Happy Accidents

Chapter 17: Affectus Amor

A/N: I am putting another dedication in this chapter as well! I would like to give a shout-out to Anissa, CutieConch, Jakeson12, and BrubsCullen, a handful of readers on FF.NET who have been following this from early on in the story. Your guys' energetic reviews and comments are always motivating and I love seeing your excitement when new chapters come out. I love how engaged you all are!

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Cases never stopped for Sasuke Uchiha. Never. There was always a new one, always cold cases to pull out and search for information on, no matter the day. He was heading home for the day when he turned a corner, finding none other than Sakura... whom he knew was supposed to be at home, resting. Just what was she doing here? The last place she needed to be was at work straining herself.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, annoyed that she was pushing herself. "You're supposed to be at home. Resting." He knew that his irritation was coming across in his tone, but at this point she deserved it. She'd almost died--twice. And now she was coming back to work, pushing herself more than she needed, instead of taking the time to rest. It was aggravating to him how stubborn she was.

"Oh, I, um, just left some papers that I was going to grab and work on, at home, you know, since I can't really do much else. I-I mean, I-I can do some paperwork I was catching up on, at least, because if I don't, I'll just go crazy, you know?" He resisted the urge to roll his eyes in the middle of her ramble. Rambling usually meant she was full of crap. He'd learned that one by now. "I've been away for way too long already, and if I don't try to catch up, I'll just get more and more behind--"

"You're supposed to be at home. At home does not mean at work." Didn't she know that? He looked down at the bag she was carrying. It was... an overnight bag? It looked pretty packed, from what he could tell. "And not with an overnight bag," he added.

Seeing the sheepish expression that came over her face as he was piecing it together, it finally clicked. He remembered what her office looked like; her work area had pretty much all of the amenities if someone wanted to stay for a day or two, or needed to. A kitchenette, a couch that was comfortable enough to sleep on... Suddenly, it made sense.

"...You were going to sleep in your office, weren't you." Her expression told it all. "In the coldest area in the building, no less. For obvious reasons." He could understand her desperation, seeing the look on her face. While her expression was sheepish, he could see what was behind it: fear. He understood it. She was too scared to sleep in her own home after what happened. He couldn't blame her, not after going through what she had.

"I have a space heater for the office, thank you!" He almost laughed at the way she responded. She was... kind of adorable when she was mad. "It's not that cold-- a-and I wasn't going to sleep there, exactly--"

He let out a deep sigh, before holding a hand out. "Give me your bag." He knew what he had to do to fix this. It was the least he could do to make up for his mistakes. If it meant she got better, that was what mattered to her. He'd screwed up the first time, and left her unprotected when she needed it the second time. He wasn't going to let that happen again. Not in the slightest.

Now he just had to consider the logistics. He only had one bedroom, and no way he was going to make her awkwardly share a bed. His couch wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't going to be the most comfortable week if he had to sleep on it every day. A small sacrifice if it meant she was going to be okay. He knew the neighbourhood and knew the people around; no one would bother her if she were there alone. After all, both of his neighbours were elderly women in their eighties. There was no changing that fact.

Tossing her overnight bag in the back, he opened the passenger door for her, resisting the urge to chuckle as he could see her sulking expression. She was cute when she was like that, though he'd never admit he thought that way. She must have thought he was taking her home. What a surprise she was about to get. Internally, he was questioning himself; he'd never let anyone, not even Naruto, come over to his home. He kept to himself; home was his private place, where he could get away from the chaos of work and just be by himself, where no one would disturb him.