back further as Naruto bounded in after her.

There was a plate of sliced tomatoes on the kitchen table, in plain sight, at the end of the hall. Sasuke suddenly felt very awkward, and he didn’t know why. He moved to cover the view of his dinner, then told himself he was being ridiculous.

“Let’s celebrate!” Naruto said.

“No ramen,” Sakura said.

“No ramen,” Sasuke said at the same time.

Sakura shot him a look he couldn’t quite read. Naruto slumped.

“Fine,” he said reluctantly. “Sasuke’s choice.”

“No,” Sasuke said firmly – but Naruto was already ducking past him, down the hall, and into the kitchen.

“Ew, tomatoes,” he said, picking up a slice gingerly. He popped it into his mouth and chewed, looking as if he were eating dirt.

“Don’t eat it if you don’t like it,” Sasuke snapped, taking a step towards Naruto and his precious tomatoes.

Naruto swallowed, shuddered, and picked up the plate. “Here, Sakura-chan. you like tomatoes.”

Sasuke paused, looking back at her. She shrugged.

“I hated them for a long time. I just started liking them. Naruto,” she said irritably, “Stop eating Sasuke’s food without permission. It’s not polite.”

“He’ll get over it,” Naruto said around another tomato slice. Sasuke had reached his side by now, and he took the plate from him, smacking him upside the head for good measure. Then he held the plate out to Sakura.

She took one tomato, smiling.

In the end, the three of them stayed gathered around Sasuke’s kitchen table, eating tomato slices. Sasuke was quiet, though Sakura and Naruto more than made up for it.

“We were supposed to invite Kakashi-sensei along,” Sakura said later, as she and Naruto were getting ready to go.

“Next time, Sakura-chan,” Naruto promised. “We’ll even celebrate your way.”

Sasuke looked at her, one eyebrow raised.

“Star-gazing,” she said, looking embarrassed. “I don’t know. It’s peaceful.”

“Sakura-chan doesn’t believe in eating,” Naruto said. “She’s on a diet.”

“Naruto!”

Watching the two of them laugh and banter, Sasuke had the strange feeling of not belonging. It was strange, because he hadn’t changed, and he had always fit in with them before. Maybe it was them, then. They had changed.

Naruto left, but Sakura hung back for a moment more.

“Now I know why you didn’t like my apples, Sasuke-kun. Next time, I’ll bring you tomatoes.”

“Don’t,” he said, and her smile faltered. But he didn’t need her bringing him freshly-sliced fruit. He was more than capable of feeding himself. Better for her to use her time to train. “Do you bring fruit to anyone else?”

She reddened. “No…”

“Stop trying to make me special, Sakura.”

“I don’t need to try, Sasuke-kun,” she said, and then she left. The next day, she brought tomatoes and apples.

“Apples are my favorite fruit,” she said, and he took one.

-x-

“You know how you knocked me out and left me on a park bench?” Sakura asked one day. Sasuke only gave her a very dry look in response, and she looked away. “Right. Not something you forget, I guess…”

She handed him a glass of water and a handful of pills. Sasuke took them without complaint, though his brows pinched in distaste.

“This is… well, really embarrassing. But, well…” She took a breath and carefully avoided Sasuke’s expectant gaze. “I always hoped that you had…” She lowered her voice so he had to strain to hear. “Well, kissed me. Before you left. While I was unconscious.”

No one said anything for a moment.

Finally, Sakura met Sasuke’s gaze. “You didn’t, did you?”

“No.”

“Didn’t think so,” she said, cheeks growing hot. “It doesn’t really matter. I used to hope you kissed me because… you were gone. It felt like a bit of hope that you’d come back. I don’t need that anymore…”

Sasuke stared at her and Sakura realized, with a start, just how much she had admitted.

“I’m glad you’re back,” she said weakly – and unnecessarily. “Arm out, please.”

-x-

Two days after dinner with Naruto and Sakura, the former invited him along to celebrate again, this time with Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke wanted to refuse, but he had been spending too much time indoors, so he followed Naruto without protest.

Surprisingly, Naruto only took him to the training grounds.

“It’s not like we can leave the village,” Naruto said. “And anyway, this is the best spot to watch the stars. Oh, Sakura-chan’s already here.”

And indeed she was, sitting on the grass in the middle of the field, knees drawn up to her chest, arms looped around her legs, staring up at the sky. She wasn’t smiling, didn’t even react when Naruto and Sasuke took seats on either side of her.

“You’re late,” she said.

“So’s Kakashi-sensei—”

“I am not.”

Naruto jumped. Sasuke hid a smirk and turned to see Kakashi draw closer, looking mildly offended. He took a seat behind Sakura, and looked at Sasuke.

“Sasuke.”

“Kakashi.”

Silence.

Naruto looked between the two of them, then rolled his eyes. “Wow. What a celebration this is.”

“Shush, Naruto,” Sakura scolded, dropping back to lie in the grass and stare up at the sky. “You know how they are.”

“You’re no better,” Naruto grumbled, lying down beside her.

Kakashi pulled out his book, staring down while the other two stared up. Sasuke stared around. At the starlight reflected in Naruto’s eyes. At the moonlight spilling over Kakashi’s figure, highlighting his masked features. At Sakura, staring back at him.

“Lie down, Sasuke-kun,” she said. “I don’t bite.”

Feeling a strong sense of déjà vu, Sasuke lay back, about a foot away from her. He noted that Naruto was lying so close his elbow was touching hers.

Sasuke stared up at the sky, remembering all the times the four of them had lain like this in the past. Maybe not everything had changed.

When he looked back at his teammates later, Naruto’s eyes were closed in sleep, Sakura was smiling blissfully, and Kakashi was looking back at him.

“Training starts soon,” he said. “Try not to drag us down.” When Sasuke glared, he added, “You are still only a Genin, remember. Naruto, too.”

“I’m a Chuunin,” Sakura piped in, before Sasuke could ask.

And despite the fact that Sasuke hated being a Genin – officially, anyway – and the face that he knew he could easily defeat Sakura, anytime, he was proud of her.

She had changed. She had changed a lot, in every way that mattered.

Sakura shifted just slightly – she was trying to be subtle – and shuffled closer to him, close enough that their hands brushed.

Well, every way but one.

Sasuke didn’t move away.

-x-

“You’re almost fully healed, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said with a bright smile. When Sasuke didn’t respond, she added, “You were on the brink of death, Sasuke-kun. Three weeks is an incredible amount of time to heal from that.”

Sasuke glanced at her quickly, then resumed glaring at the window. “Hn.”

Sakura followed his gaze. She couldn’t see anything, but she knew someone was outside. She had a feeling she knew who was there, too.

Sakura looked back at Sasuke. She could guess what he was thinking – what did it matter if he was healed or not when he couldn’t do anything? She knew that Sasuke was a private person, and hated any attention – hated it when girls fawned over him, when people gathered around him and tried to be friendly, when people watched over him. Maybe he deserved it, but, Sakura decided, one person was enough.

“I’ll be back,” she said, and disappeared before Sasuke had time to react.

Sasuke watched her leave the room, and when he turned back to the window, he saw a flash of pink. What was Sakura doing?

She came back a few minutes later, smiling brightly.

“Shikamaru’s pretty cool,” she said. “I told him I’d keep an eye on you, and he agreed to give you an afternoon of privacy. I know it’s not much, but…” She trailed off with a shrug.

“It’s fine.” Sasuke cleared his throat. “Thank you.”

She glanced at him quickly, surprised. Then she smiled.

“Anytime, Sasuke-kun. Just don’t do anything bad, or I’ll be in a whole mess with Tsunade-sama…”

He nodded. “I know. I won’t.”

Sakura looked at him for a long moment. Sasuke couldn’t tell what she was thinking, couldn’t read her expression. It was disconcerting; Sakura, to him, had always been an open book. But the more he questioned her now, the more he learned about her, the harder it became for him to understand her. The more she told him, the less, he realized, he knew.

Finally, she smiled – close-lipped and tentative, and Sasuke wondered what she knew that he didn’t.

-x-

It hit him, twenty minutes later. Sakura had stripped off all his bandages, Sasuke was tugging on his shirt, and he realized the opportunity he had nearly allowed to pass him by – the opportunity Sakura, of all people, had, however unknowingly, given him. How had he done that? Sasuke didn’t understand it; it had been on his mind for weeks.

He stood as Sakura was turning away to pack away her supplies. It generally took her about twenty minutes to leave him – he suspected she took a few extra minutes cleaning up when she was alone with him – and then she would leave, but Shikamaru would return.

“Sakura,” he said, tugging her closer. Startled, she complied, stepping forward so they were toe-to-toe, and stared at him expectantly. Sasuke sighed.

“Sorry,” he said, and raised a hand to her neck.

Sakura barely had the opportunity to say his name, to glare at him with all the hurt and anger she was capable of, before she slumped into his waiting arms, unconscious.

Sasuke lay her on the couch, just as he had on that bench before, and stared at her for a long moment. There were no tears this time, just a half-formed accusation on her slightly parted lips. Funny how he always left her last.

He had to cut off all his bonds with her, again. And he had to do it completely this time. No more looking back on this hellhole of a village.

Sasuke curled his hands into fists, then bent down and brushed Sakura’s lips with his, just once, for a half-second, before he shot back up and spun around.

And then, before he could change his mind, he was gone.

-x-

Two minutes later, Sakura was up, running shaky fingers through her hair and trying to calm her racing emotions.

He had done it again. She had thought he might. She had hoped she would be proven wrong. But then, Sakura thought bitterly, hope didn’t work on Uchiha Sasuke.

She got to her feet, passed a hand over her eyes, took a breath, and set off after him.