Sakura sat on the edge of her couch staring at Sasuke as he sipped on the tea she had made for the both of them. She replayed the exact words he had told her just a few minutes earlier. He didn't want to be home alone, so he came to her house. He could've easily went to Naruto's house, but he came to her.

She couldn't wrap her mind around it. What made her so special?

Sasuke refused to look Sakura directly in the eye. He had said something completely embarassing while trying not to be creepy. He wanted to punch himself. He didn't know how to look at her after that.

"Are you okay?" Sakura found herself asking. She understood that sometimes being alone could be nerve wrecking, but for Sasuke she couldn't understand why. He was always the one who prefered to be alone when it came to splitting up on missions. But he always went with Kakashi instead. Someone who gave him the independence he so desired.

Sasuke took in a breath, thinking of the words he wanted to put together. He thought of how he wanted to say these things and how he wanted them to effect her train of thought as well. He wanted her to believe everything he was saying.

"Yes, I'm okay." He says slowly. "I just didn't want to be alone."

"You could've easily went to Naruto." She says furrowing her eyebrows. She wasn't trying to sound ungreatful, but she wanted answers. Answers that she knew she would have to drag out of him.

"I also wanted to be around someone who knows how to shut up when I want them to." His eyes finally found their way to hers, watching her lips curl downward into a frown.

"Take your pick Uchiha," She crossed her arms as her eyes narrow. "You said earlier that I talk too much. Now you're saying I know when to shut up?"

A smirk appeared on the raven's face. He watches as the pinkette uncrosses her arms and quickly begins to fidget.

"Do you not want me here, Sakura?" His head turns in her direction, giving her his full attention. The girls coughs, trying not to choke on her own saliva before she looks him in the eye.

"It's not that I don't want you here, but I was just wondering." She shrugs. "I mean when you were in the confinement you only wanted to see Naruto."

"Would you want to be seen in the conditions I were in if the tables were turned?" Sasuke's eyes slightly narrowed. "Would you really want me to see you in a straight jacket and blindefolded?"

Sakura sat there in silence, trying to gather her words before she spoke them. She looked down at her hands as she played with her thumbs. Chewing on her bottom lip. After taking in a deep breath, her eyes landed onto Sasuke's who's gaze never faltered from her.

"Exactly." He says before bringing his cup back up to his lips. He took a sip, still locking eyes with Sakura.

"So what made Naruto so different from me, Sasuke?"

"Naruto understands me more than you do." He says with a sigh. "The things he and I spoke of before you and Kakashi found us, it's something that really made me think about where I wanted to be in my life. I never meant for any of these things to happen Sakura, but they did." Sasuke sets the cup onto the coffee table and turned to give Sakura his undivided attention. "I've shared things with Naruto, that I cannot share with you. Don't ask why, I just can't. You don't have to know everything and that's the problem that we have. You want me to treat you the same as I treat Naruto and things can't happen like that."

"Why not?"

Sasuke sighs, using his hand to run his fingers through his grown out hair. As he did, his Rinnegan became visible to Sakura. She could see the frustration in his eyes, She knew he didn't want to talk about it; but at the end of the day, she needed answers.

"Because Sakura," He looks over at her finally. After going through his thoughts and calming his nerves. "Would you be willing to tell me everything that you, Hinata and Ino talk about on the daily basis?"

Sakura's face reddened as she understood where Sasuke was going with this.

"Exactly." He says with a straight face. "It's just some things that the both of us don't need to know at this specific time. Maybe one day. But not right now. Let's just focus on the friendship we have with one another. Every relationship outside of the two of us shouldn't be relevant."

She chewed her lip as she looked at Sasuke. Something in him for sure had changed. He became more talkative, and he actually made things make sense to Sakura. He spoke to her without finding her completely annoying anymore. The things they talked about were things they could talk about with anyone.

"Well then," She took in a breath after the short silence took place. "What are some things we can talk about that no one else knows?"

Sasuke chuckles, grabbing his cup to again drink some of his tea. "You're funny Sakura."

Her eyebrows furrow as she looks at him.

"What?" She finds herself crossing her arms once more. Every time she thought she and Sasuke were getting closer, he'd say something to completely throw off her train of thought.

"I just find you funny." He says with a shrug of his shoulders. He looks over at her with a small smirk on his face. "What made you want to grow your hair again?" He reached over, taking a few locks in his hand. He touched the ends of her hair, looking at how full of luster they were.

Girls sure do take good care of their hair. He thought to himself.

He admired how soft her hair was. How beautifully pink her locks are.

Sakura couldn't help but fidget, having Sasuke touch her. Her hair was something special to her all these years because of Sasuke. As a kid, she tried to hide how big her forehead was, only for Ino to help her come out of the shell she was always in. Realizing that she also had a crush on Sasuke and hearing rumors about what type of girls she preferred, she really lost herself in the way she thought she would get the boy she always loved to love her back. But as reality set in, she realized that who she was on the inside refelcted who she was as a person. Sure being cute was a plus, but what really should catch a guy's attention is her personality. She'd cut her hair in an attempt to free herself from the burden of how she thought she should be. How she thought she should act.

"Well, we all know why I cut my hair." Sakura reached up and began playing in her own hair, in the same moment as Sasuke. Their arms grazing against one another. She chuckled lightly remembering the distress she was in the moment cutting her hair came across her mind. She felt it would be the only way to get from their enemies during the chunnin exam. "But I don't know what made me grow it back. I've been thinking about cutting it again before it gets too long."

Sasuke smirks listening to the girl talk. He found her so beautiful in every way possible and she didn't even know that. Honestly for the time being, he wanted it to stay like that. But every time the thought crossed his mind, he felt as though he would be losing Sakura the more he waited to tell her how he really felt. Even still though, he felt he deserved everything negative that was going to happen in his life.

"Whatever you decide." Sasuke says as he retracts his hand back to his person. Sakura blinked as she watched him, wondering why he'd stop touching her. She didn't want to ask why, because this was both new to the both of them. Everytime Sasuke willingly touched her, it was either to shut her up or to save her life. He was never gentle. He'd slap his hand right over her mouth or he'd scoop her up in his arms aggressively. But to feel him be so gentle with her was something completely unfamiliar.

Sasuke knew that Sakura was wondering why he stopped playing with her locks. He knew he had to stop himself before his impulses got the best of him. He looked over at her briefly before going back to staring at nothing in particular.

"I'll get you a blanket." She says as she quickly stands. She knew she had to do something. She sped walked to her room and walked to her closet, quickly pulling out what she thought would be the best blanket for him before returning back into the living room. She noticed that Sasuke had moved from his position on the couch to looking at the mantle where all her pictures were. He found a picture that the girl had took of herself and him. She smiles brightly into the camera as Sasuke looked completely uninterested in her. He just stood there with his hands in his pockets.

He remembers that day like it was yesturday. The girl looped her arm in his as they walked down the grassy path thay had been walking on for at least an hour. Naruto was walking ahead of them as Kakashi staggered behind them. Sasuke had become frustrated from Naruto running his mouth, he honestly just wanted to get to a resting point where he would be able to bathe and rest himself.

He rolled his eyes feeling the warmth of Sakura's chest against his arm, but he also didn't mind her being as close to him as she was. She's probably the only girl he'd ever let touch him in this way. Other's he'd shoo off as quckly as they came.

Sakura quickly held the camera up and snapped a picture of the both of them. Forcing Sasuke to finally look at the girl.

"What are you doing?" He had asked her, watching her stuff the camera back into her bag.

"Making memories." She hums as she smiles at him. She quickly looks away as a pink tint lands on her cheeks. "I-If that's okay with you Sasuke."

He chose not to answer. Making memories for what? It wasn't like they were doing anything significant. But then again, this is the life they chose. Either of them could lose their life within the next moment. It was a constant battle every time they walked out of their village gates to travel. Sasuke understood that. Maybe that's what Sakura was getting at.

"I-I bought you a blanket." She says bringing Sasuke back to the present. His eyes land on hers as he slowly sets the picture back in it's place.

"Hn, thank you." He says watching her place the blanket on the couch. Sakura stood there for a moment, watching him as he watched her. Neither of them bothering to say a word to the other. Sasuke not knowing what to say, and Sakura forcing herself not to dig deeper into Sauske's true thought process.

Then there was a knock on the door. Sakura feeling slightly confused, turned to go answer the door. She placed her hand on the knob and turned it, pulling it open. Standing on the other side of the door was Shizune.

"Shizune," Sakura says greeting the woman. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry to bother you on your off day Sakura." Shizune bowed shortly before locking eyes with the pinkette. "But I could really use your help at the hospital. Lady Tsunade is drunk and can't do anything I need her to do and the only one I know that can do it is you."

Sakura gave a sigh. Once again her mentor was drunk off her ass. Usually, Tsunade would still be functional when under the influence. But ever since Jiraiya was killed, her drinking has become heavier than her gambling habits. It hurt Sakura to see the change in her mentor. Knowing that the person she loved was no longer on this Earth without even knowing how she truly felt. It was the guilt in her. And there was nothing that she nor Shizune could do.

"Give me a second and I'll be on my way." Sakura nodded seeing the distressed look on Shizune's face.

"Thank you Sakura." Shizune gave a sigh of relief. "You're a life saver."

"That's what they say." Sakura says with a small smile. She closed the door and turned around to be greeted by Sasuke.

"Should I go?" He asked her with raised eyebrow.

"No, no. You can stay." Sakura says. "It will only be for a little while. Tsunade usually gets this drunk and sleep for a few hours before she's up and running around all frantic." She chuckles as she begans to gather her things together. "It's really funny actually."

Sasuke smirks watching Sakura. He watches as she grabs her coat and things before twisting her hair into a knot at the top of her head. She placed her shoes on her feet and stood.

"I think it'd be best if I go over Naruto's." Sasuke says after clearing his throat. "I mean my purpose of coming here was so I wouldn't be alone. And you're going to work so that leaves me....alone."

Sakura looks down at her hands. She felt bad for leaving Sasuke but what else could she do? She knew she had to be there at the hospital, but she also didn't want to leave Sasuke alone.

"I'm sorry." She says lowly. Her eyes finally meets his gaze. He pulled on his pancho and shoes before flicking her on the forehead.

"Let me walk you to the hospital, loser."

Sakura found herself smiling, skipping out of the door behind Sasuke. Locking the door behind her, she skipped down the stairs of her home and quickly caught up to the raven. Together the both of them walked down the lonely roads together. It was late, meaning that there was barely anybody out of their warm homes. Sakura stuck her hands into the pockets of her coat as she walked. Sasuke trudged alongside her. The sound of their sandals scraping against the gravel being the only things breaking their comfortable silence.

"I'm sorry again about leaving you to deal with Naruto." Sakura breaks the silence, glancing over at Sasuke as she spoke. "I know it was something you were trying to avoid and because of Lady Tsunade, you winded up in that position anyway, so I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing for things you have no control over." Sasuke says. "Both Shizune and I came to your door unexpectedly, your priorities come first."

Sakura pressed her lips together for a smile. She knew Sasuke was understanding, but the magnitude of his understanding was on a completely different level.

"Can I tell you something?" He finds himself saying.

"You can tell me anything you want." Sakura says. "What is it?"

"When we were kids and Kakashi was teaching us how to focus our chakra, I kind of asked Naruto what'd you tell him in order for him to get the hang of it." Sasuke says as they walked.

"Why didn't you ask me yourself?"

"I didn't want you thinking that I didn't know anything." Sasuke turns his gaze to the dirt in front of him. He always thought about the things he did and why he did them. He had alot of time to relfect on everything he went through, so to express it with someone else he felt would be the next step to getting over the wall that's blocking him from being a better version of himself. That way people would understand his true intentions. So they'd know that Sasuke always thoroughly thought things through before he made his final decision.

A soft smile appeared on Sakura's face. She stopped walking and took Sasuke's hand to stop him as well. He quickly looked at their hands, seeing how his pale skin contrasted against her rosy complexion. His eyes then traveled to hers and for the first time, Sakura saw emotion in them.

"Sasuke, don't ever be afraid to ask me anything." She says. "I'm always going to be here whenever you need me. Your pride shouldn't have anything to do with gaining more knowledge. Whatever you want to know, just ask me; okay?"

Sasuke found himself lost in the pinkette's gaze. He watched her for what seemed like an eternity. The both of them not making a move. Just wrapped up in one another's gaze.

She felt a small squeeze on her hand before Sasuke let go and turned to continue walking. Sakura took that as his answer and smiled as she walked with him. They arrived at the hosptial and Sakura waved slightly to Sasuke.

"Be careful Sasuke," She says. "I'll see you soon."

Sasuke didn't reply. Instead he used a simple headnod as his answer before he continued his journey to Naruto's house. Halfway there, Sasuke stuck his hand out and looked down at his palm. The same palm that had the warmth and security of Sakura in it. He could feel the electricity shoot through him again as he remember the feeling of her gentle hand against his. He took in a deep breath, feeling his face get hot before shoving his hand back into his pants pocket. Taking in a deep breath, he pushed the encouter to the back of his mind.

He found his way to Naruto's apartment and instead of knocking on the door, Sasuke climbed through the window. He found Naruto sleep in his bed, sprawled out and snoring loudly which he knew the blonde would. Heaving a sigh watching the knucklehead sleep so comfortably, he snatched the blankets off of Naruto and flipped the young boy's matress off of his bed. The action forced Naruto to hit the floor with a loud bang.

Naruto groaned, waking up and wondering how'd he find himself on the floor. Turning over on his back, the matress he lay on was pushing his face. Quickly kicking it off of him, he sat up rubbing his eyes.

"How the hell I fall off the bed with the mattress?" He groggily asked himself. After a short thought his eyes traveled upward and landed on Sasuke.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He grumbles. "Aren't you supposed to be in your own home? Or curled up under Sakura's boobs?"

Sasuke felt his face get hot as Naruto spoke the last sentence. He quickly kicked the blonde over.

"OW!" Naruto yells feeling his head hit the woodened floor again. Sasuke without hesitation flipped the matress over on Naruto once again, causing Naruto to grunt. Sasuke felt triumphant as he did so. With his imfamous Uchiha smirk, he stepped back and watched Naruto squirm.

"I fucking hate you, Sasuke." Naruto says finally getting the matress off of his person. Flipping the said object back onto his bed, he flopped down before Sasuke had any other ideas. "What are you doing here?"

"I was at Sakura's and she had something to do at the hospital." Sasuke replies. He walks to the woodened kitchen table and sat in the woodened chair.

"Ah, so you were canoodling." Naruto smirked as he looked his friend up and down. Sasuke closed his eyes in frustration, feeling the pink tint land on his cheeks as he best friend chuckled.

"I wasn't canoodling." Sasuke says the word as if it gave him a bitter taste. "I-I was just using the opportunity to get close to her."

"This late at night?" Naruto rasied an eyebrow with a smirk on his face.

"When did you become so keen on these things, Naruto?" Sasuke looked over at the blonde with an evil glare in his eye.

"Well Hinata is sorta my girlfriend." Naruto shrugs his shoulders. "And Sai gave me a couple of tips from the books that he's read. Plus I've been on more dates with Hinata than you have in your entire life. So, there's that."

Sasuke felt a wave of sulking as he stared at Naruto. Yes, he's never been on a date with Sakura, let alone told her how he truly felt about her, but that doesn't mean Naruto can go around gloating about his experiences like that. Especially given Sasuke's circumstances.

"I'm just messing with you." Naruto gave a short yawn. "It's good the two of you are spending alot of time together. Maybe you guys can actually be the friends the two of you should've been."

Sasuke remained quiet. Before long he was being smacked in the face by a pillow. The raven quickly glared at the blonde.

"I know you're not here to talk." Naruto says. "You can have my pillow, but I want my blanket and I don't have any extra blankets."

Sasuke's glare softened once he heard Naruto. He pursed his lips together before grabbing the pillow and taking his spot on the floor. Naruto turned on his side and yawned. "Just give me my pillow back before you disappear out my window."

Sasuke frowned as he stared at the ceiling.

----------

"Thank you for being here, Sakura." Shizune gave a sigh of relief as she watched the pinkette scribble a comatose patient's vitals. It was sure a busy night at the hospital, and there was also the fact that they were indeed short staffed, but Sakura got it all handled and steady within a few hours.

"It wasn't a problem." Sakura says as she tucks the pen behind her ear. She turned to the older woman and smiled as the both of them walked out of the patient's room.

"What were you doing awake so late anyway?" Shizune asked the girl as they made it to the desks. Sakura placed the clipboard down. She felt her face getting hot as she tried to avoid Shizune looking her directly in the face.

"U-Uh I couldn't sleep, that's all."

"Hm, did you meet the Uchiha on your way here?" Shizune asked. "I saw you talking to him before you came in."

Sakura coughed back saliva. Her eyes almost popped out of her head. When she walked into the hospital, Shizune wasn't at the front desk. Instead, it was the Drunken Tsunade herself, sleep at the desk. Shizune must've dragged her there.

"Ye-yeah, that's what happened." The pinkette chuckled. Shizune raised an eyebrow as she rests her chin in her hand.

"You okay, Sakura?" She asked. "You're acting really jumpy right now."

Sakura scoffed as she tucked the loose strads behind her ear. She chewed on her lip and gazed as Shizune from the corners of her eyes. She then took in a deep breath, turning to the woman and smiling her best fake smile.

"Jumpy?" She says. "Me? Noo, I'm okay." She waved the woman off as she gave a nervous chuckle. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't even have a reason to be jumpy."

"Well you started being jumpy when I asked why were you up this late." Shizune shrugs as she stares at the wall. "It was almost like you were hiding something. It intensified when I asked you about the Uchiha kid."

Sakura blushed and her eyes quickly found their way to the floor.

"Sakura look," Shizune giggles. "You're turning into a young woman and you're getting those urges. If he was at your home when I stopped by, you could've told me that. I would've found some kind of solution to figuring this out."

"I-It wasn't like that." Sakura tried to stop her face from turning red. "He- I-I_"

"Hey, calm down." Shizune could barely contain her laughter. "It's alright Sakura I'm only teasing."

Sakura found herself taking a large breath. She held it in for a few seconds before she closed her eyes and exhaled.

"It's amazing that the mention of him still gets you flustered." Shizune's eyes soften as she looked at her young colleauge. "I thought you'd forsure be over him by now."

"We're just friends." Sakura clairfies. "And my feelings for him have nothing to do with that."

Shizune held her hands up in surrender. "Easy Sakura, I'm only teasing."

"What are you two going on about?" The grumbling, hung over voice of their superior fell upon their ears. They turned in her direction to see her standing there with her long dishevieled blonde hair. Sakura couldn't believe that even in Tsunade's old age, she still looked so young.

"Sakura had a date with the Uchiha boy today." Shizune says. "But you got to drunk so she had to cancel while it was getting good." The raven haired woman wiggled her eyebrows.

Tsunade's eyes lands on her ever so keen apprentice. The pinkette avoided contact with the woman.

"I-It wasn't like that Lady Tsunade!" She squeaks. "He's been going through alot since he's been released and I was just being a comforting friend."

Tsunade smirks at the young girl before placing a hand on her head. She scratched at Sakura's scalp, something that instantly calmed the pinkette. She looked up at Tsunade, listening to Shizune snicker in the background.

"It's alright Sakura." She says. "You don't have to explain yourself to anyone."

The girl gave a sigh of relief as she threw a pen at Shizune.

"Well everything's all done here." Shizune says placing her chin in her hand. "You can go back to your lover now."

"He's not my lover!" Sakura wines as she throws her head back. Tsunade laughed at her two girls. She always looked at them as if they were her own. Both of them had her same attitude. Shizune being a little more calmer and reasonable than she and Sakura, which balanced them out as a team. She loved them so much. They were the only thing left to family that she had. And she would cherrish them forever.

"I'm leaving." Sakura huffs as she removes her lab coat and places it on the desk.

"Uh huh." Shizune wiggled her eye brows as she watches Sakura remove her hair from the ponytail it was in.

"See when you come in, Sakura." Tsunade says with a cross of her arms.

The girl waved shortly before she made her way back to her home. The was completely dark, and it wasn't a soul on the streets. Sakura bit her lip as Shizune's teasing flooded her ears.

It wasn't like we were sleeping together. She thought. He was sleeping on the couch!

Then suddenly, the thought of her awakening on his chest, on that very couch she mentioned came into vision making Sakura cringe.

I gotta be more smarter than this.

Reaching her home, She unlocked the door and stepped inside. She removed her shoes and stepped further into the house. Deciding on taking yet another bath, she bathed and got herself ready for bed. She knew she would be waking up sometime in the afternoon and she was fine with that. She had yet another day off and then it was constant work at the hospital for who knows when. That is, if she isn't reported for another mission. Missions have been tedious lately and Sakura didn't understand why her strengths were being wasted on things like that. There hasn't been a war in over three years. There hasn't been any signs of threats withing those said years. So being on missions at this point was basically just to get out of the village. Or in Sakura's case, getting an off day from the hectic hospital.

She sighs as she finally lay in her bed. She turned on her side, looking out of the window at the starry sky. After a few good blinks, she drifted to sleep.

********

A sharp pain to the side and a loud thud greeted Sasuke from his slumber. Grunting and popping his eyes open, the blurry vision soon adjusted to a bush of blonde laid across his torso, groaning as well.

"I'm sorry." Naruto says groggily. "I forgot you were down here." He slowly removed himself from the raven, who said nothing. He laid there in a daze, arguing with himself on if he wanted to kill the boy or not.

"I said I was sorry, Sasuke!" Naruto says standing to his feet. He scratched his head still watching the boy mentally argue with himself as he stared out at the ceiling. "Anyway, are you hungry? All I have here is Ramen."

"Of course you do." Sasuke finally spoke, deciding that he'd rather continue to be a free man rather than sitting in confinement again, but for murder this time. He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, watching the blonde step over him and towards the kitchen. Sasuke sat up and adjusted himself before he stood to his feet. He watched as the blonde pulled out two bowls of instant ramen and put a kettle of hot water. Sasuke sighed, feeling his bones crack as he stretched.

"Are you going to hang out with Sakura today?" Naruto asked as he waited for the kettle to signal that the water was hot.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, honestly not knowing if he wanted to see her today or not. He knew she would probably be sleeping due to her being up at the hospital so late.

"I'm not sure." He says. "I guess it was really busy at the hospital for her to leave home on her off day last night."

Naruto nodded slowly. "Well I was gonna do some training for the chunnin exams." He says. "You're welcome to join."

Sasuke thought for a moment. He really didn't have anything else to do. And he knew that if he couldn't occupy his time with Sakura, he would for sure be training as well. Slowly, Sasuke nodded.

The two of them ate their ramen in silence. Sasuke pondering on the small time he had with Sakura just last night. He honestly didn't want to be alone, and he knew he could've just came by Naruto's like he normally does, but something about wanting to be with Sakura once more made his heart skip a beat.

"Dude, you're alright?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at the blushing raven haired boy. Sasuke looked at Naruto before looking back down at his ramen, trying to supress the embarrassment.

"I'm fine." He says shoving ramen into his mouth.