Sitting in a tree, Sasuke willed the day to go by faster. He didn't feel like training alone, but he had little else to do with no missions and no house to upkeep. He'd thought about looking for an apartment, but would it be bad to just stay with Sakura? They were together after all, and couples eventually started to live with each other. He resolved to ask her about it later tonight. After reading the reports in Kakashi's office, he had wandered off to be alone (almost, if you didn't include his ever so attentive ANBU following). He wanted to clear his head and get away from everyone.
Sakura said she doesn't care. Kakashi said to ignore it. Naruto, well I didn't ask him, but he's never cared about rumors.
Deciding these negative thoughts would only taint his new relationship and make him start to self-sabotage it, the young man leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. The mission had gone well over the past few days. His teammates weren't unfriendly to him, but they kept their distance. Knowing he had an ANBU assigned to him did not help put their fears to ease. Sasuke wondered how long he'd have someone assigned to watch him. Maybe he'd ask Kakashi next time. Hearing someone walking up to the tree, he looked down to find his best friend.
"Do you actually do any training, or do you just sit around out here all day?"
"Shut up, loser." Sasuke jumped down from the tree in front of Naruto.
"Heh, well what are you up to? I'm bored of studying, so I snuck out to have fun! Iruka-sensei will be so mad."
"You're still a twelve-year-old, aren't you?"
"Hey, I'm much more mature now! It's just so boring. I'd rather be out doing missions or working on a new jutsu. Speaking of, when did you get back from your mission? How was it?"
"Last night. Dead end, but it was nice to get out of the village for a while."
"Yeah, I bet it's rough to stay put all the time. That's too bad about the lead being a dud. By the way, a group of us are going to get dinner tonight. You should come! It's just our old classmates, so you know everyone, and it'd be a great way to reconnect! Plus, me and Sakura will be there too."
Thinking back on his interaction with one former classmate this morning, Sasuke thought it might be a good idea to show up for a bit. He would have a buffer through Sakura, and maybe they could leave early. The main thing holding him back was the causal group setting. He didn't like large groups of people, but if there was at least one reason for the gathering, like a strategy meeting, he could deal with it. Just meeting up to hang out was something he hadn't done since before he turned rogue. Even before then, he wasn't fond of it.
Sighing, Sasuke resigned himself to the idea. "Alright, I'll go. Where is it?"
"I wanted to go to Ichiraku's, but they outvoted me. We're having barbeque instead. Meet there at 7." Naruto turned to make his way back to the heart of the village, calling over his shoulder, "I'd better get back before I'm in too much trouble. See ya!"
Sasuke watched his friend go before heading back toward Sakura's apartment.
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Leaving the hospital, Sakura looked around, expecting to see Sasuke. He had made a habit of walking her home from work, but he had never promised to do it every day. A little sad, she decided he had skipped today for some reason and started her trek home alone. She was excited for tonight since it had been a long time since everyone had hung out together. Knowing this dinner was coming and wanting to put off the inevitable questions and jokes for as long as possible, Sakura had deftly avoided all of Ino's questions about her relationship with Sasuke. As far as she knew, they were friends, comrades, teammates.
Fishing her keys out of her pocket, she wondered if Naruto had found Sasuke to invite him. Even if he was invited, she wasn't sure he'd agree to come. That was a lot of people for him to be around at a time. Still, she hoped he would come. That would help to smooth things out with some of their friends who hadn't seen the change in Sasuke yet.
Opening the door, she found the object of her thoughts standing in the middle of the living room, in a towel. He looked up at her quickly before slowly starting to change facial expressions from surprise, to recognition, to slight happiness. Realizing she had stared at him for too long, Sakura cleared her throat before stuttering out a "Hello," closed the door, and removed her shoes before heading to the kitchen to get some water. She could feel the blush burning on her cheeks. Sure, I've seen him without a shirt on before, lots of times! Well not that many, but anyway, why would I have expected to see him in nothing but a towel when I first walked in?
Putting the glass in the sink, she turned to find Sasuke watching her with amusement. His head was slightly tilted to the side like he was trying to puzzle something out about her. Squaring her shoulders, she looked him straight in the eye and challenged, "What?"
Slight confusion passed over the Uchiha's face, but he mumbled, "Nothing," and turned to grab his clothes.
Sakura took this as her escape, and she walked briskly to her room, closing the door and deciding what to wear for the evening. Ok, that wasn't so bad, right? Did he notice me staring? Why did he just stand there? Then it hit her. Yes, he knew. He didn't intentionally do it, but he knew I was checking him out. And he let me. He wasn't shy about it at all. Of course, Sasuke being embarrassed about his body didn't make sense either. He never cared about that sort of thing. Something else hit her at this point. He knew, and he was smiling a bit. He was enjoying watching me get flustered. Well, two can play that game!
With renewed confidence, she went back to her closet to find a red dress. It was a tasteful A-line dress, but it showed off her figure nicely. Pairing it with some simple sandals, Sakura looked at herself in the mirror before smiling a bit and heading back out. She was probably a bit overdressed, but she felt great.
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Sitting on the couch after getting dressed, Sasuke thought about what happened. He didn't know she would be coming in right that second or he would've taken his clothes with him to the bathroom when he showered. But that being said, he did have to admit that that felt good. He never put much thought into how attractive his body was, but he knew that most girls flocked after him saying how hot he was. However, having the woman he was with so obviously check him out was unexpectedly nice. It was definitely an ego boost. Hearing the door open, he stopped his train of thoughts only to have a million thoughts enter his mind at once. Sakura came out, smiling, and wearing a red dress. She came up to sit beside him on the couch and turned to look at him. All the thoughts stopped in his head and were replaced with one. She is stunning.
Sakura's smile widened, and she broke the silence with, "So I assume that Naruto found you and told you about tonight?"
Swallowing, Sasuke found his voice and replied simply, "Yeah."
"And are you coming?"
"Yeah… I guess."
"You guess? Alright, well that's good enough for me. Come on! We'll be late if we don't leave soon!"
She jumped off the couch excitedly and made her way toward the door. Having no choice, Sasuke stood and followed. The two headed to the restaurant with Sakura giving updates on what everyone decided to do for work. As they neared, Sasuke slowed his pace and looked at Sakura. Turning, she met his eyes, questioning what was going on.
"Listen, I don't know how to say this, but I don't know if… I mean, with everyone there…"
He was cut off by Sakura walking towards him and kissing his cheek quickly. "Don't worry, I haven't told anyone about us. I couldn't stand all the nagging yet. We don't need to say anything. Let's just have fun, yeah? I'm sure you haven't told anyone, so there's nothing to worry about."
The tension he didn't realize he was holding rolled off his back as he smiled slightly and nodded. Meeting up with all his old classmates at once was stressful enough. He didn't want to consider the attention he would get if they all found out about this too.
As Sakura turned to keep walking, Sasuke caught her arm and said, "I told Kakashi. I'm sorry if I shouldn't have…"
"You did? That's…. surprising. But no matter, it's not like he'll go gossiping about it. People will find out with time. It's not that I don't want them to know exactly. It's just that I don't want to deal with the questions and jokes tonight."
They smiled at each other before returning to their route toward the restaurant. When they entered, about half the people were there. Naruto was sitting in the middle of one side with Choji and Shikamaru on his right. On the other side of the table were Kiba, Shino, and TenTen. Sakura waved at them, and Sasuke allowed himself to be led over to the table, his expression blank. Sakura chose the seats on the other side of Naruto, so Sasuke sat next to her. He wasn't quite at the end, but this would do.
Sasuke nodded at the others at the table but didn't say much. They all seemed to fall right into a rhythm with each other. A few minutes later, the door opened again to show Hinata, Ino, Sai, and Lee walking in. Sasuke noticed his blonde friend stiffen before whispering something to Sakura hurriedly.
Chuckling, Sakura looked at him and said, "Move over one, will you? Mr. Casanova here is going to make a move."
Silently, he scooted over to the seat on the end, which he preferred anyway. The last group of them joined the table, with a blushing Hinata accepting Naruto's offer to sit next to him. He looked ecstatic. Sasuke rolled his eyes slightly. So, she really was the one he had a crush on. How oblivious can he get? Of course, she'd love to go out with him in a heartbeat.
Having greeted the newcomers silently, Sasuke allowed everyone else to chat about their lives and catch up. If he didn't need to talk, that was even better for him. However, after about ten minutes, the group seemed to think they couldn't ignore him anymore. They gave him curious glances but didn't look like they knew how to ask him anything. His discomfort was rising, and he contemplated just leaving when he heard a soft voice.
"How are you, Sasuke? You went on a mission not too long ago, right?"
He looked over to see Hinata smiling at him. He had never disliked her. Actually, she was one of the few girls he preferred to be around since she didn't always try to flirt with him.
Holding her gaze, he answered in his usual way, "It was fine, but a dead end."
"That's too bad. Do you have any more coming up?"
"I don't know."
"Well, I'm sure you'll get assigned one soon. I'm glad to see you again. You should come to our little get-togethers from now on! So Kiba, what were you saying about the new puppies?"
Sasuke noticed the group had relaxed a little. The Hyuga had successfully broken the ice and then moved on without lingering on Sasuke too much. Little conversations broke out between various people, and Sasuke felt a nudge on his leg.
To his right, Sakura smiled slightly and whispered, "See? Not so bad. That was the worst part, I think. They'll get used to you again."
Nodding, Sasuke held her gaze for just a little too long.
"Alright, what's going on? Don't try to deny it, Sakura! You are definitely not friends!" Ino's declaration stopped all the other conversations as everyone looked at that end of the table. Sakura turned bright red next to him, and he just sighed in defeat. I guess we're doing this now after all.
"What are you talking about? We're friends!"
"Nope, no way. I saw that exchange. I expect that from you, Sakura, but Sasuke responded differently. He'd usually brush you off or roll his eyes. Spill it."
"No, really, we're just..."
Sasuke decided to get this over with and cut Sakura off with, "We're dating. Just drop it."
That shut the group up for about ten seconds before people started asking questions, mostly to Sakura, which Sasuke greatly appreciated. The only one to hound him was Naruto, who simply couldn't believe he had to hear about it like this. His friend went on and on about how he should've been the first to know. Sasuke tried to ignore the commotion, but since Ino was sitting across from him, her excited voice couldn't be drowned out very easily.
With his annoyance rising, Sasuke said just loud enough to be heard over the conversations, "I said drop it."
Everyone quieted down again and stared at him, some with a little trepidation on if he was going to do anything to them. Sakura gave him a look he couldn't discern, and just as he was feeling he should apologize, at least to her, he heard a laugh.
"Well, it looks like you are still the same old Sasuke, huh?" Shikamaru was smiling as he looked around the group. "I mean, he never did like attention unless it was some cool jutsu or something, right?"
Choji laughed and joined in, "Yeah, that's true! Remember how all you girls used to cling to him? He'd get so annoyed!"
"Hey, we didn't all cling to him!" Ino tried to sound indignant, but she knew she couldn't really deny it.
"You were the worst one! Well, maybe it's a tie between you and Sakura, but still!" Kiba added.
"Shut up!" Sakura laughed even as she tried to defend herself.
The group started ragging on each other and returned to a normal tempo again. Sasuke caught Shikamaru staring at him and looked over to see him nod slightly. I guess he doesn't hate me as much as I thought.
Sasuke returned to his meal, and except for a few friendly exchanges, he allowed the others to carry on the conversation. He was relieved when it was time to go home. He didn't realize how taxing this would be for him. Villagers whispering behind his back or shying away from him in fear was one thing, but these were the people he grew up with. He may not exactly call them friends now, but they were closest thing he had to friends. He hadn't realized how much their acceptance of him would mean to him.
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Leaving the restaurant, Sakura hugged her friends as Sasuke stood to the side and nodded at anyone who bid him farewell.
Naruto made his way over to Sasuke, and said, "Ok, Sai volunteered to take Ino home and TenTen had to leave early, so why don't you take Sakura home, and I'll take Hinata home?"
"I'm staying at her apartment, loser. Where else would I go?"
Laughing nervously, Naruto answered, "Oh yeah, right! Well, it's settled then! Good night, guys!"
Sakura looked at their blonde friend as he awkwardly asked Hinata if she was ready before the two waved and walked off. Shaking her head, she made her way to Sasuke, and the two started home.
"Can you believe those two? He is such an idiot! I wish they'd just hurry up and get together already. It's painfully obvious they both adore each other. He just can't understand that she really does love him."
"He has complained to me about it. I never thought he wouldn't have ever noticed her attention though."
"Like I said, he's an idiot. Oh well, I guess they'll just take their time then."
The two walked on in silence for a while before Sakura looped her arm around Sasuke's. He looked down at her, surprised, and jerked his arm back a little, so she immediately dropped it. Right, I should know better than that.
"Ah, sorry, you don't like people seeing us together and drawing attention, right?" Sakura walked a little faster, trying to push down the disappointment she felt. If he reacted so strongly at dinner to everyone's questions, I should keep things quiet for now. Why did he admit it anyway if he was so against everyone knowing?
"I never said I don't want people to know."
Turning, she saw Sasuke looking at her with an expression of slight worry. She blinked at him, not knowing where to draw the line now. She decided to just be honest and said, "I just thought… You didn't like the attention at dinner, and you didn't want to tell everyone in the first place, so…"
As she trailed off, Sasuke took a few steps to be in front of her. He sighed and looked away for a minute. Feeling uncomfortable and vulnerable, Sakura hugged her arms around her torso and looked down. After a few seconds, she was surprised to find that Sasuke had pulled her against him into a hug. She slowly unwrapped her arms and clung to the front of his shirt. Her eyes teared up a little from her mix of emotions, but before she could wallow too long, she heard him speak quietly.
"That's not what I meant. There were just too many people, too many questions. I'm used to being alone."
Sakura hugged him tightly, wanting to be as close to him as she could, until she heard a small grunt of pain.
She pulled back so she could look at him, and quickly asked, "Sorry! That was too hard, wasn't it?"
Smirking, Sasuke tapped her forehead with his two fingers and answered, "A little."
"Why do you keep doing that?"
Letting her go, he looked at her with a soft expression, saying, "I'll tell you next time. Let's go."
Before she could question him more, he turned to start walking again. Sakura jogged a few steps to catch up and glanced at him.
"I know tonight was a lot. I'm sorry it turned out that way. I'm sure Ino will corner me tomorrow and not let me leave until she's satisfied, so that should be the worst of it."
"Good. Her voice is too screechy and loud when she's excited."
Laughing, Sakura got out her keys and opened the door so the two could get some rest for the night.